The Choir
a moving and thought-provoking novel from one of Britain’s best loved authors, Joanna Trollope
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
Lose yourself in this absorbing and touching novel about change and the challenge to accept it from multi-million copy bestselling author Joanna Trollope. Beautifully written with exquisitely drawn characters and demonstrating a superb ability to understand people and relationships, it is perfect for readers of Elizabeth Noble, Erica James and Amanda Prowse.
'A beautifully drawn portrait of Cathedral life' -- Sunday Express
'A modern Barchester Chronicle' -- Sunday Telegraph
'Richly satisfying' -- Evening Standard
'Another wonderful book, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Joanna Trollope never disappoints' -- ***** Reader review
'Another tour de force by Trollope' -- ***** Reader review
'One of those stories that stay with you' -- ***** Reader review
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ONLY A MIRACLE CAN UNITE A CONGREGATION IN TURMOIL...
In the gentle precinct of Aldminster Cathedral, crisis looms.
The urbane and worldly Dean wants nothing so much as to restore and beautify his beloved Cathedral - even if it means sacrificing the Choir School to pay for it.
Alexander Troy, Headmaster of the school, a conscientious man, is determined that nothing and no-one - certainly not the overbearing Dean - should destroy the Choir.
As the rift widens to take on immense dimensions, many others find themselves caught in the schism - Leo Beckford, brilliant but wayward organist, repelling the adoration of the Dean's dreadful daughter; the gentle, left-wing Bishop, trying to soothe the angry protagonists; Sally Ashworth, mother of the leading chorister, fighting loneliness and an erring and absent husband...
Each frail and human dilemma takes its part in the greater turmoil of Chapter and Close and the final battle for the survival of the Choir.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As in the music that pervades the plot of Trollope's (The Rector's Wife) absorbing novel, contrapuntal technique results in a brilliant composition. Like her ancestor Anthony, Trollope focuses on an English cathedral town and its dissonant voices. Hugh Cavendish is dean of Aldminster Cathedral. The father of mutinous, unorthodox children, he is a bitterly disappointed man who craves administrative and spiritual authority. The prized boy's choir, however, is under the authority of King's School headmaster Alexander Troy and music master Leo Beckford. When the cathedral needs a quarter-million pounds worth of roof repairs, all matters of God, pedagogy, politics and music become matters of funds. Cavendish prefers to pay off the roof costs by sacrificing the expensive-to-maintain choir. Meanwhile, socialist/atheist city councilman Frank Ashworth wants the town to buy the headmaster's house out from under him to use as a community facility. Into the fray fall Sally Ashworth, married to Frank's long-absent son and in love with Leo; Sally's young son, Henry, the choir star; Alexander's untethered wife, Felicity; and Hugh's daughter Ianthe, an up-and-comer in the music business, who helps give her father what he deserves. Sacred music, the perfect treble of pre-pubescent boys and delicious deadpan understatement create a uniquely rich soundtrack on the pages of this beautifully crafted tale, which was first published in Britain in 1978. Author tour.
