One of the most topical of his books, it tells the story of Mr Harding, an elderly clergyman, warden of an almshouse for old men, who faces a major crisis when his Church sinecure becomes the centre of public controversy. In it Trollope reveals his special genius for satirizing the Church of England. Yet while he wishes to expose an abuse of privilege, he is also vehement in his attack on the reformers - zealous John Bold, Dr Pessimist Anticant and Mr Popular Sentiment. But at the heart of the novel is Mr Harding's private drama of conscience, and in contrasting Harding's moral honesty with the worldliness of his fellow cleric, Archdeacon Grantly, and the hypocrisy of Tom Towers, editor of the crusading Jupiter, Trollope illustates his belief in the value of individual integrity.