The Choir

by Joanna Trollope

The Choir [Paperback] Trollope, Joanna

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, Contemporary, Music, Romance, Chick Lit, 20th Century

316 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 1988

About the author

Joanna Trollope Potter Curteis (aka Caroline Harvey)

Joanna Trollope was born on 9 December 1943 in her grandfather's rectory in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England, daughter of Rosemary Hodson and Arthur George Cecil Trollope. She is the eldest of three siblings. She is a fifth-generation niece of the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope and is a cousin of the writer and broadcaster James Trollope. She was educated at Reigate County School for Girls followed by St Hugh's College, Oxford. On 14 May 1966, she married the banker David Roger William Potter, they had two daughters, Antonia and Louise, and on 1983 they divorced. In 1985, she remarried to the television dramatist Ian Curteis, and became the stepmother of two stepsons; they divorced in 2001.

From 1965 to 1967, she worked at the Foreign Office. From 1967 to 1979, she was employed in a number of teaching posts before she became a writer full-time in 1980. Her novel Parson Harding's Daughter won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Reviews

[Phrynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a reread although I read it for the first time long before Goodreads and I became acquainted so there is no prior review.

I just enjoy the total Englishness of this author's novels. I grew up with the kinds of people she writes about and lived in towns like the ones she describes. I guess it is pure nostalgia on my part. Nevertheless she writes well and creates characters you can care for.

Basically The Choir is a very well written domestic drama set in a slightly different backing of a Cathedral Close. The main characters come from the various levels of clergy and their families and they do not always relate in a totally Christian way. Friendships wax and wane and marriages do not always work out the way they should. The ending is realistic though not one hundred per cent perfect for everyone involved.

Nice comfort reading for a cold winter's day. Happiness is having a whole shelf of her books to dip into whenever I wish.

[Bionic Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Joanna Trollope seems to have found herself a niche, but her work divides readers. She is highly acclaimed on the one hand, and has won awards including the "Best Romantic Novel of the Year" (in 1980 for "Parson Harding's Daughter") yet is also dismissed by others for writing so-called "aga-sagas". Notwithstanding, I thought I should try her for myself.

The Choir is another early work from 1988; one which I have read twice. It is well written and there were surprising references to "The Warden". Surprising because this was a contemporary novel. And pleasing too, because it's a well known fact that she is indirectly related to Anthony Trollope (though not a direct descendant).

However I found The Choir to be deadly dull, with none of Anthony Trollope's wit and humour. Clearly I am not her target audience, and will not therefore be searching out any more of her novels.

[La Tonya Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have intrigue, church politics, community politics, and human emotion in the small town of Aldminster, Great Britian just outside of London, England.

The cathedral is worth saving for it highlights the beauty of the town. It is the main work of the bishop, dean, and all who work for the church. But, the choir is a long standing tradition and should it be saved at the expense of the cathedral? That question will test family relationships, friendships, and one's faith with God. For Leo Beckford and Alexander Troy, the answer is easy. Yes, the music of the choir is priceless. For others, it is what you can trade to get what you ultimately want. A good read that will leave you wondering whether life is fair.

[❀⊱RoryReads⊰❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

A delicious concoction of back stabbing, revenge, self interest, hypocrisy, and irony, stirred together with jealousy, hidden motives, love and redemption. Riveting character driven fiction.

[Esdaile · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel was thoroughly readable but for me somehow never quite escaped an aura of soap opera about it and certainly a fair dollop of sentimentality and old lace. I also felt that it was written rather too obviously in the shadow of the author's grandfather and the Barchester Chronicles; but arguably that is like criticising the leopard for his spots. The tale and the way it is told a polite and quietly asserted encomium for a more polite and more traditional society, for a certain Englishness, a certain English civilization. The story is about the machinations in an English cathedral town centring on the choir and the cathedral and their survival. The characters involved are all flawed but struggling and often pitiful beings (except one character called Cosimo who is a kind of Kleistian villain and irredeemable n'er do well); their private lives are concerned with separation and coming together anmd reconciliation and in their relationships sex seems to play a quite minor role. God is present and prayed to but politely contested orm ignored as well. This novel would hardly have raised eyebrows in the nineteeth century world of letters, a chaste acheivement given the expectancy of the fictional entretainment of modern times. Sometimes the characters veer seem to me to be forced to play their role too heavily by the writer-the hysterical teenager in love, the wife and mother taking the big step according to the slogan "it's my life", the absent husband with double standards bent on his career. But for all its failings, the novel is very readable, enjoyable, unmpredictable, entirely modern in the sense of one feeling familiar with the emotional, physical and psychological surroundings (this is my second novel by this writer and I am beginning to think this is probably charactreistic of her writing. I have the feeling which I mentioned in my first review of a Joanna Trollop novel, that in thirty years time they may be regarded as supremely dated but here and now they are a welcome companion for car park, lonely breakfast, long flight or train journey.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"In the rustic town of Aldminster, a crisis looms. Funds are short, and the cathedral is in need or major repair. Some propose to finance the work by getting rid of the costly boys' choir -- while others are aghast at the idea. Drawn into the fray in an extraordinary cast of characters, including housewife Sally Ashworth. The lonely mother of a ten-year-old chorister, Sally meanders through her quiet, solitary life. But the fight to save this archaic but beloved tradition will unite her in an unexpected way with the brilliant choirmaster. And if anything can unite this divided community, it may be the melodic, compelling voice of her own unusually talented son ... "
~~back cover

This was a charming enough book, but every morning I wake up and look over at the two bookcases that are piled to their groaning limits with the 800+ books I have in the TBR pile (mountain), and I think "I could be reading a book I really enjoy, instead of one that merely is OK." So I've abandoned this book -- not because it's not charming because it is -- in favor of greener pastures.

[Marne Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was plenty to like in this book, but there wasn't enough for me to love. Trollope writes clearly and convincingly, and in some ways this reminded me of A Spanish Lover, the only other novel of Trollope's I've read. In both books, a small initial occurrence sets a very large chain of events in motion. But that book focuses on an extended family, while this one revolves around a cathedral, and the size of the cast of characters led to some confusion on my part. I was caught up in a few of the stories, but so many of the others revolved around old men in tweed suits that I could never quite keep straight in my head. Still, I was entertained enough to plow through to the end, and I'll definitely be reading more from Trollope in the future.

[Kara Hansen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having enjoyed several of Trollope’s books, this one was a definite disappointment. The Choir centers around the Aldminster Cathedral and the Choir School that is part of it. It is proposed that the house that the Headmaster lives in should be converted into a congregating building of sorts for the residents of Aldminster. This idea is met with the abhorrent response of “no, never” by the clergy and leaders of the Cathedral and school. This would put the future of the Choir School at no longer running. No one seems able to come up with compromises or other suggestions.
The remainder of the book focuses on the saving of the choir, and a rather flat, two-dimensional characters.
Overall, a rather dull plot.
2.5 stars.

[Cait · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you didn’t think the politics at your own church weren’t petty, bitchy, and pointless enough, this is the book for you! There are also too many characters that are cookie cutters that you don’t care about and clutter the storyline. The worst part is the misogyny. Every woman in the story is treated poorly and made to feel it’s their fault. The men have their cake and eat it too. I stopped caring about the choir - can’t blame the town for not caring either because the players are all pompous windbags.

[Pam Hutley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to like Joanna Trollope. Maybe I’ve just got older and more cynical. It felt a dated read and it was unstintingly middle class twaddle. Yes there were interesting politics in Cathedral close and a dilemma between key characters and you couldn’t help but want the titular choir to be saved , but the stereotyped churchy ladies were just too much with their pompous little churchy husbands.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable story depicting life in an English cathedral town. Well-drawn realistic characters.

[Rebekah Es · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring story about selfish people.

[Julie Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago. I found a battered copy in the charity shop and picked it up. Still as good as I remembered.

[Lise Petrauskas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book perfectly fit my mood. A sort of combination of Anthony Trollope and Iris Murdoch. Clear, emotionally intelligent, well observed, village life in the 20th century.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't have thought of myself as a likely Joanna Trollope reader, but I'm a sucker for books set in the closed world of cathedrals or choirs, and this combines both so I thought I'd give it a go. I have to say that I really enjoyed it. This was Trollope's first novel writing as herself, published in 1987. Thirty years on, the story it tells of hard-pressed cathedrals having to make difficult choices between maintaining their historic fabric and continuing their unique and ancient choral traditions is still relevant. The Choir is immensely readable, populated by engaging, multi-dimensional characters and with a real page-turner of a plot. All in all, a very satisfying and entertaining read.

[MaryCatherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote the review, but it got stuck in “comments.” Since we can’t copy and paste our own stuff on Goodreads, the review will have to stay in limbo. I wish we could copy and save our own reviews and comments on Goodreads. I hate having no ownership of my words! Oh , and I need to make a correction that I can’t make in the “comment”/review. The spiteful clergyman is not a vicar because this is a cathedral, with a school and a deanery, not merely a parish church, so he is a Dean—very silly mistake to make, as I know better. I presume the cathedral church’s parish is the surrounding town, so as chief cleric of the cathedral, he seems to also have the role of rector to the parish. No wonder the townspeople are quite disconnected from the church! A Dean is sort of exalted form of vicar—especially the one in this story is rather prickly about the grandeur of his role. Differences may occur, but this is the simplest explanation.

[Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Close” Encounters and Clashing Wills

This mesmerizing novel reveals public and private feuding
behind the seemingly serene grounds of an English Close—lands adjacent to the Cathedral. Conflict arises on several fronts: the ridid,
domineering Dean wants his own way and instant obedience in all matters: related to the cathedral repairs, the choir’s very existence and oh yes—his unsuccessfully urbane marriage. Next we meet the dedicated but harried Head Master, Alexander Troy (whose wife has disappeared on some fool personal junket for several weeks). The
extensive cast includes the organist who falls in love with the mother of one of his choristers; the ambivalent return of a former chorister with no visible musical means; and the ten-year-old probationer with the voice of an angel, Henry Ashcroft.

What prevents this psychological masterpiece from devolving into just another soap opera (in a cathedral setting) is Trollope’s seamless weaving of the myriad of conflicting desires into a riveting tapestry of scheming and tormented countermeasures. The motivations of many
characters are questioned—both by themselves and each other. Adults learn to their dismay the perils of engaging the media for private gain. What can be done to save the Aldminster Boy Choir--slated for the axe in the name of critically-needed cathedral repair? Will the Head Master and his wife have to leave their beloved home inorder to satisfy the skeptical City Council? Can the micro-managing Dean force the excellent organist to resign for petty reasons re his private life? The novel wreaks delightfully of Secular manipulation in a supposedly Sacred setting. Insightful readers may wonder which side the Lord espouses—as if there were only two sides to begin with…

The long chapters are conveniently subdivided by generous amounts of white space—affording the reader mini breaks as strong wills clash and passions (not just sexual) are ignited. There is no clear cut protagonist here; the action (psychological and otherwise) alternates among the large cast as the plot twists and is warped into a political labyrinth, resulting in a new and daring entity. So who will ultimately triumph--or at least benefit the most--from the attempts of the dedicated to Save the Choir? Who can place a spiritual value on the role of choral music during church service? And does victor realize at what price the goal has been achieved? Excellent literary fare on all levels!

June 16, 2015

[Shawn Thrasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nadia May (aka Wanda McCaddon) is a superb narrator. She has to tackle a huge cast of major and minor characters in this book, and does so masterfully. Trollope's book is quiet and comfortable, a bit staid - but never in a bad way. It was written 30 years ago, but didn't feel dated (although someone was listening to cassettes) - it easily slid from contemporary fiction to historical fiction without too much of a fuss. The characters - and there are many of them - are hard to distinguish at the beginning, particularly if you are listening rather than reading (even with the narrative talents of May/McCaddon) but once you get into the groove and connect the dots, it's a smooth ride until the end.

[Kate Hewitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently reread this after 15 years and found it did not hold up as well as I expected, although I still enjoyed it. I find the characters in Joanna Trollope's books to be amazingly unlikeable, and the style of storytelling which, fair enough, might have been more the thing when this was written, involves a lot of telling and very little dialogue. However, the machinations of the dean and all the people who get involved in saving the choir makes for a good read.

[Joanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

only read half. Puzzling as Carol and I usually like the same books. Couldn't like anyone. I suspect someone who's involved with church choirs might like it more.

[Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many characters, perhaps, and not enough plot, but gods, so well written.

[Sara Eames · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story - well told.

[Derek Osbourne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly marvellous. It could have been written by her earler namesake.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Choir was the first book by Joanna Trollope that I read, in 1988, and the first published under her own name. Prior to that, she had written historical novels as Caroline Harvey. After reading and enjoying Mum & Dad in 2020, I decided to revisit my old Trollope paperbacks.
I never liked the phrase ‘aga saga,’ coined to describe Trollope’s style of novel – community-based, middle class, family trauma, forbidden romance – finding it over-simplistic and belittling of Trollope’s work. The Choir is about a limited time period in the life of a small community, the cathedral and choir school at Aldminster, and what happens when the stonework begins to crumble. Money must be found or saved, cuts must be made, unthinkable changes are considered. This is a story of small-world politics, the interaction of personalities domineering, clever, manipulative, naïve, well-meaning, defeated.
When the Dean of Aldminster Cathedral investigates the building’s dodgy lighting system, he finds stone erosion that will cost a fortune to fix. He first considers sell the headmaster’s magnificent listed house to the council for use as a community centre. There are social divisions within the town and the cathedral’s quarter is seen by some as superior and unwelcoming, a new social centre may help redress the balance. When the true cost of the renovation becomes apparent, Dean Hugh Cavendish considers closing the cathedral’s choir. The latter idea is abhorrent to headmaster Alexander Troy and organist Leo Beckford. Personalities ally themselves to one side of the argument or the other. Caught in the middle is chorister Henry Ashworth whose absent father lives in Saudi Arabia and whose mother Sally is dallying on the edge of an affair. Trollope is excellent at drawing this cast of characters, each fully rounded, each of which is engaging even when they are being awful. Like Ianthe, the Dean’s rebellious daughter, who fancies herself in love with Leo despite a lack of encouragement from him.
When a money-raising scheme is suggested that involves some of the Cathedral Close’s most unlikely characters, it is expected to fail. Henry becomes an unexpected star. One event leads to another, decisions must be made, marriages falter and professional courtesies are forgotten. In this small community, they all know each other’s business, politics becomes all-consuming; the finances of the cathedral, its place in the town, the accessibility of the choir to children from less advantaged families, and the rivalry around the town council boardroom table.
This novel is 35 years old but that doesn’t matter. I enjoyed it immensely.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...

[Mystica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Susan Howarth this was a change from the usual family sagas of this author. Here too human relationships formed the keynote part of the book but shadowed by the Cathedral, the Bishop, the Dean and the choir.



The cathedral is facing financial hardship. Like all old stately buildings maintenance is key, this has been neglected or not seen and the end result is an enormous outlay needed. On the other hand the choir has been an integral part of the Cathedral but it is also costing a great deal of money. The inhabitants of Aldminster are divided into two camps. Is the choir an anachronism in modern society, catering for an elite few who appreciate the music that is not appealing to everyone. Then there is the Dean's house. Massive enormous occupied by two people only. Should this be more open for use by a greater number of people.



Drawn into the story are Henry, the chorister who is destined to go places his mother and the organist, his grandfather and all the others who are integral to the story. Relationships are the cornerstone of the story - petty jealousies of the betrayed and lovelorn, the passion that is ignited by a loveless marriage, the loneliness and isolation that one can feel surrounded by many people and the feeling that you are out of date and out of time in a modern world which looks at everything with a more pragmatic and practical outlook.



All beautifully rendered in this story. All dovetailing neatly into a story which is very appealing and attractive.



Another pick from the Glen Waverley library for which I am eternally grateful. So many books so little time!

[Anne Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Joanna Trollope and it won’t be the last. I very much enjoyed watching the Close at Aldminster Cathedral fall apart. The Dean of the Cathedral is a very worldly clergyman who believes he has the best interests of the cathedral and everyone who works in it and for it at his heart. If only they would just do as they were told. He particularly finds the Headmaster of the King’s School, Alexander Troy particularly independent and therefore particularly annoying. Troy’s ally, the organist, is independent, annoying and divorced. He should never have been appointed. What starts out as a desire to clip their wings ends up escalating until the whole town is up in arms over the possible disbandment of the Cathedral choir. The tradition of boy trebles singing in cathedral choirs dates back over a thousand years. The purity of their unbroken voices is simply beautiful. The Choir is set in the early 1980’s and is an all boys’ choir. FYI today girls can join too.

The characters are what make this novel so entertaining. I believed in them and in the metamorphosis each undergoes. The novel is not challenging in any way but it is well written. I enjoyed stepping into a different time and a particular place to watch the goings on.

[Paul Emmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

An American, I happened to be visiting England when this novel was a best-seller there (it must have been the summer of 2002), bought a copy, began reading, and could not put it down. Reviewers who have dwelt on the romance/scandal/politics involved in the plot miss the main point, it seems to me, which is an encomium and celebration of the ever-fragile and threatened Anglican tradition of cathedral music. Too few such apologias exist nowadays, whether in fiction or in fact. Ms. Trollope wrote as absolutely passionately on this subject as it deserves, a fact apparent from the opening pages clear through to the closing words: "Henry sang."

Actually I bought three copies, suspecting that no matter how celebrated it might be in our mother country across the Atlantic, a book on this theme would be as unobtainable, and indeed unheard of, at home as if it never existed. And, except for a world-class online dragnet like Amazon, so it proved. Now, Americans like to read about romance, scandal, and politics as well as anyone. But the most exquisite sacred music? There's no market for that from sea to shining sea. I rest my case.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw a British series based on this book in the early nineties. I have always wanted to find the show and rewatch, and at last did. This book enchanted me, as I knew it would. The setting is a Boy Choir in a Cathedral town. The politics of the Church of England is prominently featured. One character is particularly well drawn. The ambitious wife of the archdeacon. When women were less empowered than now, they lived through husbands, controlling and pushing them to heights they may not have achieved alone. But that is sad. No one ends up happy in this situation. Another big difference between then and now is attitudes toward divorce. These characters act as if a child could be almost destroyed when the parents break up. Yes, that could happen, but we know now it is not inevitable and countless divorced parents cooperate for the best of the children.
If you are interested in Choral music and the CofE you will enjoy this book.
My favorite character was the mother. She had to be very tough to make her way out of a broken marriage and into a new relationship. Though she was not musical, she wholly supported her son in his young career.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joanna Trollope's "The Choir" had been on my "to read" list for sometime. I managed to find a copy in a used bookstore a while back and with choir starting up again, it seemed the right time to pick it up. The book deals with the choir school tradition in England, something we're not blessed with in North America, but the book asks about the relevance of traditional church music. A question that has not disappeared in the ensuing 30 years since the book was published, and one that is certainly not limited to England. "The Choir" is also something of a caricature of church politics, something that we all see on a regular basis, but completely run amok here. I dare say, it's an opportunity for us to shine a mirror on our worst selves and remember what we shouldn't be doing. All in all, I found "The Choir" interesting and enjoyable.

[Andie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The boys’ choir in a cathedral town is in danger of being abandoned because of a lack of funds as well as the immediate necessity of the cathedral needing a ne roof. The Deacon is determined to use the money the choir costs toward the cathedral’s physical repairs. However, a significant number of the townspeople want the choir to stay – notably the Deacon’s daughter who fancies herself in love with the choirmaster. She organizes a fun raising scheme to save the choir that is quite successful. The choirmaster, however, is in love with the married mother of his lead chorister, so trouble is ahead.

A lot of this book seems very old fashioned when one considers how unreligious Britain is today, ands the reader really needs to suspend a sense of reality in order to keep some of the hand wringing and soul searching from turning into the ridiculous.