Adapted for the acclaimed PBS series, THE CHOIR is a novel about an English town that has at its center a private school, a historic cathedral and a thriving boys' choir. Aldminster finds itself in the midst of a crisis that could change everything when the cathedral falls into dangerous disrepair with no funds readily available. Stepping into the fray are Frank Ashworth, an old-style politician who believes the school and choir are too elitist, and whose grandson happens to be the star soloist of the choir, and the power-deluded dean, Hugh Cavendish, who wants to save the cathedral even at the cost of the choir itself. On the other side is Alexander Troy, headmaster and husband trying to deal with the unexplained absence of his wife, and Leo Beckford, choirmaster and a man who finds himself in love with a married woman, Sally Ashworth, mother of the golden-voiced Henry.

While the plot's impetus may be the plight of the choir, what makes this book really sing are Trollope's complicated characters. Each one has to face his or her own life, and failings, before being able to contribute to the fight. As with all her novels, Trollope's peripheral characters are just as intriguing as the main ones. Amongst others, the dean's children provide both comic relief and dramatic tension, particularly the uninhibited Ianthe, who owns part of an unorthodox record company and who is herself madly in love with Leo Beckford. Church, school and community politics play a large part in the story, as do the old stand-bys of love, friendship and jealousy. However, even the most typical topics take on a razor-sharp edge at the point of Trollope's pen.

   --- Reviewed by Jami Edwards


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