# Dr. Stanhope — Barchester Towers character guide

> Dr. Stanhope in Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Dr. Vesey Stanhope, old Stanhope

**First appearance:** 0008-ix-the-stanhope-family

## Snapshot

A prebendary who has spent years basking in Italy, he returns to Barchester only when his conscience and his income finally require it.

## Who they are

Dr. Vesey Stanhope holds a comfortable stall in the cathedral but has long preferred Como to his duties, leaving his livings to run themselves. His clever daughter Charlotte has encouraged his indolence and quietly smothered his occasional wish to come home, since his church income is all he has. His return drags the beautiful, scandalous Madeline and the idle Bertie into Barchester society, unsettling the town's clerical equilibrium.

## In the story

### [War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barchester_towers_se/chapters/vi-war)

The canon in residence, but absent in Italy collecting butterflies; his place in the pulpit is taken by Mr. Slope.

### [The Stanhope Family](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barchester_towers_se/chapters/ix-the-stanhope-family)

An absentee clergyman who has lived in Italy for twelve years, now forced to return to Barchester by Bishop Proudie. He is a bon vivant, indifferent to his duties, and forgives everything except inattention to his dinner.

### [The Stanhopes at Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barchester_towers_se/chapters/xlv-the-stanhopes-at-home)

Furious at Bertie's failure to marry Eleanor, he berates Charlotte and expresses despair over his family's behavior.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barchester_towers_se/characters/dr_stanhope
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barchester_towers_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/barchester_towers_se/characters