The Warden

A mild-mannered cathedral clergyman who administers a small charitable hospital becomes the center of controversy when a reformer challenges the fairness of its endowment and the stipends paid to its bedesmen. The narrative traces his private conscience and domestic life, the pressure from self-interested pensioners and ambitious churchmen, municipal and ecclesiastical maneuvering in committees and courts, and the strain on familial relationships. Interwoven are portraits of cathedral society, debates over church law and charity administration, and the protagonist's slow, dignified confrontation with public accusation that leads to a painful personal decision and its aftermath.