Sybil, or The Two Nations
(1845)
A novel from a man who became a conservative prime minister, then went to the House of Lords as Lord Beaconsfield.
“Two nations; between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other’s habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones, or inhabitants of different planets; who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a different food, are ordered by different manners, and are not governed by the same laws.”
Set in 1837-1844. After a slightly slow start, we see a panoramic picture of the life of the rich, contrasted with that of the Midlands poor. Can love survive this class division? Will the Chartist protesters get their rights?
Note:
Disraeli has a habit of capitalising names and concepts. (He meant it –it wasn’t me forgetting to italicise the PG source.) Fortunately, he seems to stop doing this about halfway through the book. At times his spelling is unorthodox. I have used my paper copy to proof the text and have occasionally made corrections, using the paper copy as a guide.
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