Synthesized answer
The novel "Vivian Grey," written by a twenty-one-year-old Disraeli, is described as narrating the career of an "ambitious young man of rank" [1]. The passages suggest this youthful perspective is evident in Vivian Grey's outlook and actions. He is depicted as having "all the desires of a matured mind, of an experienced man, but without maturity and without experience" [5]. Furthermore, he begins to believe his career will be "brilliant" even at an age when others are still in formal education [3]. This is accompanied by a strong self-awareness of his own capabilities, believing he could "conceive much, and dare do more" [3].
The novel captures the "exact tone of the English drawing-room" and portrays "living characters" with "graceful manners and general air of being people of consequence" [1]. Vivian's ambition is highlighted as he is "endeavouring to become a great man in a hurry" [4], and he possesses an "honourable spirit and youthful ambition" [5]. His mind is described as being in the "plenitude of his ambition," seeking to obtain "magnificent ends" [5]. The text suggests this youthful ambition leads him to consider potential careers with impatience, dismissing "the Bar" as…
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From the book
is first work of fiction; and the young author was at once hailed as a master of his art by an almost unanimous press. In this, as in his subsequent books, it was not so much Disraeli’s notable skill as a novelist but rather his portrayal of the social and political life of the day that made him one of the most popular writers of his generation, and earned for him a lasting fame as a man of letters. In “Vivian Grey” is narrated the career of an ambitious young man of rank; and in this story the brilliant author has preserved to us the exact tone of the English drawing-room, as he so…
VIVIAN GREY By The Earl Of Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli The English Comédie Humaine Second Series [Illustration: frontispiece] [Illustration: titlepage] PUBLISHER’S NOTE. As a novelist, Benjamin Disraeli belongs to the early part of the nineteenth century. “Vivian Grey” (1826-27) and “Sybil” (1845) mark the beginning and the end of his truly creative period; for the two productions of his latest years, “Lothair” (1870) and “Endymion” (1880), add nothing to the characteristics of his earlier volumes except the changes of feeling and power which accompany old…
g come to the comfortable conclusion, that it was impossible that his career could be anything but the most brilliant. And truly, employed as he now was, with a peer of the realm, in a solemn consultation on that realm’s most important interests, at a time when creatures of his age were moping in Halls and Colleges, is it to be wondered at that he began to imagine that his theory was borne out by experience and by fact? Not that it must be supposed, even for a moment, that Vivian Grey was what the world calls conceited. Oh no! he knew the measure of his own mind, and had fathomed the…
f endeavouring to become a great man in a hurry. One such attempt in ten thousand may succeed: these are fearful odds. Admirer as you are of Lord Bacon, you may perhaps remember a certain parable of his, called ‘Memnon, or a youth too forward.’ I hope you are not going to be one of those sons of Aurora, ‘who, puffed up with the glittering show of vanity and ostentation, attempt actions above their strength.’ “You talk to me about the peculiarly active spirit of society; if the spirit of society be so peculiarly active, Mr. Vivian Grey should beware lest it outstrip him. Is…
? and the reader will, perhaps, murmur something about an honourable spirit and youthful ambition. The evil was great. The time drew nigh for Vivian to leave his home for Oxford, that is, for him to commence his long preparation for entering on his career in life. And now this person, who was about to be a pupil, this stripling, who was going to begin his education, had all the desires of a matured mind, of an experienced man, but without maturity and without experience. He was already a cunning reader of human hearts; and felt conscious that his was a tongue which was born to guide…
More questions about this book
- The text states "Vivian Grey" is "not a great novel" but "beyond question a marvelously true picture." What specific criteria for literary "greatness" versus historical "truth" are implied by this distinction, and how does the description of its content support this evaluation?
- Disraeli is lauded for preserving "the exact tone of the English drawing-room." Based on the brief opening description of Vivian's pampered infancy, what narrative elements or character details might already subtly begin to establish this specific social tone for the reader?
- The note emphasizes Disraeli's prominence as a statesman and how it "tended to obscure" his true literary period. How might Disraeli's dual identity as both a political figure and a novelist influence the reader's interpretation of his social and political commentary in "Vivian Grey," particularly concerning the "portrait gallery of notables"?
- The publisher places Disraeli's literary period alongside Dickens, Bulwer, Thackeray, and Scott. Considering the description of "Vivian Grey" as capturing "living characters... who charm us with their graceful manners," how does this portrayal align with or diverge from the typical social commentary and characterizations found in the works of his mentioned contemporaries?