Sybil (novel)
Author | Benjamin Disraeli |
---|---|
Language | English |
Series | Young England trilogy |
Genre | Fiction |
Publisher | Henry Colburn |
Publication date | 1845 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Sybil, or The Two Nations is an 1845 novel by
Political context
The book is a roman à thèse, or a novel with a thesis — which was meant to create a furor over the squalor that was plaguing England's working class cities.
Disraeli's interest in this subject stemmed from his interest in the
Chartism demanded:
- Universal suffrage for men
- Secret ballot
- Removal of property requirements for Parliament
- Salaries for Members of Parliament(MPs)
- Equal electoral districts
- Annually elected Parliament
Disraeli was particularly inspired by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Children's Employment, which published a report interviewing working children in 1842. Sybil examines the moral corruption inherent in forcing children to work under such unpleasant conditions. The characters of the sixteen-year-old Dandy Mick and Devilsdust, who is abandoned by his mother and left to fend for himself, are particularly emblematic of this.[2]
Characters
- Sybil Gerard
- Charles Egremont
- Lord Marney
- Lord Henry Sydney
- Lord de Mowbray
- Rigby
- Taper
- Tadpole
- Lady St. Julians
- Marchioness of Deloraine
- Baptist Hatton
- Aubrey St. Lys
- Sidonia
- Devilsdust
- Dandy Mick
- Walter Gerard (Sybil's father)
- Stephen Morley
- Mr. Mountchesney
Adaptations
Disraeli's novel was made into a silent film called Sybil in 1921, starring Evelyn Brent and Cowley Wright.
The Difference Engine, a 1990 steampunk novel written by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, contains alternate versions of several characters from Sybil, including Sybil Gerard, Walter Gerard, Charles Egremont and Dandy Mick. It also features Disraeli himself as a character.
See also
- One Nation Conservatism
- Coningsby (novel)
- Tancred (novel)
Bibliography
Editions
There is no critical edition of Disraeli's novels. Most editions use the text of Longmans Collected Edition (1870–71).[3]
- Disraeli, Benjamin Sybil. (Harmondsworth: ISBN 0-14-043134-9. Edited with an introduction by Rab Butlerand notes by Thom Braun.
- Disraeli, Benjamin Sybil. (Oxford: ISBN 0-19-283693-5. Edited with an introduction and notes by Sheila Smith.
Works of criticism
- Braun, Thom Disraeli The Novelist. (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1981) ISBN 0 04 809017 4.
References
- ^ Carlyle, Thomas. "Chartism" – via Wikisource.
- ^ Coveney, Peter (1957). "From Coleridge to Dickens". The Image of Childhood. Great Britain: Penguin Books. pp. 91–111.
- ISBN 0-14-043134-9.
External links
- Sybil at Standard Ebooks
- archive.org:
- Sybil, or The Two Nations at Project Gutenberg
- Sybil public domain audiobook at LibriVox