The technique and development of Disraeli's novels

Abstract

This thesis reveals how Disraeli adapts and develops fictional techniques. The nature of the less complex of these is defined in Part I, using five early novels. Ch. I establishes a characteristic and recurring trio, the hero, strong woman and sage, and their changing relationships.
Ch. II analyses Disraeli's use of "doubles" and symmetry.
Ch. Ill describes his literary background with reference to the fashionable novel, psychological study and Byronic influence, and it rejects autobiographical interpretations.
Part II considers Disraeli's trilogy. Ch. IV is an analysis of the explicitly political Coningsby, laying particular emphasis on the novel's basic structure (the parallel between Coningsby and the "new" Tory party). Disraeli's incorporation of factual material in his fiction is introduced here. Ch. V. deals with the more socially concerned Sybil, extends the factual/fictional analysis and introduces Disraeli's increasing strength in embodying a novel's central theme - here in its language, in mysteries, misnamings, et al. Ch. VI treats Tancred as a failure, by virtue of its untenable central argument and fragmented style. Earlier works, Alroy and Iskander, illustrating Disraeli's previous attempts to deal with similar spiritual and racial questions, show the origins of the split between idealistic fervour and cynical mockery. Disraeli's inability to combine them in Tancred is examined.
Part III studies two novels in which the previously described techniques are perfected. Ch. VII shows that Lothair, its argument dramatized in its structure and embodied in a characteristic vocabulary, achieves what Tancred could not, and considers Disraeli's style as especially apt for the political novel. Ch. VIII shows how Disraeli examines historical change in Endymion and dramatizes interpretations— chance, will, destiny, et al. — in a vocabulary which allows sincere appreciation and mocking rejection to co-exist successfully.
The Conclusion brings the major techniques together and reveals their resemblance to each other.