Coningsby
by Benjamin Disraeli
This is one of Direali's best novels, not as a story, but as an exploration of people, etiquette and principles. The plot is insignificant - it is slightly better than the device for combining character sketches and expressions of political and economic opinions; but it is always interesting and often bright. The motive behind the book is political. In short, it is an attempt to show that the political emancipation of England must be sought in its aristocracy, but that this aristocracy is morally weak and socially ineffective, and that it must correct its ways in order to carry out its duty to the state. Interest in this aspect of the book, of course, was largely passed by the political conditions it reflected. However, as a picture of aristocratic life in England in the first half of the nineteenth century, it enjoys lasting significance and appeal.
