Lothair

Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield, 1804-188Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 864K words
Chapters: 87

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Lothair by Earl of Beaconsfield Benjamin DisraeliAuthor: Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield, 1804-1881,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Apr 1, 2005

Editor's review

Lothair is a long novel published in 1870 by the British statesman and writer Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield, and belongs to the Victorian social-political novel. Its main thread is the growth and choices of a young noble heir, linked to upper-class British society, religious controversy, and European political turmoil, with a clear flavor of contemporary debate. Disraeli served twice as prime minister, and his political experience gives the novel a vivid sense of immediacy in its depiction of power operations, factional relations, and social etiquette; readers can observe the world of ideas and social landscape of the 19th-century British elite. The Gutenberg edition is a public-domain English e-book, free and easily available. Note that the work contains much discussion and moves slowly; its value lies more in historical understanding and stylistic experience than in plot tension in the modern sense. It is suitable as supplementary reading for Victorian literature and British political history.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying Victorian fiction and British political history
Those interested in 19th-century British aristocratic society and religious issues
Advanced English readers hoping to broaden their reading of public-domain English classics

Not a good fit for

General fiction readers seeking tight plotting and a fast reading experience
Beginners not yet proficient in English reading who need extensive annotation
Readers impatient with political discussion and long dialogue

Reading tips

First learn about Disraeli's political identity and the British religious and political background around 1870
Read the novel as material on social customs and political debate, not as a purely plot-driven novel
Skim discussion passages and focus on tracking changes in the protagonist's personal relationships
Every few chapters, review a table of characters' positions to avoid confusing factional relationships

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Who is the author Disraeli?

Benjamin Disraeli was a 19th-century British Conservative politician who served twice as prime minister and was also a novelist. Lothair is one of his later works, and his political experience clearly informs its depiction of upper-class society and power relations.

How difficult is this book?

It is a Victorian long novel with substantial discussion and dialogue, and the English original poses a challenge for non-native readers. It is best attempted after gaining experience reading 19th-century English fiction, or read with background materials and annotation tools.

Why is it described as more of a political-social novel?

The work revolves around a young nobleman's choice of faith and social stance, involving religious controversy, European politics, and upper-class British social circles. Discussion is heavy and the plot serves the expression of ideas, so it is closer to a social-political novel than a simple love story.

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About the author

Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield, 1804-188 Author

Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield (1804–188), was an English novelist and statesman. Public information is limited, and the details of his life cannot be fully set out in this entry. The collection holds nineteen of his works, including Sybil, Or, The Two Nations; Henrietta Temple: A Love Story; Vivian Grey; Coningsby Or, The New Generation; Endymion; Venetia; The Voyage of Captain Popanilla; and Lothair. These works draw largely on British political and social life, often set against the aristocracy, party conflict, and class divisions, and combine love plots with satire, marked by witty language and lively dialogue. The idea of "the two nations" put forward in Sybil has become widely known as a phrase for the social gulf between rich and poor. His novels are both readable and offer a literary perspective on nineteenth-century British political culture.