Venetia
Venetia is a minor novel by Benjamin Disraeli, published in 1837, the year he was first elected to the House of Commons.
The novel is a lightweight romantic fantasy. A contemporary reviewer, writing in an 1854 issue of the New Monthly Review, declared that he "liked it least of all Disraeli's works."
Lord Byron and Shelley figure in its pages, under different names and different worldly circumstances from those in which they actually lived. We do not consider either portrait well drawn, and that of Shelley especially defective; but still Venetia, like all that Disraeli has written, contains much that is vivid and beautiful, and will be read with interest and delight by every man of taste.
Michael Flavin's Benjamin Disraeli: The Novel as a Political Discourse suggests that Venetia was largely a commercial endeavour for Disraeli, who was deep in debt at the time that he wrote it.
In Byron and the Victorians, Andrew Elfenbein discusses Venetia in terms of Disraeli's presenting himself as "the moral, political and literary successor to Byron, by manipulating the representation of Byron's sexuality", making him straight instead of bisexual and portraying him as having steady but distant male friendships. He says the novel can best be described as "kooky" because of its confused and confusing portrayals of both Byron and Shelley, giving each traits and life circumstances actually possessed by the other.
1100215951
Venetia
Venetia is a minor novel by Benjamin Disraeli, published in 1837, the year he was first elected to the House of Commons.
The novel is a lightweight romantic fantasy. A contemporary reviewer, writing in an 1854 issue of the New Monthly Review, declared that he "liked it least of all Disraeli's works."
Lord Byron and Shelley figure in its pages, under different names and different worldly circumstances from those in which they actually lived. We do not consider either portrait well drawn, and that of Shelley especially defective; but still Venetia, like all that Disraeli has written, contains much that is vivid and beautiful, and will be read with interest and delight by every man of taste.
Michael Flavin's Benjamin Disraeli: The Novel as a Political Discourse suggests that Venetia was largely a commercial endeavour for Disraeli, who was deep in debt at the time that he wrote it.
In Byron and the Victorians, Andrew Elfenbein discusses Venetia in terms of Disraeli's presenting himself as "the moral, political and literary successor to Byron, by manipulating the representation of Byron's sexuality", making him straight instead of bisexual and portraying him as having steady but distant male friendships. He says the novel can best be described as "kooky" because of its confused and confusing portrayals of both Byron and Shelley, giving each traits and life circumstances actually possessed by the other.
26.99 In Stock
Venetia

Venetia

by Benjamin Disraeli
Venetia

Venetia

by Benjamin Disraeli

Paperback

$26.99 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    In stock. Ships in 1-2 days.
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

Venetia is a minor novel by Benjamin Disraeli, published in 1837, the year he was first elected to the House of Commons.
The novel is a lightweight romantic fantasy. A contemporary reviewer, writing in an 1854 issue of the New Monthly Review, declared that he "liked it least of all Disraeli's works."
Lord Byron and Shelley figure in its pages, under different names and different worldly circumstances from those in which they actually lived. We do not consider either portrait well drawn, and that of Shelley especially defective; but still Venetia, like all that Disraeli has written, contains much that is vivid and beautiful, and will be read with interest and delight by every man of taste.
Michael Flavin's Benjamin Disraeli: The Novel as a Political Discourse suggests that Venetia was largely a commercial endeavour for Disraeli, who was deep in debt at the time that he wrote it.
In Byron and the Victorians, Andrew Elfenbein discusses Venetia in terms of Disraeli's presenting himself as "the moral, political and literary successor to Byron, by manipulating the representation of Byron's sexuality", making him straight instead of bisexual and portraying him as having steady but distant male friendships. He says the novel can best be described as "kooky" because of its confused and confusing portrayals of both Byron and Shelley, giving each traits and life circumstances actually possessed by the other.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9789368094647
Publisher: Double 9 Books
Publication date: 11/01/2024
Pages: 428
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.95(d)

About the Author

Benjamin Disraeli was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was born on December 21, 1804, and died on April 19, 1881. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice. He was one of the most important people in making the modern Conservative Party, helping to set its policies and define its wide reach. People remember Disraeli for his strong voice in world affairs, his political fights with William Ewart Gladstone, the leader of the Liberal Party, and his one-nation conservatism, also called "Tory democracy." He made the Conservatives the party that most people thought of when they heard the words "British Empire" and "military action to grow it," which were both things that British voters liked. Disraeli began writing novels in 1826, and his last one, Endymion, came out just before he died at the age of 76. Over the course of his life, Disraeli's writing and politics influenced each other. This made him "one of the most prominent figures in Victorian public life" and led to a lot of commentaries. Disraeli thought about running for office after he became a Christian. Since Sampson Gideon in 1770, when he was elected as an MP, there have been Jewish MPs.
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews