Coningsby, or The New Generation

Social upheaval in 1830s Britain

(5 stars)

JD

Disraeli's novels are not well crafted, however they contain some of the most fascinating material about the cultural and political life of the English aristocracy in 19th century Britain. Coningsby begins with a lot of meandering but skip to Book 3 Chapters 3&4 for a discussion of the Poor Laws as an example of the gems that are scattered throughout the book. The past really is a foreign country. There is so much to learn about our ancestors' peculiar ideas from this author. And Nicholas Clifford's reading is excellent.Many thanks!

Coningsby

(5 stars)

TheBookworm

This was one of those books that I've always thought that i should read, but couldn't get past the first few pages. Thank goodness for Librivox! The novel isn't sure if it's a coming-of-age tale or a lesson in British political/economic history. Consequently, a found myself Googling Whig/Tory politics, the Reform bill, Chartism, etc., and got lost in the politics all the same. D'Israeli was the consummate politician of his day so his insights into the politics of his generation are fascinating. The writing is a bit stilted even for this era (surely no one ever actually talked like that...) but it's an enjoyable read all the same. One notable character in the book is the wealthy Jewish philosopher/adventurer Sidonia, who expounds many of the writer's own views. A Christian convert, D'Israeli was of Sephardi Jewish descent. As usual, Nicholas Clifford does a good job as narrator, not injecting himself into this 17-hour recording and making sense of all those run-on sentences. Thanks Nicholas! TheBookworm (Manchester, UK)

Boring in Parts, but Great Reader

(4 stars)

TwinkieToes

Yep, Disraeli is no Dickens or Trollope. There are lots of passages of politics, as was expected. But even his passages of narrative and description bored me. I didn't feel as emotionally connected to the characters as I do with other authors. Still, I'm glad I listened. It was a bit of an education, and there's enough story there to keep me interested. The reader is excellent.

Glad he switched careers

(3 stars)

Asger Thi

Nice and high quality recording of a mediocre work. At parts the book is engaging, but the political swings and motives are boring. Ironic that politics eventually became Disraeli's career. Drama is good around the middle books, but gets terribly predictable towards the end. Were I not reading it for a class, I would probably have put the book away earlier.

(3 stars)

Elaine

Nor what I expected; long passages of narrative with little dialogue; however well written given his age and I’ll try the second one in the trilogy