Sybil by Benjamin Disraeli
"Sybil" by Benjamin Disraeli, published in 1845, is a historical novel that explores the social and political landscape of Victorian England, particularly focusing on the divide between the upper classes and the working class. The narrative follows Charles Egremont, a young member of the Conservative Party, who becomes increasingly aware of the dire conditions faced by the working population while navigating his own family's political ambitions and societal expectations. The story is set against the backdrop of the political turmoil surrounding the Reform Bill and the rise of the Chartist movement, which sought to improve the rights of the working class.
As Egremont meets various characters, including the idealistic Sybil Gerard—daughter of a Chartist leader—he becomes drawn into the struggles of the working class and their quest for reform. The novel delves into themes of love, class disparity, and political activism, as it juxtaposes Egremont’s privileged background with the harsh realities of industrial life in towns like Mowbray. Throughout the narrative, Disraeli presents a critique of the social order and advocates for a greater understanding and compassion between classes. The complex relationships and conflicts highlight the socio-political tensions of the era, making "Sybil" a significant commentary on the two nations of England: the affluent and the impoverished.
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Sybil by Benjamin Disraeli
First published: 1845
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Political realism
Time of plot: 1837-1843
Locale: London and the north of England
Principal characters
Sybil Gerard , a young womanCharles Egremont , younger brother to Lord Marney, a member of ParliamentLord Marney , a wealthy landownerLady Deloraine , his motherWalter Gerard , Sybil’s father, a Chartist leaderStephen Morley , a Chartist and an editorBaptist Hatton , an antiquarianBishop Hatton , his brother, a locksmithDevilsdust , one of the people of MowbrayMick Radley “Dandy Mick ,”, his friendJohn Trotman , “Chaffing Jack ,” an innkeeperLord de Mowbray , supposed lord of Mowbray CastleMr. St. Lys , vicar of MowbrayMr. Trafford , a manufacturer, Gerard’s employerUrsula Trafford , Lady Superior of Mowbray Convent, sister to Trafford and mentor to Sybil
The Story:
In the spring of 1837, the Reform Bill is in force for five years and the king, William IV, is dying. A new election is called as the youthful Queen Victoria ascends the throne. One of the new Conservative Party members of Parliament is Charles Egremont, younger brother of Lord Marney. Their mother, Lady Marney, set up her son’s election and helped to defray some expenses. Egremont asks his brother to defray the rest.
While visiting the ruins of Marney Abbey, Egremont meets two unusual men, Walter Gerard and Stephen Morley, and hears Gerard’s daughter, Sybil, sing. Although only brief, the meeting makes a deep impression on him. Egremont, with other family members, then goes to visit Mowbray Castle, the home of the de Mowbrays. Lord Marney wants his brother to marry Lady Joan, heir to the rich estates, thus solving Egremont’s financial problems. Egremont hardly notices her.
The castle stands just outside Mowbray, a large manufacturing town in the north of England. The wretched life and amusements of the working people contrast with the high life of the castle. The only link is Mr. St. Lys, the reforming vicar of Mowbray, himself the younger son of aristocracy.
Egremont becomes interested in the political views of Gerard and Morley, who live just outside Mowbray, and he wishes to see the real living conditions of the people. Visiting Warner, an impoverished handloom weaver, with St. Lys, Egremont meets Sybil, who regularly engages in acts of charity out of Mowbray Convent.
On the Marneys’ return home, the two brothers have a terrible argument about expenses and Marney’s wife. Egremont walks out and, Parliament being in recess, rents a cottage near Gerard and takes on the alias of Mr. Franklin, so that he can more easily hold lengthy discussions with Gerard, Morley, and Sybil. He also visits a nearby model factory run by the Traffords who, like the Gerards, are Roman Catholics. Morley’s and Gerard’s views are widely different even though both are active Chartists (a working-class movement for political reform). They are both also interested in pursuing certain claims to the Mowbray estates and are seeking a Mr. Baptist Hatton, an antiquarian, whose previous research unearthed some evidence that the Gerards are the rightful owners. Morley discovers Hatton’s brother in a lawless manufacturing area called Wodgate.
Egremont is then called back to London by his mother’s remarriage to Lord Deloraine. Parliament sits but remains deadlocked. The Chartists march to London to present their petition to Parliament and to hold an alternative assembly. Gerard is elected a delegate with Morley and brings Sybil with him to the capital. Various chance meetings take place: Morley discovers Hatton, now grown wealthy, but who is willing to take up Gerard’s claims again. Morley and Gerard call on Egremont and recognize him as Franklin. Egremont also meets Sybil on a separate encounter. The recognition of Egremont puts a distance between him and his former friends, as does his disagreement with their political views. Even so, Egremont declares his love for Sybil. She rejects him, declaring that the difference in class is unbridgeable and citing her desire to be a nun.
The Charter is finally presented to Parliament and is met with little interest or debate. Some disillusioned Chartists riot in Birmingham, and the government determines to clamp down. Egremont learns of the dangers to the Chartist leaders still left in London and warns Sybil, and she warns her father, but too late. Both are arrested. Egremont obtains her release, but her father is eventually sent to prison at York for eighteen months. Morley declares his love for Sybil. Even Hatton sees Sybil as a future wife, especially if the Gerard claims are substantiated. The vital evidence for this is locked up in Mowbray Castle, it is discovered.
An economic depression follows. Factories close or put their workers on short-time. In Lancashire there are widespread strikes. In Mowbray, two of the activists, Devilsdust and Dandy Mick, join trade unions and help plan a national strike. In nearby Wodgate, “Bishop” Hatton is converted to Chartism and immediately begins a crusade, marching on Mowbray with his workers. The Mowbray people join them, closing down the factories, including Trafford’s, though only after a confrontation in which Gerard, now released from prison, acts as mediator.
Hatton and Morley are at the scene, and, through Devilsdust and Dandy Mick, direct the mob’s attention to Mowbray Castle. While it is being attacked, Lord Marney’s yeomanry, setting out to quell the mob, meet Gerard leading a quiet demonstration. Marney acts in a high-handed manner; Gerard is killed and, in the ensuing melee, Marney, also. Another group of yeomanry, led by Egremont, retakes Mowbray Castle, though not before the vital documents are seized. Although Morley is also killed, Mick takes the documents to the nearby convent to be given to Sybil. She, meanwhile, having previously gone to the castle, helps save its inhabitants before being trapped by the rioters. Egremont dashes in to save her.
In a final scene, Egremont, now Lord Marney, marries Sybil, whose claim to the Mowbray estates is proved. Devilsdust and Dandy Mick are set up in business and are about to prosper.
Bibliography
Braun, Thom. Disraeli the Novelist. Winchester, Mass.: Allen & Unwin, 1981. Concentrates on Disraeli’s career as a novelist rather than as a politician. Braun seeks to reconstruct his life through his novels and to show his development as a novelist. Chapter 5 particularly relates Sybil: Or, The Two Nations to the political events in Disraeli’s life.
Cazamian, Louis. The Social Novel in England, 1830-1850. Translated by Martin Fido. Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1973. Cazamian’s book is the classic study of the subject. Sybil: Or, The Two Nations is fully treated, along with Disraeli’s other two social novels. Includes bibliography and index.
Flavin, Michael. Benjamin Disraeli: The Novel as Political Discourse. Portland, Oreg.: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. Views Disraeli’s novels as a “breeding ground” for his Conservative political ideas and activities.
Gallagher, Catherine. The Industrial Reformation of English Fiction: Social Discourse and Narrative Form, 1832-1867. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985. Surveys the whole field of the industrial novel, with an excellent introductory discussion of “The Condition of England” question. Chapter 8 deals extensively with Sybil: Or, The Two Nations. Notes, bibliography, index.
Ridley, Jane. The Young Disraeli, 1804-1846. London: Sinclair-Stevenson, 1995. Updated biography, and one of the most objective. Draws extensively from letters and papers and demonstrates clearly that, although Egremont may represent Disraeli’s political views, he does not represent Disraeli’s actual life.
Schwarz, Daniel R. Disraeli’s Fiction. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1979. Seeks to establish Disraeli’s skill and importance as a novelist, describing how writing fiction actually helped form Disraeli’s character.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. “Disraeli’s Romanticism: Self-Fashioning in the Novels.” In The Self-Fashioning of Disraeli, 1818-1851, edited by Charles Richmond and Paul Smith. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Schwarz’s analyses of Disraeli’s novels is included in this collection of essays that examine the life and career of the young Disraeli.
Ulrich, John McAllister. “The ’Recovery’ of the Past: History and (Self-) Representation in Benjamin Disraeli’s Sybil: Or, The Two Nations.” In Signs of Their Times: History, Labor, and the Body in Cobbett, Carlyle, and Disraeli. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2002. An examination of how Disraeli, Thomas Carlyle, and William Cobbett reacted to the economic and social crises in Victorian England by writing books in which history, labor, and the body were not signs of their times but of social stability and meaning.