The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1668: Chapter 49: The Rule Maker of Scotland Yard (Part 2)

Overall, Disraeli’s writing style is as pompous as his dressing. Just opening a book brings to mind the image of green shorts and a red vest.

Take ”Contarini Fleming” for example.

This book is more a gaudily decorated memoir Disraeli wrote for himself than a novel, at most with a veneer of fantasy literature.

The protagonist, Contarini, is of noble birth, melancholic since childhood, pondering the essence of life at five, writing poetry at ten, publishing a collection at fifteen, and at eighteen, he detests the world for not understanding him. Then, he went to college, published a slew of shocking political views, and, unsurprisingly, was expelled from school.

Afterwards, his father suggested he do something practical, so he became his father’s personal secretary, mingling in diplomatic circles for a few years, pondering how to save the Empire while finding time to brood.

The romance in the book is excessively saccharine, with dialogue between Contarini and his lover mostly consisting of lines like ”Why is fate so cruel?”, ”You don’t understand my loneliness,” and ”I would give up all of Europe for you” — it reads as if Napoleon and Goethe had exchanged diaries.

And the ending of the book is unusually standard: Contarini publishes a poetry collection, which is ruthlessly mocked by critics, is then forced to resign, and in a highly symbolic tempest, chooses to journey alone. Of course, he doesn’t die; rather, he’s reduced to a kind of exiled soul.

When this book was first written, there was controversy within ”British”, only out of friendship among peers, Great Dumas, Dickens, Arthur, and others refrained from being too blunt, but the implicit message was: if this book is published, the ending may not be pleasant.

However, Heine, who never got along with Disraeli, had no reason to tolerate him. The first thing Heine said after reading the book was: ”I read fifteen pages and found the protagonist staring out the window fourteen times, and the fifteenth time at the mirror. Then he said to the mirror, ’I am destined not to belong to this world.’ My goodness! Did you know? I almost fell off my chair!”

But although ”Contarini Fleming” received unanimous bad reviews from the editorial department, fortunately, Mr. Disraeli, no matter what, now has a certain readership as a great author.

So, while this book wasn’t well-received and didn’t sell well, it didn’t reach the level of universally bad reviews or failing to recoup costs.

In any case, ”Contarini Fleming” isn’t without merit. At least Sir Arthur Hastings, the family tutor at Kensington Palace, thought this book was quite suitable for student reading exercises.

If you can understand all the hidden inner drama in this book, you can likely graduate from reading comprehension.

No help for it, since the author of this book is quite a drama enthusiast himself.

And how is ”Alroy’s Wonderful Story” better than ”Contarini Fleming”?

In Arthur’s view, it is better in that, without careful observation, it’s hard to notice that it is still an autobiographical work by Disraeli.

For instance, Alroy had a deep bond with his sister Miriam. To save Miriam, he killed a local nobleman and was forced to flee into the wilderness. In the heights of the Caucasus Mountains, he met the High Priest of the Kabbalah, Jabast, who told him that to liberate the Jewish people and the Holy Land, he must first reclaim Solomon’s scepter, etc...

Arthur doesn’t dare to ascertain who Disraeli’s Jabast represents, but he would bet good money that the original for Miriam is Disraeli’s sister, Sarah.

Also, in the book, after Alroy liberated Hamadan and conquered Baghdad, he fell in love with a Muslim noblewoman. At this point, High Priest Jabast warned Alroy: ”You may be the King of Baghdad, but you cannot be Jewish at the same time.”

Jabast’s admonition had no effect, so he planned to ally with the Conservative Party to overthrow this apostate Messiah. Alroy thwarted this plot but was ridiculed by a Jewish radical due to his moderate stance.

In light of recent events, it’s hard not to grasp which Prussian Disraeli is satirizing here.

But rather than focusing on the detailed minutiae of the book, Arthur’s favorite part is that he discerned Disraeli’s political stance between the lines — Toryism, an artifact of the old era, is outdated, but that doesn’t mean I will lower myself to become a Whig Party member.

Compared to coming directly from Disraeli’s mouth, this kind of heartfelt revelation in works is more indicative of a person’s essence.

Given the current situation, if Disraeli’s thoughts don’t change drastically, Arthur’s friendship with him might be very long-lasting, which would manifest not only in personal relations but also in their careers.

The most straightforward embodiment of friendship is that this afternoon Arthur will personally visit and present Mr. Disraeli, his good brother, with eight hundred pounds of campaign funds, and Arthur’s vote in favor will always be on the Empire Publishing Company board’s resolution to support Disraeli’s election.

As for what to do this morning?

The rain in London had just ceased not long ago, the stone-paved ground not yet completely dried, and glistening droplets hung on the iron railings in front of the police station.