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Sybil: or The Two Nations (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Benjamin Disraeli , Sheila Smith
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: �9.99
Price: �6.89 & FREE Delivery in the UK on orders over �10. Details
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Book Description

11 Sep 2008 Oxford World's Classics
Sybil, or The Two Nations is one of the finest novels to depict the social problems of class-ridden Victorian England. The book's publication in 1845 created a sensation, for its immediacy and readability brought the plight of the working classes sharply to the attention of the reading public. The 'two nations' of the alternative title are the rich and poor, so disparate in their opportunities and living conditions, and so hostile to each other. that they seem almost to belong to different contries. The gulf between them is given a poignant focus by the central romantic plot concerning the love of Charles Egremont, a member of the landlord class, for Sybil, the poor daughter of a militant Chartist leader.
ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

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Product details

  • Paperback: 480 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks (11 Sep 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0199539057
  • ISBN-13: 978-0199539055
  • Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 121,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

3.3 out of 5 stars
3.3 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Ever the Two Nations 29 Sep 2013
Format:Paperback
As an introduction to the background of Disraeli's political thought and personal positioning in a highly stratified society, Sybil is a great success, thanks also to the Editor's brilliant notes. As a novel, it is neither as exciting nor as engaging as anything by Charles Dickens, and as an attempt at social commentary in a novel form, it is both more pretentious and stereotypical, and really speechifies.

Disraeli and Dickens share a number of similarities in autobiographical detail, and yet it is no wonder that they each eventually took the paths that they did. The storyline of Sybil is quite similar to the Bildungsromane of Dickens. The protagonist, Charles Marney, suffers from disillusionment with the social status-quo, find beauty in a poor girl, follows her father's quest for social justice, meets snobbery and inverted snobbery, and finally holds the poor girl in his arms, whose fortunes have meanwhile remarkably lucked out.

Actually it's cheeseyer than Dickens, more ridiculously contrived and yet more serious at the same time. But I think it is notable both that Sybil becomes the focus of the narrative and thus lead character for several chapters, which is an honour Dickens never gave to his women, and also that as the eponymous heroine she might have expected more than that. Obviously, it is not about Sybil. It is a platform for Disraeli.

Disraeli's role in and contribution to British politics is unique for many reasons, and the Editor highlights the idiosyncrasy of his worldview. Of course, Disraeli was the pioneer of One-Nationism, an idea which both Ed Miliband and David Cameron have been wrestling with and repackaging for today's electorate. But Disraeli perhaps misjudged the Essex Man of his own day.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Dismal Book 2 Jan 2013
By Mrs. K. A. Wheatley TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE VOICE
Format:Paperback
I was kind of hoping that this would be a Mrs. Gaskell North and South/Ruth type affair. Sadly it was not. The plot, such as it is, is extremely thin and only inserted at the last minute where absolutely necessary. The heroine, Sybil, is a one dimensional holier than thou character with the personality of a wet sock. Her true love, Egremont is the second son of an aristocrat who longs to be of the people, mainly so that he can kiss Sybil. When Sybil finds out he is a class traitor it is all up with him, and there are extraordinary plot leaps to reunite the lovers in perfect harmony, most of which take place hurriedly in the last five pages of the book when Disraeli remembers that it is a book he is meant to be writing and not a tract about the Chartists and the make up of the political parties. This tract/ party political broadcast, takes up the other three hundred and fifty pages of the book and makes for excessively dull reading, especially, if, as I have, you have read Anthony Trollope's triumphant Palliser novels which cover a lot of the same issues but with a thousand times more brio and excitement.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected 21 Jan 2012
Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase
Now this was totally unexpected! I decided to read it because it is a classic and once I was used to the old fashioned writing I found it engrossing and wonderfully written. Absolutely recommend it to anybody and everyone.
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Amazon.com: 3.5 out of 5 stars  2 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Still relevant 30 Nov 2013
By daryl r martin - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
The novel depicts the story of two characters (Sybil & Egremont) as two sides of opposing factions (Chartists and the aristocracy) but in the end really neither belong to either side. Its a great story showing the virtues and faults on both sides something that is rare today when society seems so polarized. My favorite quote- "we live in an age when to be young and to be indifferent can no longer be synonymous". The beginning is a bit slow but it is definitely worth the read.
2.0 out of 5 stars Aww 31 Oct 2013
By wenyi Zhao - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase
So hard to get through even. The first two chapters are so boring, and it gets better within 3rd chapter.
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