Riassunto
Riassunto di Schizzi
A chi è rivolto
Readers who like old romances, tales of Eastern travel, ruins of ancient Egypt, quick conversation scenes and the early thinking of a famous politician, all gathered in one varied collection.
Che cos’è questo libro
Sketches gathers short pieces by Benjamin Disraeli, who died in 1881 and who wrote novels long before he led the British government. The book moves between worlds. It holds two romantic tales, a Dresden conversation piece, reports from Egypt, Syria and Constantinople, a study of an Egyptian general at war, and a political pamphlet on the English constitution.
What you gain is a view of a restless, curious young mind. You meet lovers in a feuding valley, a consul's daughter on a sunny island, and a wealthy baron whose boredom needs a cure. You stand among the columns of Karnak and watch a campaign unfold in Syria. You also hear the opinions that later shaped a statesman. The first key point is the book's opening tale, a brief romance set between two rival castles.
In questo riassunto
- 1A feud, a shrine and a pigeonFree
- 2A secret engagement on a sunny island
- 3A bored baron meets a clever doctor
- 4How Ibrahim Pasha conquered Syria
- 5Egypt, Lebanon and the Bosphorus observed
- 6The Spirit of Whiggism defends English institutions
Punto chiave 1 di 6
A feud, a shrine and a pigeon
The collection opens with a short romance set in a valley divided by an old feud. On one height stands Charolois Castle, and on the other stands Branchimont. The Count of Charolois lost his only son in a tournament, killed by the late Baron of Branchimont, and the grieving father took the baron's life in return. Now the count's daughter, Lady Imogene, meets the new baron, Lothair, in secret at her dead brother's shrine.
Their whispers there set the plot moving. Lothair begs her to flee to Italy, where his cousin the Duke of Milan rules. Imogene fears the cost, yet she adores him. Her small page, Theodore, who dreams of becoming a squire and growing a beard, notices Rufus, the count's huntsman, slipping into the woods. The boy's fear proves right, because the count shuts his daughter in a high tower.
Locked away, Imogene has only her mandolin and a sour servant named Martha. Then a snow white pigeon named Mignon lands in her room with a letter from Lothair under its wing. Each day the bird carries news and plans back and forth. The lovers invent schemes, from bribing Martha to sending Theodore in disguise as a girl, and none seems safe. For a while the tower feels less like a prison and more like a place of hope.
But Rufus has the sharpest eye for birds in the county, and he begins to follow the pigeon's flight. The story turns on one night and a rope of shawls let down a steep rock face. The tale is brief and told in a high, breathless voice, and the narrator speaks straight to the characters as events close in. It dwells on love caught between two proud houses, and its pace carries you quickly toward the end.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about Schizzi
What is Sketches by Benjamin Disraeli about?
It is a collection of varied pieces. Two romantic tales, a Dresden conversation, travel sketches of Egypt, Syria, the Bosphorus and Munich, an essay on Ibrahim Pasha's Syrian campaign, and a political pamphlet on the English constitution.
Who is Mr. Ferrers in Henrietta?
Ferrers is a reserved, well traveled Englishman who lands on the consul's island with no letter of introduction. He charms the consul's daughter Henrietta, yet keeps his true identity secret, which drives the tale.
What is The Spirit of Whiggism?
It is a political pamphlet in six short chapters. Disraeli argues that the Whig party has always sought rule by a few great families and that the English constitution protects liberty better than reform schemes.
Is Sketches a true story or fiction?
It mixes both. The tales of Imogene and Henrietta and the Dresden conversation are fiction, while the Egypt, Syria and Munich pieces report places and events from the writer's own travels and from the Syrian campaign.
Is Sketches easy to read?
The pieces are short and self contained, so you can take them one at a time. The tales move quickly, the travel scenes are vivid, and the pamphlet is written in clear, argumentative paragraphs.