Story summary
Samenvatting van Coningsby; of, de Nieuwe Generatie
- 8 min. leestijd
- 10 parts
- Binnenkort te beluisteren
A boy at Eton meets a cold grandfather, a scheming guardian and a rider with a plan to change England.
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Coningsby; of, de Nieuwe Generatie in het kort
Samenvatting: 8 min leestijd
- Leestijd
- Ongeveer 10 h 25 min8 h 15 min fast, 12 h 25 min slow
- Lengte
- 148.900 woorden
- Bibliotheekniveau
- Gemiddeld longer sentences, everyday words
- Voor het eerst verschenen
- 1844by Benjamin Disraeli
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). Hoelang het duurt om de klassiekers te lezen · Bijgewerkt
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Coningsby; of, de Nieuwe Generatie in short
Coningsby follows a gifted orphan from Eton to the edge of public life, and it argues that England has lost its beliefs. The old parties fight for office, the aristocracy has forgotten its duties, and the new industrial towns grow without guidance. Young men, trained by friendship and bold ideas, might supply what is missing.
What Coningsby; of, de Nieuwe Generatie is about
What happens when a clever, kind boy is summoned from Eton to meet the grandfather who let his mother die alone? The first thing the great lord asks him is how he likes school. The boy bursts into tears, and the old man decides he is a softhead.
Benjamin Disraeli published Coningsby, or The New Generation, in 1844. He wanted to show that the Tory party had lost its principles and that young men of a new kind could win them back. He wrapped his argument in a story of elections, castles, factories and love. You get a boy's rise, a bitter family feud, a forbidden love, and a gallery of schemers and prophets.
Voor wie is het?. This is for readers who enjoy political satire, sharp portraits of Victorian high society, young heroes with big ideas, and a love story set against rival families and rival classes.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
A schoolboy is summoned to meet his grandfather
The story opens in May 1832, in a London house that serves as a Tory headquarters. A boy of about thirteen waits there. He is Harry Coningsby, a bright, open-faced Etonian, and the man who comes to fetch him is Mr. Rigby.
Coningsby is an orphan. His father was cut off by Lord Monmouth, the richest nobleman in England, for marrying against his wishes. His mother was sent to live on a small allowance in a distant county, parted from her son, and she died there. The boy still treasures her letters.
Now Lord Monmouth has come home from Italy to fight the Reform Bill, and he wants a look at his grandson. The boy pictures a loving old man opening his arms. Instead he meets a bald, polished figure leaning on an ivory cane, who asks only whether he likes Eton. He is soon told never to mention his dead parents in this house.
A family can be rich in everything except love.
- 2Begin gratis met lezen
Rigby teaches Coningsby how power really works
Mr. Rigby is one of the book's great comic creations.
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A rescue in the river binds two rival boys
At Eton Coningsby leads his friends.
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Tadpole and Taper show what Toryism has become
The story jumps to November 1834, at a country house where a shooting party is also a political council.
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A stranger in a storm gives Coningsby a creed
Coningsby is now about sixteen and walking alone through a forest.
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Manchester shows the new England to Coningsby
Coningsby decides to visit the manufacturing district before joining his grandfather.
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Coningsby Castle and the arrival of Sidonia
The castle where Lord Monmouth now lives is a vast pile, full of grandees, actors and flatterers.
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Sidonia explains power, race and national character
Sidonia talks and Coningsby listens.
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Cambridge, Paris and a love the families forbid
At Cambridge Coningsby gathers with his friends and talks over a new politics of principles rather than parties.
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How the book argues through satire and story
Disraeli tells his political argument as a novel because the temper of the times made fiction the best way to reach the public.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Harry Coningsby A gifted, generous orphan raised at Eton who hopes to make a career of high ideals, and who falls in love where his family cannot approve.
- Lord Monmouth Coningsby's grandfather, the rich, cold Marquess who despises feeling, collects boroughs and dreams of becoming a duke.
- Mr. Rigby Lord Monmouth's clever, scheming man of business, who writes slashing articles, bullies his betters and fears any rival.
- Sidonia A wealthy, brilliant financier of Spanish Jewish descent whose ideas about youth, race and power shape Coningsby's mind.
- Oswald Millbank Coningsby's Eton rival and loyal friend, the serious son of a Lancashire manufacturer who hopes to guide the new industrial England.
- Mr. Millbank Oswald's father, a proud self-made mill owner and Radical, bitter enemy of Lord Monmouth and builder of a model village.
- Edith Millbank Millbank's daughter, beautiful, musical and clear-minded, who loves Coningsby in spite of the feud between their families.
- Flora A shy young actress at Coningsby Castle, grateful for Coningsby's early kindness and eager for a quiet life.
How it ends (spoiler)
Coningsby wins the Darlford seat in the 1841 election, helped by Mr. Millbank, who gives up his own candidacy and proposes him. Oswald is elected too, and the two friends enter Parliament together. Millbank, who has watched the young man prove himself, accepts him as a son and a husband for Edith. The book closes with Coningsby beginning the public career he has long prepared for, and a question about what the New Generation will do.
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Vragen over Coningsby; of, de Nieuwe Generatie
What is Coningsby about?
Coningsby follows Harry Coningsby, an orphan raised at Eton, as he meets his powerful grandfather, finds a mentor in Sidonia, falls in love with a manufacturer's daughter, and searches for principles that can renew English politics.
Who is Sidonia in Coningsby?
Sidonia is a rich, brilliant financier of Spanish Jewish descent, widely believed to be modelled on a real banking family. He befriends Coningsby and teaches him that great ideas, character and individual genius shape history.
What does the New Generation mean in the title?
It means the young men like Coningsby, Millbank and their friends who have grown up after the Reform Bill. They hope to replace empty party slogans with real faith and principles, and to renew the nation.
Is Coningsby a true story and when was it written?
It is a work of fiction, published in 1844, but it draws on real events such as the Reform Bill crisis of 1832 and Peel's government. Several characters echo real politicians and society figures of the time.
Is Coningsby easy to follow?
The story has a clear thread, lively dinners, comic election scenes and short chapters. Characters like Rigby, Tadpole and Taper are memorable, and the longer political talks are anchored in friendships and a love story.
Verwijs naar deze uitgave
Disraeli, Benjamin. Coningsby; Or, the New Generation. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/coningsby-or-the-new-generation.
Disraeli, B. (2026). Coningsby; or, the new generation. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/coningsby-or-the-new-generation (Original work published 1844)
Disraeli, Benjamin. Coningsby; Or, the New Generation. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/coningsby-or-the-new-generation.
@book{disraeli2026coningsby,
author = {Disraeli, Benjamin},
title = {Coningsby; Or, the New Generation},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/coningsby-or-the-new-generation},
note = {First published 1844}
}
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