17 h 56 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 17 h 56 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the man who holds your future treats both family and Parliament as his property?
Harry Coningsby is an orphan with a powerful grandfather and a growing need to think for himself. From Eton to Cambridge and England's great houses, he enters a world where rank opens doors and political favours change hands. Lord Monmouth plans his future, but Harry wants a purpose beyond comfort.
In Benjamin Disraeli's Coningsby; Or, the New Generation, old privilege meets the force of industrial England. Harry's friend Oswald Millbank brings him close to a manufacturer's family, while the learned financier Sidonia offers guidance. Friendship, love and ambition sharpen a larger question: what should a political party actually stand for?
What you’ll discover
- A future worth choosing Follow Harry as he weighs the comforts of rank against the demands of conscience.
- Power behind drawing-room doors Meet Lord Monmouth and Rigby, whose dealings expose the selfish uses of influence.
- Another England in the mills Step beyond country houses into manufacturing districts shaped by smoke, machinery and workers.
- Love across hostile families Discover Edith Millbank, whose intelligence and independence draw Harry across a bitter family divide.
- Politics with a comic edge Watch Tadpole and Taper manage lists and rumours while missing the purpose of politics.
Who will love it
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.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A wealthy family withholds its love
- Courage breaks through a class divide
- Party victory replaces political purpose
- A stranger awakens belief in youth
- Industry offers another vision of England
- Public favour serves a private ambition
- National character matters more than machinery
- Inherited hatred threatens a new love
- Principles test the promise of youth
Who’s who
- Harry ConingsbyA 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 MonmouthConingsby's grandfather, the rich, cold Marquess who despises feeling, collects boroughs and dreams of becoming a duke.
- Mr. RigbyLord Monmouth's clever, scheming man of business, who writes slashing articles, bullies his betters and fears any rival.
- SidoniaA wealthy, brilliant financier of Spanish Jewish descent whose ideas about youth, race and power shape Coningsby's mind.
- Oswald MillbankConingsby's Eton rival and loyal friend, the serious son of a Lancashire manufacturer who hopes to guide the new industrial England.
- Mr. MillbankOswald's father, a proud self-made mill owner and Radical, bitter enemy of Lord Monmouth and builder of a model village.
- Edith MillbankMillbank's daughter, beautiful, musical and clear-minded, who loves Coningsby in spite of the feud between their families.
- FloraA shy young actress at Coningsby Castle, grateful for Coningsby's early kindness and eager for a quiet life.
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Coningsby; Or, the New Generation
by Benjamin Disraeli · 1844
A boy at Eton meets a cold grandfather, a scheming guardian and a rider with a plan to change England.
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In short
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.
Coningsby; Or, the New Generation at a glance
- Reading time
- About 10 h 25 min8 h 15 min fast, 12 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 148,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1844by Benjamin Disraeli
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
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.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1844
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 11 h 40 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
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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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.
The author
Benjamin Disraeli
1804–1881 · British statesman and novelist
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) was a British politician and novelist. He was born in London and lived in England. His novels include Henrietta Temple (1837), Coningsby (1844), Sybil (1845), and Tancred (1847). He led the Conservative Party and served as British prime minister in 1868 and from 1874 to 1880.
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