# Vivian Grey > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Vivian_Grey > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Vivian_Grey.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Grey > Source revision: 1356256529 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Novel by Benjamin Disraeli For the actress, see [Vivean Gray](/source/Vivean_Gray). Vivian Grey First edition title page. Author Benjamin Disraeli Language English Genre Silver fork novel Publisher Henry Colburn Publication date 1826 Media type Print ***Vivian Grey*** is [Benjamin Disraeli](/source/Benjamin_Disraeli)'s first novel, published by [Henry Colburn](/source/Henry_Colburn) in 1826. Originally published anonymously, ostensibly by a so-called "man of fashion", part 1 caused a considerable sensation in London society. Contemporary reviewers, suspicious of the numerous [solecisms](/source/Solecism) contained within the text, eventually identified the young Disraeli (who did *not* move in high society) as the author. Disraeli continued the tale in a second volume, also of 1826, and three subsequent volumes in 1827. The form in which *Vivian Grey* is published now is the revised 1853 edition, which was severely expurgated and, according to critic Wendy Burton, lost much of the charm and freshness of the 1826 edition.[1] The book is a frequent touchstone for discussions of Disraeli's political and literary career. ## Synopsis *Vivian Grey* follows its eponymous hero from childhood through his attempt to succeed in the world of politics. The various systems of education through which Vivian Grey passes are analysed. The final system of education is experience, which proves the most instructive and the most shattering. Vivian chooses politics as his career and the novel traces his abortive attempt to gain political power through manipulation of an influential but ineffectual member of parliament. Vivian attempts to organise a party around the Marquess of Carabas, and is ultimately thwarted by his inexperience and naivete in dealing with the political machine. Vivian emerges as a misguided and arrogant young man who is ruthless in his pursuit of power. The catastrophe at the conclusion provides Vivian with a brutal but essential lesson in human behaviour. The novel offers a comment on the political and social temper of England in the early 1820s, and is specifically concerned with the question of personal advancement in a rigidly restrictive social structure. The plot is commonly considered to be a thinly-disguised re-telling of Disraeli's involvement with [John Murray](/source/John_Murray_(publisher%2C_born_1778)) in the publication and failure of a new newspaper, *[The Representative](/source/The_Representative_(newspaper)).*[2] ## Criticism When published in 1826, *Vivian Grey* received largely negative reviews.[3] But it started a craze. Emerson wrote in his journal, in 1842, that “The young men are the readers & victims of Vivian Grey. Byron ruled for a time but Vivian rules longer.”[4] *Vivian Grey* provided a natural beginning for students of Disraeli, and a frequent touchstone for discussions of Disraeli's political and literary career. This situation is possible only when the scholar accepts the protagonist of *Vivian Grey* as a replica of the author, revealed in uncounselled and damaging testimony. The details of the composition of the first part of the novel, and the role of Sara Austen in that composition, as well as awareness of publishing practices in the 1820s in London, challenge the assumption that Vivian Grey is synonymous with the young Benjamin Disraeli.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Legacy The British poet [Mary Montgomerie Lamb](/source/Violet_Fane) took her pen name "Violet Fane" from a character in this novel.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Some commentators have suggested that *Vivian Grey* influenced [Oscar Wilde](/source/Oscar_Wilde) in the writing of his only novel, *[The Picture of Dorian Gray](/source/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray#Literary_significance)*.[5][6] [Roy Horniman](/source/Roy_Horniman)’s Israel Rank reads the novel the night before his sentencing for murder in the book that inspired [Kind Hearts and Coronets](/source/Kind_Hearts_and_Coronets). ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Burton, Wendy Ellen (1976). *The mask of Vivian Grey: an examination of Benjamin Disraeli's Vivian Grey, Part 1, 1826* (MA thesis). [Queen's University at Kingston](/source/Queen's_University_at_Kingston). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [15853215](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/15853215). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Disraeli84–86_2-0)** [Blake, Robert](/source/Robert_Blake%2C_Baron_Blake) (1966). *Disraeli*. New York: [St. Martin's Press](/source/St._Martin's_Press). pp. [84–86](https://archive.org/details/disraeli0000blak_d1x0/page/84/mode/2up?q=84). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-19-832903-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-832903-2). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Lansdown, Richard; Speck, W. A. (2012). ["Byron and Disraeli: The Mediterranean Tours"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/24043975). *The Wordsworth Circle*. **43** (2). University of Chicago Press: 107. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0043-8006](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0043-8006). Retrieved 8 November 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Emerson, Ralph Waldo (2010). *Selected Journals, 1841-1877*. Library of America. p. 81. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [McCrum, Robert](/source/Robert_McCrum) (2 December 2013). ["The 100 best novels: No 11 – Sybil by Benjamin Disraeli (1845)"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/02/sybil-benjamin-disraeli-100-best-novels). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 8 November 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Clausson, Nils (January 2006). "Lady Alroy's Secret: 'Surface and Symbol' in Wilde's 'The Sphinx without a Secret'". *The Wildean* (28). Oscar Wilde Society: 24–32. [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [45269274](https://www.jstor.org/stable/45269274). ## External links - *[Vivian Grey](https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/9840)* at [Project Gutenberg](/source/Project_Gutenberg) English [Wikisource](/source/Wikisource) has original text related to this article: **[Vivian Grey](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/en:Vivian_Grey)** v t e Novels of Benjamin Disraeli Vivian Grey (1826) Popanilla (1828) The Young Duke (1831) Contarini Fleming (1832) Ixion in Heaven (1832, 1833) The Wondrous Tale of Alroy (1833) The Rise of Iskander (1834) The Infernal Marriage (1834) The Revolutionary Epick (1834) A Year at Hartlebury (1834) Henrietta Temple (1837) Venetia (1837) The Tragedy of Count Alarcos (1839) Coningsby (1844) Sybil (1845) Tancred (1847) Lothair (1870) Endymion (1880) Falconet (1881) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Vivian Grey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Grey) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Grey?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.