Disraeli and Cobden: ‘The Manchester School’ in Fact and Fiction
The mid-nineteenth century’s leading Conservative and pre-eminent Radical politicians (Disraeli and Cobden) at first glance have little in common save for the year of their birth in 1804, the legacy of major scholarly editions of their letters and both having been the subject of 21st-century exhibit...
Wedi'i Gadw mewn:
| Cyhoeddwyd yn: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cve, |
|---|---|
| Prif Awdur: | |
| Fformat: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Iaith: | Anglais |
| Cyhoeddwyd: |
Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens
2025
|
| Pynciau: | |
| Mynediad Ar-lein: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:cve_15621 |
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| record_format |
openedition |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
Disraeli (Benjamin) Cobden (Richard) Manchester School Parti conservateur Conservatisme Parti libéral Libéralisme Young England libre-échange et protectionnisme idéologies politiques Disraeli (Benjamin) Cobden (Richard) Manchester School Conservative Party Conservatism Liberal Party Liberalism Young England ideological politics free trade and protection |
| spellingShingle |
Disraeli (Benjamin) Cobden (Richard) Manchester School Parti conservateur Conservatisme Parti libéral Libéralisme Young England libre-échange et protectionnisme idéologies politiques Disraeli (Benjamin) Cobden (Richard) Manchester School Conservative Party Conservatism Liberal Party Liberalism Young England ideological politics free trade and protection Howe, Anthony Disraeli and Cobden: ‘The Manchester School’ in Fact and Fiction |
| description |
The mid-nineteenth century’s leading Conservative and pre-eminent Radical politicians (Disraeli and Cobden) at first glance have little in common save for the year of their birth in 1804, the legacy of major scholarly editions of their letters and both having been the subject of 21st-century exhibitions (Oxford, 2004 and Manchester, 2023). Only one letter between the two survives, an indication of their personal, social, and political distance but in their lifetimes, each acted as a constant symbolic antitype for the other. Disraeli’s ‘Young England’ novels (and celebrated visits to Manchester, in part organized by Cobden) pointedly sought to regenerate the ideal of aristocratic government in the heart of industrial Britain, while his linguistic invention of the ‘Manchester school’ found its personification in the Radical manufacturer and leader of the Anti-Corn Law League, Richard Cobden. Their political confrontation within and outside Parliament neatly encapsulated the rivalry between land and industry, protection and free trade, aristocracy and middle-class identity, the territorial constitution and the ‘commercial principle’, national greatness or cosmopolitan utopianism, rule by the ‘gentlemen of England’ or its subversion by the Manchester-led democratic tide. This study of two preeminent Victorian politicians, rarely if ever paired together, yields therefore unexpected insights into ideological conflict and political practice as well as their artistic representation. |
| author |
Howe, Anthony |
| author_facet |
Howe, Anthony |
| author_sort |
Howe, Anthony |
| title |
Disraeli and Cobden: ‘The Manchester School’ in Fact and Fiction |
| title_short |
Disraeli and Cobden: ‘The Manchester School’ in Fact and Fiction |
| title_full |
Disraeli and Cobden: ‘The Manchester School’ in Fact and Fiction |
| title_fullStr |
Disraeli and Cobden: ‘The Manchester School’ in Fact and Fiction |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Disraeli and Cobden: ‘The Manchester School’ in Fact and Fiction |
| title_sort |
disraeli and cobden: ‘the manchester school’ in fact and fiction |
| publisher |
Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens |
| publishDate |
2025 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cve |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/13qsz https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/cve/15621 |
| _version_ |
1877292086264332288 |
| spelling |
openedition-oai:revues.org:cve_15621 https://doi.org/10.4000/13qsz urn:doi:10.4000/13qsz en https://journals.openedition.org/cve/15621 2025-04-11T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/13qsz https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Disraeli and Cobden: ‘The Manchester School’ in Fact and Fiction Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2271-6149 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/0220-5610 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cve Howe, Anthony Disraeli (Benjamin) Cobden (Richard) Manchester School Parti conservateur Conservatisme Parti libéral Libéralisme Young England libre-échange et protectionnisme idéologies politiques Disraeli (Benjamin) Cobden (Richard) Manchester School Conservative Party Conservatism Liberal Party Liberalism Young England ideological politics free trade and protection The mid-nineteenth century’s leading Conservative and pre-eminent Radical politicians (Disraeli and Cobden) at first glance have little in common save for the year of their birth in 1804, the legacy of major scholarly editions of their letters and both having been the subject of 21st-century exhibitions (Oxford, 2004 and Manchester, 2023). Only one letter between the two survives, an indication of their personal, social, and political distance but in their lifetimes, each acted as a constant symbolic antitype for the other. Disraeli’s ‘Young England’ novels (and celebrated visits to Manchester, in part organized by Cobden) pointedly sought to regenerate the ideal of aristocratic government in the heart of industrial Britain, while his linguistic invention of the ‘Manchester school’ found its personification in the Radical manufacturer and leader of the Anti-Corn Law League, Richard Cobden. Their political confrontation within and outside Parliament neatly encapsulated the rivalry between land and industry, protection and free trade, aristocracy and middle-class identity, the territorial constitution and the ‘commercial principle’, national greatness or cosmopolitan utopianism, rule by the ‘gentlemen of England’ or its subversion by the Manchester-led democratic tide. This study of two preeminent Victorian politicians, rarely if ever paired together, yields therefore unexpected insights into ideological conflict and political practice as well as their artistic representation. Les principaux hommes politiques conservateurs et radicaux du milieu du xixe siècle (Disraeli et Cobden) ont à première vue peu de choses en commun, si ce n’est l’année de leur naissance en 1804, l’héritage des éditions savantes majeures de leurs lettres et le fait qu’ils aient tous deux fait l’objet d’expositions au xxie siècle (Oxford, 2004, et Manchester, 2023). Seule une lettre entre les deux a survécu, ce qui témoigne de leur distance personnelle, sociale et politique, mais de leur vivant, chacun a agi comme un antitype symbolique constant pour l’autre. Les romans de Disraeli intitulés « Young England » (et ses célèbres visites à Manchester, en partie organisées par Cobden) cherchaient à régénérer l’idéal d’un gouvernement aristocratique au cœur de la Grande-Bretagne industrielle, tandis que son invention linguistique de « l’école de Manchester » trouvait sa personnification dans le fabricant radical et leader de la Anti-Corn Law League, Richard Cobden. Leur confrontation politique au sein et en dehors du Parlement résume parfaitement la rivalité entre la terre et l’industrie, la protection et le libre-échange, l’aristocratie et l’identité de la classe moyenne, la constitution territoriale et le « principe commercial », la grandeur nationale ou l’utopie cosmopolite, la domination des « gentlemen of England » ou sa subversion par la vague démocratique menée par Manchester. Cette incarnation personnelle des guerres culturelles des années 1840 est devenue un élément essentiel du discours politique, des commentaires de la presse et de l’iconographie satirique. Cette étude de deux éminents hommes politiques de l’époque victorienne, rarement ou jamais associés, donne des aperçus inattendus sur les conflits idéologiques et les pratiques politiques, ainsi que sur leur représentation artistique. |