[DISRAELI, BENJAMIN]. Vivian Grey. London: Henry Colburn, 1826 [-1827].
Hardcover. First edition. In five volumes, complete. Octavo, pp. (6), 266; (2), 236; (2), 333; (2), 362; (2), 324. Attractively bound in near contemporary uniform half-calf over marbled boards, smooth spines, gilt rules and lettering, morocco lettering piece in second compartments, red speckled page edges, tinted pastedowns and endpapers, bound without adverts or half-titles. Printed by S. and R. Bentley. Condition: VERY GOOD. Bindings tight and secure, hinges intact, slight mottling to spines, textblock lightly tanned with very occasional fox spots, a few leaves with minor marginal stains, nice armorial bookplate to front pastedowns. Excellent and scarce thus.
Note: Uncommon first edition set of Disraeli's first novel, a "sensational roman-à-clef in the then fashionable silver-fork style" (ODNB), the first section originally published anonymously in two volumes in April 1826, ostensibly by a so-called "man of fashion," caused a considerable sensation in London society. Contemporary reviewers, suspicious of the numerous solecisms contained within the text, eventually identified the young 21 year old Disraeli (who did not move in high society) as the author. It received disfavourable reviews, despite its public popularity, due to its "combination of unmistakable self-exposure and reckless satire. Moreover, Murray and Lockhart, men of great influence in literary circles, were deeply offended by the sneering treatment of characters based on them" (ibid.). 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. The book is a frequent touchstone for discussions of Disraeli's political and literary career. Vivian Grey is often written about as a cornerstone work of the "fashionable" or "silver fork" school of fiction, but it is also the first work in the genre of the political novel as later practiced by Trollope, Meredith, Eliot, Wells and Mrs. Humphrey Ward. [Sadlier 734 & 734a; Wolff 1846].
