Disraeli's 'Spectre of Unsatisfied Ambition': Literary Celebrity in/and Political Office

Sandra Mayer explores Disraeli's dual commitment to art and action against the background of Victorian celebrity culture. Benjamin Disraeli's papers in the Bodleian Library allow for an intriguing glimpse into the public reception of his dual role as a successful novelist and eminent statesman. Analyzing a selection of these popular responses to Disraeli's dexterous cross-field migrations, Sandra Mayer (University of Vienna/Wolfson College, University of Oxford) discusses the dual commitment to art and action of celebrity writers in political office and its reverberations in nineteenth-century fan culture.