Editing Benjamin Disraeli (section)

===1830–1837===
Together with his sister's fiancé, William Meredith, Disraeli travelled widely in southern Europe and beyond in 1830–31.{{refn|En route, the pair met [[Giovanni Battista Falcieri]] ("Tita"), [[Lord Byron]]'s former manservant, who joined them and subsequently returned to England with Disraeli.<ref>Blake (1967), pp. 52 and 62</ref>|group= n}} The trip was financed partly by another high society novel, ''The Young Duke'', written in 1829–30. The tour was cut short suddenly by Meredith's death from smallpox in Cairo in July 1831.{{refn|After Meredith's death, Sarah Disraeli never married. She devoted the rest of her life to her family.<ref>Bradford, p. 43</ref>|group= n}} Despite this tragedy, and the need for treatment for a sexually transmitted disease on his return, Disraeli felt enriched by his experiences. He became, in Parry's words, "aware of values that seemed denied to his insular countrymen. The journey encouraged his self-consciousness, his moral relativism, and his interest in Eastern racial and religious attitudes."<ref name=dnb/> Blake regards the tour as one of the formative experiences of Disraeli's career: "[T]he impressions that it made on him were life-lasting. They conditioned his attitude toward some of the most important political problems which faced him in his later years—especially the Eastern Question; they also coloured many of his novels."<ref>Blake (1982), p. 3</ref>

Disraeli wrote two novels in the aftermath of the tour. ''[[Contarini Fleming]]'' (1832) was avowedly a self-portrait. It is subtitled "a psychological autobiography" and depicts the conflicting elements of its hero's character: the duality of northern and Mediterranean ancestry, the dreaming artist and the bold man of action. As Parry observes, the book ends on a political note, setting out Europe's progress "from feudal to federal principles".<ref name=dnb/> ''[[The Wondrous Tale of Alroy]]'' the following year portrayed the problems of a [[History of European Jews in the Middle Ages|medieval Jew]] in deciding between a small, exclusively Jewish state and a large empire embracing all.<ref name=dnb/>

[[File:Croker-lyndhurst-henrietta-ladylondonderry.jpg|thumb|left|Friends and allies of Disraeli in the 1830s: clockwise from top left—[[John Wilson Croker|Croker]], [[John Copley, 1st Baron Lyndhurst|Lyndhurst]], Henrietta Sykes and [[Frances Vane, Marchioness of Londonderry|Lady Londonderry]]|alt=Two men and two women]]
After these novels were published, Disraeli declared that he would "write no more about myself".<ref>Monypenny and Buckle, p. 236.</ref> He had already turned his attention to politics in 1832, during the great crisis over the [[Reform Bill of 1832|Reform Bill]]. He contributed to an anti-[[Whigs (British political party)|Whig]] pamphlet edited by [[John Wilson Croker]] and published by Murray entitled ''England and France: or a cure for Ministerial Gallomania''. The choice of a [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]] publication was regarded as strange by Disraeli's friends and relatives, who thought him more of a [[Radicals (UK)|Radical]]. Indeed, he had objected to Murray about Croker's inserting "high Tory" sentiment: Disraeli remarked, "it is quite impossible that anything adverse to the general measure of Reform can issue from my pen."{{refn|At that time only about one in seven British men (and no women) were entitled to vote in general elections.<ref>Blake (1967), p. 271</ref> Those arguing for reform wanted rationalisation and liberalisation of the property-holding qualifications necessary to be a voter, and elimination of the most unrepresentative constituencies in which the local landowner heavily-influenced the vote.<ref>Blake (1967), pp. 272–273</ref>|group= n}} Moreover, at the time ''Gallomania'' was published, Disraeli was electioneering in [[Wycombe (UK Parliament constituency)|High Wycombe]] in the [[Radicals (UK)|Radical]] interest.<ref>Blake (1967), pp. 84–86</ref>

Disraeli's politics at the time were influenced both by his rebellious streak and his desire to make his mark.<ref name = "b87" /> At that time, British politics were dominated by the aristocracy, with a few powerful commoners. The Whigs derived from the coalition of Lords who had forced through the [[Bill of Rights 1689]] and in some cases were their descendants. The Tories tended to support King and Church and sought to thwart political change. A small number of Radicals, generally from northern constituencies, were the strongest advocates of continuing reform.<ref name = "party">Gopnik, Adam [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/03/060703crat_atlarge?currentPage=all "Life of the party"], ''[[The New Yorker]]'', 3 July 2006</ref> In the early 1830s the Tories and the interests they represented appeared to be a lost cause. The other great party, the Whigs, were anathema to Disraeli: "Toryism is worn out & I cannot condescend to be a Whig."<ref name = "b87">Blake (1967), p. 87</ref> There was a by-election and a general election in 1832; Disraeli unsuccessfully stood as a Radical at High Wycombe in each.<ref>Bradford, p. 57</ref>

Disraeli's political views embraced certain Radical policies, particularly electoral reform, and also some Tory ones, including [[protectionism]]. He began to move in Tory circles. In 1834 he was introduced to the former [[Lord Chancellor]], [[Lord Lyndhurst]], by Henrietta Sykes, wife of [[Sir Francis William Sykes, 3rd Baronet|Sir Francis Sykes]]. She was having an affair with Lyndhurst and began another with Disraeli.{{refn|Blake comments, "the true relationship between the three cannot be determined with certainty"<ref>Blake (1967), p. 119</ref> but he, like later biographers including Bradford and Parry, is in no doubt that Henrietta and Disraeli conducted an affair. Bradford refers to the couple's "reckless openness".<ref>Bradford, p. 72</ref>|group= n}} Disraeli and Lyndhurst took an immediate liking to each other. Lyndhurst was an indiscreet gossip with a fondness for intrigue; this appealed greatly to Disraeli, who became his secretary and go-between. In 1835 Disraeli stood for the last time as a Radical, again unsuccessfully contesting High Wycombe.

[[File:O'connell-Labouchere.jpg|thumb|Opponents of Disraeli: [[Daniel O'Connell|O'Connell]] and [[Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton|Labouchere]]|alt=Two men of Victorian appearance]]
In April 1835, Disraeli fought a [[by-election]] at [[Taunton (UK Parliament constituency)|Taunton]] as a Tory candidate.<ref>Bradford, p. 80</ref> The Irish MP [[Daniel O'Connell]], misled by inaccurate press reports, thought Disraeli had slandered him while electioneering at Taunton; he launched an outspoken attack, referring to Disraeli as:
{{Blockquote|a reptile&nbsp;... just fit now, after being twice discarded by the people, to become a Conservative. He possesses all the necessary requisites of perfidy, selfishness, depravity, want of principle, etc., which would qualify him for the change. His name shows that he is of Jewish origin. I do not use it as a term of reproach; there are many most respectable Jews. But there are, as in every other people, some of the lowest and most disgusting grade of moral turpitude; and of those I look upon Mr. Disraeli as the worst.<ref>Monypenny and Buckle, p. 288</ref>|}}

Disraeli's public exchanges with O'Connell, extensively reproduced in ''The Times'',<ref>"Mr. D'Israeli and Mr. O'Connell", ''The Times'', 6 May 1835, p. 3</ref> included a demand for a duel with the 60-year-old O'Connell's son (which resulted in Disraeli's temporary detention by the authorities), a reference to "the inextinguishable hatred with which [he] shall pursue [O'Connell's] existence", and the accusation that O'Connell's supporters had a "princely revenue wrung from a starving race of fanatical slaves".<ref>Monypenny and Buckle, p. 291</ref> Disraeli was highly gratified by the dispute, which propelled him to general public notice for the first time.<ref>Bradford, p. 81</ref> He did not defeat the incumbent Whig member, [[Henry Labouchere, 1st Baron Taunton|Henry Labouchere]], but the Taunton constituency was regarded as unwinnable by the Tories. Disraeli kept Labouchere's majority down to 170,<ref>"The Elections", ''[[The Observer]]'', 3 May 1835, p. 4</ref> a good showing that put him in line for a winnable seat in the near future.<ref>Blake (1967), p. 124</ref>

With Lyndhurst's encouragement Disraeli turned to writing propaganda for his newly adopted party. His ''Vindication of the English Constitution'', was published in December 1835. It was couched in the form of an open letter to Lyndhurst, and in Bradford's view encapsulates a political philosophy that Disraeli adhered to for the rest of his life: the value of benevolent aristocratic government, a loathing of political dogma, and the modernisation of Tory policies.<ref>Bradford, pp. 82–83</ref> The following year he wrote a series of satires on politicians of the day, which he published in ''The Times'' under the pen-name "Runnymede". His targets included the Whigs, collectively and individually, Irish nationalists, and political corruption. One essay ended:
{{blockquote|The English nation, therefore, rallies for rescue from the degrading plots of a profligate oligarchy, a barbarizing sectarianism, and a boroughmongering Papacy, round their hereditary leaders—the Peers. The House of Lords, therefore, at this moment represents everything in the realm except the Whig oligarchs, their tools the Dissenters, and their masters the Irish priests. In the mean time, the Whigs bawl that there is a "collision!" It is true there is a collision, but it is not a collision between the Lords and the People, but between the Ministers and the Constitution.<ref>"The Spirit of Whiggism, II", ''The Times'', 16 June 1836, p. 4</ref>|}}
Disraeli was elected to the exclusively Tory [[Carlton Club]] in 1836, and was also taken up by the party's leading hostess, [[Frances Vane, Marchioness of Londonderry|Lady Londonderry]].<ref>Bradford, p. 85</ref> In June 1837 [[William IV]] died, the young [[Queen Victoria]] succeeded him, and parliament was dissolved.<ref>Blake (1967), pp. 146–147</ref> On the recommendation of the Carlton Club, Disraeli was adopted as a Tory parliamentary candidate at the ensuing [[1837 United Kingdom general election|general election]].