Sandra Mayer explores Disraeli's dual commitment to art and action against the background of Victorian celebrity culture.
Disraeli's 'Spectre of Unsatisfied Ambition': Literary Celebrity in/and Political Office
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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.
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In line with a long literary tradition of the artist as propagandist, who strives to appeal to the political, moral, and social conscience of his/her readership, writers have persistently crossed the divide between art and politics both in their works and in their roles as public intellectuals, cultural critics, and political activists. Moreover, established authors have, with striking regularity, taken advantage of their celebrity status in order to draw attention to specific socio-...
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