Coningsby, or The New Generation (original 1844; edição 1888)

The book is set against a background of the real political events of the 1830s in England that followed the enactment of the Reform Bill of 1832. The story of the novel follows the life and career of Henry Coningsby, the orphan grandson of a wealthy marquess, called Lord Monmouth. Lord Monmouth has disapproved of Coningsby's parents marriage, but on their death he relents and sends the boy to be educated at Eton College. At Eton, Coningsby meets and befriends Oswald Millbank, the son of a rich cotton manufacturer who is a bitter enemy of Lord Monmouth. The two older men represent old and new wealth in society. As Coningsby grows up he begins to develop his own liberal political views and he falls in love with Oswald's sister Edith. When Lord Monmouth discovers these developments he is furious and secretly disinherits his grandson. On Lord Monmouth ?s death, Coningsby is left penniless, and is forced to work for his living.