He also speculated wildly on the stock exchange and lost heavily. He next became involved in a project sponsored by John Murray to publish a daily paper. Its failure was complete. His next novel,
Vivian Grey, published anonymously, gave great offense to Murray, who was pilloried in it. Fifty years later this novel was still quoted against Disraeli; although he declared that it described his "active and real ambition," it was full of blunders that clearly showed he did not move in the social circles to which he pretended. It was attacked by the powerful
Blackwood's Magazine, and in a later novel,
Contarini Fleming (1832), Disraeli wrote, "I was ridiculous. It was time to die." But instead of dying, he had a nervous breakdown and traveled for 3 years (1828-1831).
Political Career
On his return to England in 1832, Disraeli twice contested and lost High Wycombe in parliamentary elections. He also continued writing: The Young Duke (1831), The Present Crisis Examined (1831), and What Is He" (1833). He sent a copy of his Vindication of the British Constitution (1835) to Sir Robert Peel and received an acknowledgment. In 1835 he again ran unsuccessfully for Parliament; that year, however, he told Lord Melbourne that his ambition was to be prime minister.
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