BRITISH CONSERVATISM AND THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE ... - ideals

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House of Lords, and the Church about our ears, and have everybody
% equal'"56 he, nevertheless, is receptive and approachable, passing
easily among the people.
Sir Douglas Wenmore is a character designed to represent the
"new" Conservative party.
He is open and courting of his public,
accustomed to working within crowds while no less committed to the
preservation of constitutional principles. His ease among the farmers
and townsmen alike earns him their unstinting support, a loyalty
enhanced further by the subsequent discovery of his noble lineage.
Impressed by the Primrose Knight's speeches, Phoebe secretly
campaigns for him.
Her political naivete enables her to mistakingly
believe that her actions do not jeopardize her brother's position,
believing, as she did, that his dislike of Gladstone reflected an
opposition to Liberal
principles, rather than an affinity for
Radicalism. Her electoral efforts consist primarily of collecting wild
primroses to be distributed amongst supporters of the Conservative
party.
The Primrose Knight narrowly wins the contest, although Joshua
is subsequently returned in a local by-election.
They remain lifelong
political
rivals.
Phoebe is cast asisde by her family because of her Conservative
sympathies.
She is taken in by Wenmore's sister and blossoms into an
emotionally mature, sincere, attractive young woman.
She eventually
marries Sir Douglas Wenmore.
Her father, brother, and sisters continue
to display their bad breeding, engaging in conspicuous consumption,
56 Baker, The Primrose Knight, quotation taken from the serial
issue appearing in England, 24 July 1886, p. 15.