A vivid, frank, comprehensive biography of the first half of the life of the British statesman and author who overcame his status as an outsider in English society to become one of the most brilliant and powerful figures of Victorian politics. Iillustrations.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
At the age of 20, future British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) lost a borrowed fortune speculating in South American mines, and his battles with creditors over the next 20 years, according to British historian Ridley, shaped a personality addicted to political intrigue and dissimulation. Overcome by self-doubt exacerbated by virulent anti-Semitic attacks, the young novelist, dandy, epic poet and journalist suffered a nervous breakdown in 1827-28. But he rebounded, proudly asserted his Jewishness (though baptized a Christian in 1817) and toured the Middle East in 1830-31. Disraeli then developed a theory of Jewish (and Caucasian) racial superiority, stressing his own ancient descent. Ridley maintains that this was his way of compensating for feeling like an outsider. Marrying a rich widow 12 years his senior, Mary Anne Lewis, to help pay off his debts, Disraeli evolved into a devoted husband to his adoring wife. This first half of a planned two-volume biography is a captivating, full-bodied portrayal. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A first rate biography,
By Yaakov Wise, MA (Manchester, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Young Disraeli 1804 - 1846 (Hardcover)
Jane Ridley really gets to grips with most of the complex and exotic early life of the great Victorian novelist, "outsider politician" and remarkable statesman who became Prime Minister of the largest empire the world has ever seen. Dizzy's critical relationships with his father and sister are fully explored (material about his mother is much harder to find). His reckless financial speculations, debt and near bankrupcy are used to explain his unlikely switch from literature to politics (MPs couldn't be imprisoned for debt). His romance and marriage to Mary Ann is given sympathetic and illuminating treatment. Jane Ridley spent several years extensively researching this book (witnessed by the hundreds of footnotes and references)but it reads well - not only a respectable academic biography but also a very good read. Disraeli himself would have been pleased.
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