Disraeli: A Brief Life

by Paul Smith

Overview

This concise study of Benjamin Disraeli (1804-81) focuses on the substantial reassessment of Disraeli's career and personality that is currently taking place. Particular reference is made to the role played in Disraeli's conception of life and politics by his Jewishness and his romanticism. The book also seeks to understand Disraeli in a European as well as a British frame of thought. These new elements are set alongside all the principal biographical features of Disraeli's life and career. This "brief life" can therefore be read both as a standard, up-to-date biography of one of the greatest statesmen of the later Victorian age and as a reinterpretation of key aspects of Disraeli's life and times.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521381505
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/12/1996
Series:	British Lives
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.79(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Introduction; 1. The theatre of life; 2. The theatre of politics, 1832–1837; 3. The theatre of parliament, 1837–1846; 4. A leading part, 1846–1865; 5. Top of the bill, 1865–1881; Envoi: the primrose sphinx; Notes; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Witty, well written, and perceptive, this is a valuable short take on the greatest Tory prime minister of the 19th century." P. Stansky, Choice

"A strength of Smith's book,...lies in its imposition of some order on Disraeli's otherwise chaotic early life. Smith's biography is a notable addition to the literature, written with a consistent verve and occasional verbosity entirely appropriate to its subject. ...it successfully extends the work of reclamation undertaken nearly a decade ago by John Vincent." Frans Coetzee, Albion

From the Publisher