Benjamin Disraeli Letters: 1842-1847, Volume 4

Letters of Benjamin Disraeli #4

by Benjamin Disraeli, Melvin George Wiebe (Editor)

The 435 letters in this volume cover the most dramatic period of Disraeli's middle life - one which is still subject to continuing debate and interpretation, but the one in which the potential of his diverse talents at last begins to be realized. In his second Parliamentary session (1842 to 1847) the member for Shrewsbury establishes himself as the most exciting speaker in the House of Commons. The letters also provoke reassessment of the political splinter group 'Young England,' whose aims are nothing less than the purge and reform of the Conservative party. In 1947, as a peader of the Protectionists, he achieves his political goal of fifteen election as a member in his home county of Buckinghamshire. In this period, too, he becomes a best-selling novelist, with his three 'condition of England' novels. Finally, as 'knight of the shire' and with his debts more manageable through the help and thrift of his wife, Mary Anne, he is in a position to realize another ambition, that of becoming a country gentleman, and begins the purchase of Hughenden Manor. Ten appendixes include Disraeli's 1847 election canvass lists, his commonplace books of this period, and a complete inventory of the contents of his London residence, the collateral for a desperate loan in 1842.

449 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1989

About the author

One of the great British politicians of the nineteenth century, Disraeli served twice as Tory Prime Minister (1868 and 1874 - 1880) and was also a prominent figure in opposition. He is most famous today for the bitter hatred between himself and his political rival William Gladstone. He enjoyed the favour of Queen Victoria, who shared his dislike of Gladstone. His most significant political achievements are the 1867 Reform Act, in which he was instrumental, and the creation of the modern Conservative Party, with which he is credited. His literary career was greatly overshadowed by his parliamentary ambitions ('climbing the greasy pole'), but includes both romances and political novels.