Дизраели

by André Maurois, Андре Мороа, Marko Vidojković (Translator)

Dizraeli, biografija engleskog državnika i pisca Bendžamina Dizraelija lorda Bikonsfilda zauzima jedno od uglednih mesta među delia Andre Moroa, poznatog francuskog pisca.
Roman je napisan zanimljivo i duhovito. Autor se služi velikim brojem istorijskih dokumenata i studija, i uspeo je da prikaže živo i slikovito najzanimljivije doba stvaranja engleske hegemonije i jednog od najistaknutijih državnika Velike Britanije.
U ovom delu čitalac susreće velike ličnosti tog doba: kralicu Viktoriju, Gledstona, Derbija, Bizmarka i druge, a sam Dizraeli prikazan je tako celovito i detaljno da čitaocu postaje blizak i kao državnik i kao čovek.

Genres: Biography, History, Nonfiction, Politics, British Literature, Biography Memoir, European History

273 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

André Maurois, born Emile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog, was a French author. André Maurois was a pseudonym that became his legal name in 1947.

During World War I he joined the French army and served as an interpreter and later a liaison officer to the British army. His first novel, Les silences du colonel Bramble, was a witty but socially realistic account of that experience. It was an immediate success in France. It was translated and also became popular in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries as The Silence of Colonel Bramble. Many of his other works have also been translated into English (mainly by Hamish Miles (1894–1937)), as they often dealt with British people or topics, such as his biographies of Disraeli, Byron, and Shelley.

During 1938 Maurois was elected to the prestigious Académie française. Maurois was encouraged and assisted in seeking this post by Marshal Philippe Pétain, and he made a point of acknowleging with thanks his debt to Pétain in his 1941 autobiography, Call no man happy - though by the time of writing, their paths had sharply diverged, Pétain having become Head of State of the Nazi-collaborationist Vichy France.

During World War II he served in the French army and the Free French Forces.

He died during 1967 after a long career as an author of novels, biographies, histories, children's books and science fiction stories. He is buried in the Neuilly-sur-Seine community cemetery near Paris.

Reviews

[Lee Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read. It's a novelistic biography. No one volume could really do Disraeli justice. AM gives a vivid sense of Dizzy's romantic nature, idealistic mind and practical intelligence. I hated the lack of dates in the text. This made it difficult to get a real sense of Dizzy's development. I also kept losing track of where we were in time. AM tracks his subject more through his developing principles than through chronology. AM shows Dizzy's political success and the ideals behind it but doesn't give any practical insight into the hows and whys of his political era. The book needed a little more inside baseball on Victorian politics. AM's portrait of Mary Ann was delightful. I would have liked more of it. I will definitely read more on Disraeli and perhaps even wear primroses on 4/19.

[hope mohammed · Rating 3 out of 5]

يتحدث عن رئيس الوزراء بنيامين دزرائيلي السابق ايام ملكة بريطانيا العظمى فيكتوريا بدءا من حكاية جده مرورا بوالده المثقف وصولا اليه والذي كان بالمناسبة الى جانب طموحه السياسي كاتبا وأديبا عرف بخطبه المنمقه والبلاغية ...
ترأس حزب المحافظين ..
الكتاب فيه جوانب جميلة ولكن ايضا فيه بعص الصفحات الممله ..
علاقته بزوجته كانت مثالا جميلا للحب والعطف المتبتدل حتى انه قال عنها عشت ثلاثين سنة ولم يعكر صفو حياتنا مشاكل "

الترجمة ليست سيئة لكنها ليست بتلك الجودة ..

[Bert van der Vaart · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable biography of a complicated British statesman and writer of novels, Benjamin Disraeli. Converting from Judaism as a young teenager to the Church of England, and alternating between a bit of a social dandy to a brilliant parliamentary speaker to a financial speculator to a slightly scandalous novelist, Benjamin Disraeli became a wise statesman/prime minister who helped direct the expansion and defense of the Victorian empire. This biography was written by Andre Maurois--a relatively well known French Jewish writer who had a fascination with England, and even more with Disraeli. Unsurprisingly, there are a number of pithy comments where Maurois himself interjects his views. The journey Maurois describes takes Disraeli from his being flamboyant charmer of the London social scene seeking with a few friends to institute a "New England" over the economic privilege defended by Sir Robert Peel and a coalition of the landed English gentry, to that of a wise Conservative having brought in a wide degree of suffrage and free trade, is instructive to all those interested in "action" at the level of the country. At the same time, Disraeli is shown as having few male friends of the establishment, but more as someone who read voraciously and had number of friendly relationships with women--most importantly his wife with whom he had a long and happy marriage, but also with a relatively broad range of other well-positioned women in English society--and ultimately the Queen Victoria herself--in no case on anything but a Platonic relationship.

He shows Disraeli growing in wisdom, but remaining a Romantic albeit with a great degree of cynicism. Maurois states, "...whereas in [Disraeli's early days] he believed in the almost boundless potency of an individual genius, he now recognized the immense strength of the Outer World."

There are some great anecdotes and witticisms reported--when, during the middle of tensions with Russia, the lady to his left at a dinner party asked him "What are you waiting for?", Disraeli merely mentioned "at the moment, Madam, potatoes."

Some other bon mots, in referring to a government run by the opposition: "As time advanced it was not difficult to perceive that extravagance was being substituted for energy by the Government."

"Every religion of the Beautiful ends in orgy."

"The Bishop of London sympathises with everything that is earnest; but what is earnest is not always true; on the contrary, error is often more earnest than what is true."

Speaking of Gladstone: "...he was reproached, not so much for always having the ace of trumps up his sleeve as for claiming that God had put it there."

Maurois cannot resist a few bon mots himself--speaking of the disastrous policy of Lord Carnarvon, Foreign Minister, in dealing with the Boers in South Africa, when he tried unsuccessfully to apply the same federalism which he had successfully applied to unite Canada, that "...[Carnarvon believed] like all men who have had a success, that his prescription was efficacious for all ills. He believed himself capable of federating the universe..."

For those seeking to understand what happened in one of England's half-centuries of greatness, but read about that from the perspective of a literate outsider, this book about an outsider in English history who became one of England's most powerful politicians is a great place to start.

[José Van Rosmalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

De Fransman André Maurois schreef een biografie over de negentiende eeuwse conservatieve Britse politicus Benjamin d’Israeli, die gedurende een lange periode minister president in Engeland was. Hij wist het vertrouwen van Koningin Victoria te winnen, die in haar persoonlijke voorkeuren nogal wispelturig kon zijn. D’ Israeli was een Joods politicus; intellectueel was hij sterker dan Victoria en hij kreeg de reputatie van de wijze oude staatsman. Maurois was gefascineerd door deze Britse politicus en beschrijft hem en de tijd waarin hij leefde met respect. Nadat Victoria weduwe was geworden was d Israeli voor haar een onontbeerlijke steun en toeverlaat. Ze had het toen moeilijk en voelde zich onzeker in haar functie, terwijl ze de schijn van zelfverzekerdheid op moest houden. Voor wie meer wil weten over de regering van het in de negentiende eeuw machtigste land ter wereld, biedt dit boek interessante bouwstenen.

[Chuck Heikkinen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was curious to read about this man I'd heard of, but knew nothing. The book traces the turbulent rise of Benjamin Disraeli to become Prime Minister of England and confidant of Queen Victoria. It gives an excellent view of politics in all its hurly-burly but focuses more on the man Disraeli rather than on the politics in which the man was such an accomplished participant. This is a very sympathetic biography, well-written and insightful.

[Miles Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maurois starts so slow and the beginning of the book is more of a plodding reflection than a proper biography. But by the end you realize that Maurois knows his subjects emotions as well as his politics and the richness with which he describes Disraeli the man is excellent. The biggest difference between this biography and others is the extent to which the author treats Disraeli’s marriage. It’s a very good biography but I didn’t notice that at the beginning.

[Francisco González · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una lectura deliciosa. Maurois consigue transmitir la compleja personalidad de Disraeli y su evolución a través del tiempo.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

The French author Andre Maurois published this biography of the English statesman Benjamin Disraeli in the late 1920's. Its strength and its weakness are the author's artistic license, which give the book the feel of a novel at times, rather than a dry collection of dates and facts. For example, the author will frequently refer to a phrase or a thought that Disraeli had at a given moment, as if it were as cut and dried in a calendar as the date for the beginning of an election or a war.

That keeps the book from being boring. But for someone who came into it with virtually no idea of who Disraeli was, it sometimes left me wanting more definition, more depth on political policies. Instead, we get a lot of personality and feelings and the shape of his relationship with colleagues and rivals. There is very little in the way of dates, legislation passed, political philosophy...and a bit too much of his moods and feelings as he negotiates his political rise.

[srdjan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"In particular he shared with the Oriental that double sentiment of a desire for the good things of this world and a perception of their hollow emptiness"

The transition from "Forti nihil difficle" to "never explain, never complain"

"Perhaps and probably I ought to be pleased. I can only tell you that truth... I am wearied to extinction and profoundly unhappy... I do not think there is realy any person much unhappier than I am, and not fantastically so. Fortune, fashion, fame, even power, may increase and do heighten happiness, but they cannot create it. Happiness can only spring from the affections. I am alone, with nothing to sustain me, but, occasionally, a little sympathy on paper and that grudgingly. It is a terrible lot, almost intolerable."

[Richa · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a biography moves you emotionally, equal credit goes to the biographer and the subject. Especially when it moves a person who does not habitually enjoy biographies, it just proves that it is one book worth reading.
This book paints a picture of a misunderstood statesman, who succeeded against all odds, to achieve his dreams; grasping the meaning of life on the way. An inspiring tale.

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Autumn of 1981, I entered the 5th grade (and hence Wylie Middle School) in Dexter, Michigan, then a tiny, seedy-looking farm village just across I-94 from Ann Arbor. Now, more than four decades later, Dexter has become a suburb; decidedly more affluent and with a substantially larger population.

During the first week of school, I decided I would attempt to read the entire biography section in the school library that year. This did not, of course, mean that I would confine myself to reading only biography, autobiography & memoir, nor did it mean that I would only read books from the school library. In 1981 not only was I still regularly reading anything that caught my interest from within my father's 1500+ books (and my mother's 100 or so books), but I had also amassed nearly 200 of my own by that time as well. In addition to this, we fairly regularly patronised the Ann Arbor Public Library, both the Graduate & Undergraduate libraries at the University of Michigan, and occasionally the Detroit Public Library. As a general rule, I tried to stop by the small but surprisingly well-stocked Dexter Public Library at least once a week also, while walking home from school.

Although I tend to read non-fiction almost exclusively now, I used to read a fair amount of fiction as a child, and was well into the Stratemeyer Syndicate books by that time ('The Hardy Boys', 'Nancy Drew', 'The Bobbsey Twins', 'Bomba, the Jungle Boy', 'Tom Swift', etc.). My favorites at that age were the 'Tom Swift Jr.' books, which I had been reading my way through for well over a year. Happily, that library had nearly the entire series, which ran to more than thirty volumes.

In those days, the Dexter Public Library was housed in a big, grey clapboard Victorian house (with a small addition in the back) on Baker Road (kitty-corner from the post office), which was a particularly pleasant place in which to read or browse the shelves; it was just about half-way between school and home (though only if I took the long way!). The librarians were exceptionally kind and mostly older ladies, who answered my endless stream of off-the-wall questions with good grace, extended me the privilege of unlimited borrowing (usually only afforded to adults, for obvious reasons), and generally gave me the run of the place for over five years. The librarian at the Wylie library, whose name I am sorry to say I can no longer remember, was small, quiet (naturally), wore black framed half-glasses for reading, and had white hair which she sometimes tinted with the sort of old-fashioned blue rinse that many older ladies still used then. Needless to say, as a baby punk rocker I thought the blue hair was pretty damn cool! She had a very stern, no-nonsense demeanour (which she most definitely needed at times), but once I got to know her a little bit it soon became obvious that she was a sweet, kind lady who was also very shy. The whole time I went to school there, she abetted me in my attempts to spend more time in the library. She let me spend recesses there whenever I wanted to, looked the other way when I occasionally hid out there while skipping class, and eventually made me a library aide (a position normally only open to girls). Due to her shyness, she would never let anyone take her photograph; she also repeatedly declined to provide one for the yearbook, and since I was the yearbook photographer that bothered me a little bit. I eventually surprised her as she was locking up the library after school one day, and said something funny that made her smile; when she turned around I snapped a photo. She wagged her finger at me and tried to look angry, but she was laughing the whole time. She finally told me I could use the photo in the yearbook if it turned out alright, which I did- but unfortunately there were no captions on that page...

In the event, it took more than one school year to read all the books in the biography section at Wylie. By the time I got to Malcolm X it was already a month or two into my 6th grade year. I did eventually finish them all, however, and most of them were quite interesting; many were not the sort of books I usually chose to read (biographies of athletes, for example), but even some of those were still worth reading. Benjamin Disraeli was not one of the many historical figures who had previously caught my interest (nor, I might add, was his great rival Gladstone), but I remember finding this book to be considerably more interesting than I expected. As best I can recall, this was primarily due to the fact that it contained a great deal of useful insight regarding the history of the British Parliament. Whatever one might think about the British Empire, it can easily be argued that the British Parliament has been the most influential political institution of its kind throughout history and throughout the world. Due to this, it is a fascinating historical subject for anyone and everyone who may take an interest in either its successor parliaments all around the world, or perhaps more pointedly its history as an institution within the British government. I do not remember in any particular detail this book that I read more than forty years ago, but I do remember that this book provided me with a much better grasp of British governmental and political history, and in particular the history, role and operating procedures of the British Parliament. I thought it was well worth reading at the time. For the record, though, this was both the first and the last book I ever read about Benjamin Disraeli...

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today’s posting is about a book I’ve just completed last night and a movie I saw today.
The book is titled: “Disraeli: A Picture of the Victorian Age“, (1936©) reprinted in 1980, and written by André Maurois. Maurois is actually the nom de plume for Émile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog, but interesting enough, he legally changed his real name to that for which he was famous. Maurois was in the French military when he wrote his first book and the military was banned from publishing.

This book is the second I’ve read from the Time-Life Reading Program series which I collected back in the 1980’s. More specifically, this is the book upon which I based my decision to begin purchasing the series. I originally read this book in my young teenage years. I don’t recall if I was in the eighth grade of grammar school or a freshman in high school. At any rate, it was a fantastic look at another time (Victorian Age) and political system (British Parliament) which combined political maneuvers with a true romantic background story and it captivated me.

After his wife (Mary Anne) dies from old age (and cancer), Disraeli begins going through their effects in preparation for moving out of her ancestral home which must be passed on to its inheritor:
“Every fortnight for thirty-three years, Mary Anne had cut her husband’s hair, and every time the harvest had been garnered in a small sealed packet. He found hundreds of them.”

This struck me, even as a teen, as such a personal and loving act (both the cutting and the saving of the cuttings) that I believe it set a standard for me to judge male/female relationships. To this day, when I watch the movie “Phenomenon“, starring John Travolta and Kyra Sedgwick (and Forest Whitaker), I am reminded of this book. If you’ve never seen the movie, there is a tremendously sensual scene in the movie where Sedgwick shaves Travolta and cuts his hair. By “sensual” I mean it exudes sexuality without having any “sex” in the scene at all.

By way of contrast, I discussed the above quote with my daughter and she felt is was “creepy” and “like a stalker”. She felt there was no romance/affection in either act, at all.

Another point, which may be of interest to only me – I’ve been “saving” this book for almost 40 years, knowing I was going to re-read it, but in no hurry, because it was going to be like re-meeting an old friend. I don’t often re-read books because most of my reading tends to be technical in nature. I do enjoy re-reading some books – novels in particular. I assume it is because they engage me without trying to teach me. (That’s just a guess…) In this case, I was waiting for the above story, but I did not recall it was told after the wife’s passing. When Mary Anne died from cancer, I briefly convinced myself that I must have read a different book when I was young and I had purchased the series based on a complete mistake! Not that it would have mattered so much, but it seemed an irony that I was looking forward to meeting my old friend, only to find out I would be meeting a distant relative (a book about the same topic, but by a different author). So I got a chuckle (to myself) when I found it was the correct book.

No, I haven’t said much about the book – by way of review, anyway. Suffice it to say, it’s a very well written book, a fast read, a romanticized biography, and a fascinating story of a man who rises to great stature on the strength of his intelligence, ability and determination. Highly recommended!! As an aside, on researching Maurois, I found dozens of great quotes which you will no doubt be seeing over the coming months.

[Thomas Canfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across Andre Maurois’ biography of Disraeli quite by accident. I had never heard of the author, nor of anything which he had written. It was purely on a whim that I picked up the book – for the princely sum of $2 – at a spring book sale. When I discovered that it was first published in 1927 I almost set it aside and forgot about it, convinced of its scant merit.

I could hardly have been more wrong. The first couple of pages won me over completely, and by the end of the opening chapter I was totally hooked. Writing compelling biography is an artform that few ever truly master. It requires an array of different talents and a coming together of many different elements. To make a subject truly live, to flesh out the subject in a full three dimensions, is a rare accomplishment indeed. Yet Maurois was more than equal to the task.

Granted, Disraeli is a compelling figure. His ascent to ultimate political power as Prime Minister of Great Britain is a compelling story. But the story teller, too, must be equal to the task or the result is merely pedestrian.

Maurois writes superb prose. His facility with language, his depth, his insight, his wit, his ability to relate to his protagonist yet not to lose sight of his flaws, all combine to produce a riveting portrait and a highly entertaining read. A Frenchman, Maurois somehow manages to portray the English political system, and the English themselves, with sympathy, insight, affection and verve.

An excerpt: ’No people are more sensitive than the English to the beauty wherewith time can adorn an object; they love old statesmen, worn and polished by the struggle, as they love old leather and old wood’ .

A consummate piece of writing and, for history buffs, Anglophiles and literati alike, one not to be missed.

[Margaret Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

A shortish biography that seems a bit fanciful in that it purports to read the mind of this unusual historical figure. Maybe there were sufficient letters, diaries, and speeches left to archives to do that, since much of the “thought dialog” is actually quoted, but I sometimes lost track of the timing for lack of specified dates along the journey. I had to go to Google to learn the actual birth year of Disraeli (1804), and when I got to the chronological period of the Irish Famine, anticipating reading about how the fractious English Parliamentarians might have argued with each other about that horror, the story just skips over it completely! Several chapters tediously relate the arguments among the Lords, Dukes, Earls, Barons, Knights, and Whatnot Sirs pompously expressing their preferences over whether they should follow a “policy” of Free Trade or Protectionism, with Disraeli taking one side and then another, and suddenly 1841 has become 1852, and the Famine during which several million British subjects starved to death has gone unmentioned.

Generally, I thought the story of the man sometimes poignant and sometimes boring. On the whole, the British are not portrayed in a very admirable light. Maybe the French author didn’t notice, since I suspect that French governance is similarly conducted. Despite its brevity, the book did not inspire me to want to know anything more about Disraeli.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was suggested by my mother, and how fitting, I finish it on Mother's Day!

It started a bit slow for me, and I had to get into the writing style. About a third of the way in, the book took me away. The life of an ambitious man who tried and failed in youth, only to find his footing in politics with his oratory skills, which then made his entire life and career path.

I really enjoyed reading about his strategy when figuring out politics, fellow men, and how he grew a surprising close relationship with Queen Victoria.

I would recommend this book for a historic read on the Victorian era of England and how one man was such an influencer on so many diverse arenas.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disraeli and Gladstone have long been fixed in mind as iconographic rivals of British politics during the reign of Queen Victoria, but this brief, impressionistic biography by Andre Maurois gave me some sense of both men's characters. It is not long on chronology or specific facts, but it does portray Disraeli very sympathetically and as a human being rather than just a political figure.

[Dan Cohen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has to be read in the understanding that it was written in the Twenties - the style is not at all what one would expect from a modern book. However, it's a good read and a good introduction to Disraeli. The contradictions in his character and behaviour come across, and it feels very much as a portrait of a human being.

[LindaJ^ · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the Time-Life Books published as a subcription in the 1980's that is known as the Time Reading Program. I read it in 1980 or 1981 and remember thinking what a strange name for a British Prime Minister! It was very good and one of may favorites of the series.

[Ana Vera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una extraordinaria biografía de un hombre complejo, ayudado por una maravillosa y sencilla mujer a sobrellevar un entorno social y político adverso. Muy recomendable para entender el significado del poder en las diferentes etapas de la vida.

[Ratratrat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una piacevolissima e scorrevole biografia, che mi ha fatto conoscere il Disraeli giovane, prima di quello che si legge nei libri di storia. e Maurois è un narratore di tutto rispetto. Libro che era appartenuto a mio papà.

[John Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid, fun read for a biography. If you're looking for an informational biography, don't read this book. But as a "picture" of the Victorian Age, of someone who played a large role in shaping that age and beyond, it's fun.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being a translation, the book is engaging, with just enough wit and bon mots to make reading it a pleasure.

[Arthur]

A history of Victorian England and of Disraeli's life.

[Gregory Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a true testament of what can be accomplished in spite of extraordinary odds.

[Uncle Duke · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Do not complain ... and never explain" - the Disraeli code will always remain pertinent to ANY situation.

[Bruce Deming · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book interesting but it has been years it would deserve a reread to be fair to it.

[Jorge Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me hizo reflexionar acerca de la vida, bastantes emociones...

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to be inspired... But it was a good read.

[Jackson Cyril · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, romantic bio of Disraeli. But why the antagonism towards Gladstone?

[Josiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, deplorable man.