The Rise of Iskander

by Benjamin Disraeli

This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.
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Genres: Historical Fiction

130 pages, Nook

First published January 1, 1833

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.

Reviews

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whereas Winston Churchill was both an accomplished artist and also a brilliant politician, Disraeli, who was a renowned politician. was not an enthralling writer. His verbose and rather dull story about George Katrioti (Skanderbeg) does little justice to the exploits of Albania's national hero who did much to stop the Ottomans from invading western Europe.

I would give this short novel a miss.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty generic story. Probably could appeal more to Albanian readers if Skanderbeg wasn't described as an Grecian prince of Epirus.

[Georgina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knowing that this was a relatively short book I read this as a background book, the kind of book you just read when you have a couple of moments to spare here and there. This was a mistake for this book. While relatively easy to read, Disraeli’s fictionalized retelling of Skanderbeg is very dry and difficult to engage with. It can however be appreciated as a periodic and opportune novel of the 19th century.