Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
Night fell upon the waters, dark and drear, and thick and misty. How unlike those brilliant hours that once summoned him to revelry and love! Unhappy Popanilla! Thy delicious Fantaisie has vanished! Ah, pitiable youth! What could possibly have induced you to be so very rash? And all from that unlucky lock of hair! ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
Lothair, though inexperienced and very ingenuous, was not devoid of a certain instinctive perception of men and things, which rendered it difficult for him to be an easy prey. His natural disposition, and his comparatively solitary education, had made him a keen observer, and he was one who mediated over his observations. But he was naturally generous and sensible of kindness; and this was a favourite companion --next to Bertram his most intimate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting fiction from a statesman's perspective
"Lothair" (1870) was Disraeli's first novel for over 20 years.

Divided into 89 short chapters, it starts slowly.Religion, which forms to be the overarching theme of the book, is not seriously discussed until Chapter 9.As a result, the reader unfamiliar with the book's subject matter will be somewhat surprised by the quick progression into religious controversy which follows the extensive chronicling of Lothair's social engagements and family history in the earlier chapters.

However, to a large extent this foreshadows the pattern of the book as a whole.Although some intermingling of these two themes inevitably takes place, chapters seem devoted either to description of events at which Lothair is in attendance, or to discussion of the philosophical merits of religions and/or atheistic structures. Often, several chapters in a row will be devoted to one or the other.

As was pointed out at the time of publication:

"There is no deep conviction, no ardent purpose, no over-mastering sentiment..." (H.T. Tuckerman, 1870)

I found it, in this respect, oddly similar to Huxley's "Brave New World", where characters often exist largely to put forward dogma, with little ultimate narrative adjudication.This is, however, certainly not a criticism of either book; indeed, perhaps this challenges the reader to themself assess the relative merits of the positions advanced.

In later chapters, when Lothair is travelling outside England, descriptions of landscapes - physical, political and historical - are all proffered, adding a third (although minor) theme to the two I described above.

Finally, whatever one makes of the merits of Disraeli's religious dialogues or social descriptions, for a reader in the early 21st century it is fascinating to reflect upon what issues preoccupied the English (and perhaps European) polity in the mid 19th century.The device of the novel, in my opinion, provides a very helpful and time-saving medium to display these. Some brief examples suffice:
1) The use - several times - of the term "semitism", and not merely to describe Jewish or Middle-Eastern religious thought, but instead to mean all principles of monotheistic religion.
2) Italian revolutionaries portrayed, not as modern nationalists, but instead as self-styled pagan descendants of the Roman Empire; and opposed to semitism, rather than (say) class privilege.
3) Victorian views on evolution, science more generally, and the juxtaposition of these with political and religious freedom.

All of these would have been interesting no matter who the author.Disraeli's personal touch is one of ambiguity in this reader's view.The book's plot is midly shambolic.However, there are some very good gems to be found within.My personal favourite is:

"If every man were straightforward in his opinions, there would be no conversation.The fun of talk is to find out what a man really thinks, and then contrast it with the enormous lies he has been telling at dinner, and perhaps all his life."

In short, this is a book worth reading.It may not be a masterpiece, but it is written with wit and learning in various parts, and provides a quick retrospective into a turbulent time in European history. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
This grandfather of mine is a great prince, thought Coningsby, as musing he stood before a portrait in which he recognised the features of the being from whom he had so recently and so strangely parted. There he stood, Philip Augustus, Marquess of Monmouth, in his robes of estate, with his new coronet on a table near him, a despatch lying at hand that indicated the special mission of high ceremony of which he had been the illustrious envoy, and the garter beneath his knee. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

People,Polititcs,and Power.
I normally don't care for fiction,but this book is an exception.
It may be fiction,but it is based on fact and real people.
This book offers a view of the politics of Disraeli's time and where political power really exists.
Well written and recommended book!

One caveat:
I have the Penguin Classic paperback and I don't recommend this edition as the print is very small.Thomas Braun edited it with notes for each chapter.It would have been great if not for the print.

A novel written by an English Prime Minister
This book caused a stir in its day if only because some famous political figures were actually very thinly disguised in the novel.It also was a book that clearly stated to the English aristocracy that if England was to be saved from imminent obscurity, the aristocracy had to change their ways.The book presents a very interesting picture of British politics during the twelve years following the Reform Bill of 1832 told by a crafty and sage politician who could also write a good story.Certainly one of Disraeli's most entertaining works.

An Interesting but dated political-romantic novel.
Coningsby is an interesting political-romantic novel set in early nineteenth century England.In much of the first part of the book, Disreali introduces the main characters and the political and social background against which the action in the later parts of the book will be played.In this book Disraeli covers several topics.He explains the state of parliamentary politics of the day and the changing social and political situations of the nobility and the rising manufacturing class.As the title character, Coningsby, develops his political philosophy, Disraeli gives an insight into his own core political beliefs.Through Sidonia, one of his main characters, Disreali makes a pitch for the rights of Jews, a group to which Disraeli is linked by consangunity, though not be religion.To make it all entertaining, Disraeli takes Coningsby and his lover through a long and chaste romantic quest, in which they finally overcome the obstacles placed in their way by their families.The book, ultimately, provides a triumph of love over hatred and pettiness. The strong points of this book are its pleasant story line and the ability to tell a romantic and political tale without including the moral failings, without which so many modern authors seem incapable of expressing themselves.The weak points are found in its age and storybook ending.The repeated references to so many details of political life of his day and the simililarities of characters to prominent people, which may have been amusing to the readers of his day, are lost on most contemporary readers.The ending, in which all the injustices inflicted on Coningsby by petty people around him are reversed through acts of self-sacrifice which set the world right, introduces a sense of fantasy which makes the book seem just a bit too much to believe.Overall this book is a worthwhile read ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
His malice was accompanied too by a tact, which could not have been expected from his vulgar mind, and which, at the same time, could not have been produced by the experience of one in his situation. It was quite evident to the whole community that his conduct was dictated by another mind, and that that mind was one versed in all the secrets of a school-boy's life, and acquainted with all the workings of a school-boy's mind: a species of knowledge which no pedagogue in the world ever yet attained. There was no difficulty in discovering whose was the power behind the throne. Vivian Grey was the perpetual companion of Mallett in his walks, and even in the school; he shunned also the converse of every one of the boys. ... Read more

Book Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Download Description
At length he was on the centre of the centre arch, an eminent position, which allowed him for a moment to keep them at bay, and gave him breathing time. Suddenly he made a desperate charge, clove the head of the leader of the band in two, and beat them back several yards; then swiftly returning to his former position, be summoned all his supernatural strength, and stamping on the mighty, but mouldering keystone, he forced it from its form, and broke the masonry of a thousand years. Amid a loud and awful shriek, horses and horsemen, and the dissolving fragments of the scene for a moment mingled as it were in airy chaos, and then plunged with a horrible plash into the fatal depths below. ... Read more

Book Description
1904. Known as a dandy, a novelist, a brilliant debater and England's first and only Jewish prime minister, Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield) is best remembered for bringing India and the Suez Canal under control of the crown. Contents: Speech at High Wycombe; Speech at Taunton; The Value of Literature to Men of Business; Opening of Letters; Maynooth; Mr. Walpole's Resolution; Commercial Treaty with Italy; On Calling Out Reserve Forces; Berlin Treaty; The Speech from the Balcony of 10 Downing Street on the Day of the Return from Berlin; and Speech at the Carlton Club Banquet after the Return from Berlin. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An invaluable window into a flamboyant life
Benjamin Disraeli has long been a subject of fascination for many.Born to a family of Sephardic Jews, he rose from an unorthodox background to become prime minister of Great Britain and one of the dominant politicians of the Victorian age.His climb to the top of the "greasy pole" was a difficult one, though, and nowhere is this better illustrated than in the letters he wrote.Full of wit and color, they are an indispensable resource for people seeking to understand Disraeli's life and career.

While much of his correspondence has been printed before (particularly in Monypenny and Buckle's classic six-volume biography of Disraeli), this is the inaugural volume of an effort to publish every surviving letter Disraeli ever wrote.Starting with a brief note to his mother that Disraeli wrote when he was 11, the letters printed here capture a flamboyant young man eager to make his mark on the world yet uncertain as to how to make it.Articled as a solicitor, he soon found the work uncongenial and turned to his pen, writing pamphlets promoting questionable South American mining companies that soon collapsed.This loss of his investments in those companies, coupled with the collapse of a newspaper he started, soon left Disraeli in a state of indebtedness that would long plague his life and occupy much of his correspondence.

With creditors persistently hounding him, Disraeli began his career as a novelist in the hope that he could write his way out of his indebtedness.While his novels enjoyed modest success, they failed to bring in the income he needed to pay his mounting debts.The situation undoubtedly spurred his decision to enter Parliament (as MPs were immune from arrest), but his early attempts met with frustration.The collection ends with his last, failed attempt to run as an independent candidate and a growing association with the Conservative party, which would eventually provide the support he needed to win a seat in the House of Commons.

Disraeli's great strength as a writer was his descriptive powers, which are in full evidence in the correspondence collected here.Some of his best letters were written to friends and family during his tour of the Mediterranean in 1830-1, which contain evocative accounts of the places he visited.Adding to our understanding of the people and events described in these letters is the superb editorial work, which allows the reader to trace nearly every detail of his correspondence.The result is a first-rate source for one of the leading figures of 19th century Britain and an essential book for anybody seeking to better understand the man and his times. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fundamental issue !
One of the most remarkable biographers in the XX century , H.K treats about the most fascinating , unique and dramatic personality of the Victorian Age .
Pearson goes far beyondthe dazzling parliamentarian threshold to show us the man such he is .
Through a zealous research to get thoughts , statements , epigrammatic notes and discourses to infuse the reader the real impression of being listening the authentic conversations .
Disraeli was a very clever politician in the widest sense of the word . He belongs to the reduced list of statesman in that convulsive middle ages of the XIX century . He knew how to deal with the changing times of nationalisms and Industrial Revolution consenting to England to the historic pinnacle .
Specially recommended for all reader interested in knowing this crucial period in the England story.

An Interesting Tale about An Interesting Fellow
This is an excellent biography of Benjamin D'Israeli. Pearson has nicely captured D'Israeli's life. He allows you to get to know D'Israeli during his many pursuits and love of travel. However, D'Israeli's written and political accomplishments are more so mentioned than that of his personal or private life. As a biography of a politician one may expect it to be very dry, but this is one biography that is not. If anyone is interested in D'Israeli and wants to be bombarded with dates and figures of his life than this is not the book to get, but if one is looking for a good read with a feeling of satisfaction at the end this is it.

Happy Reading ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Indispensible primary source for devotees of Benjamin Disrae
As Robert Blake stated in his one volume masterpiece "Disraeli" this originally 6-volume work by Monypenny and Buckle is both a "quarry and a classic."It contains a wealth of correspondencefrom Disraeli both is his public capacity as a minister of state and hisprivate writings to numerous friends, relative and confidantes at variousperiods of his life.Reading this lengthy biography an objective observercan easily be persuaded that Disraeli was perhaps not only the mostprolific but also the most interesting correspondent to ever write in theEnglish language.The biography itself is not of the magnificent qualityof Blake's Disraeli but holds the interest of the reader at every stage. At times it seems that Disraeli is his own biographer inasmuch asprotracted portions of certain volumes contain nothing but his letters, butwhy should they not?He had a sparkling style in writing on even the mostmundane subjects and the authors wisely allow him to be the primaryspokesman and reporter on many of the events, both major and minor, of hisand his country's life.This is an old work but repays the reader for histime, and one comes away with a larger understanding and esteem for astatesman who truly understood the nature of conservatism. ... Read more

Book Description
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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good, but not great
Overall, this brief biography offers an interesting portrait of a commanding political figure of the Victorian era. In order to fully appreciate Smith's rendition, however, one should become acquainted with (if not actually reading) Disraeli's novels, as his writing seems to be Smith's point of departure, and frequent point of reference in telling the story of Disraeli's life. I, for one, was less interested in linking the biographical themes in Disraeli's novels to his life's events, and more interested in capturing the essence of the epoch, with more detail and attention paid to the political developments of Disraeli's age.

A Too Brief Biography
Paul Smith attempts the impossible - to write a brief life - of the complex, remarkable and enigmatic Jewish politician and author Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield. Smith almost pulls it off but another 50 or so pages would have given him much more scope to portray Disraeli's major contributions to the politics of identity, social and political reform and the recognition of the inevitability of working class emancipation. Smith allows his fascination with Dizzy's Jewishness and "outsider" status to overwhelm the other facets of his character and beliefs. Part of Dizzy's greatness as a politician was the ability to simultaneously portray himself as the ultimate outsider and the loyal, patriotic "insider." Until the election of Ramsey MacDonald as the first Labour Prime Minister in the 1920s, Disraeli stands alone as the most unlikely Prime Minister Britain ever had. Smith's book includes some good quotes from commentators such as Gladstone and Michael Foot. A book deserving a fuller treatment in its second edition but still a very useful introduction to its subject for young students of 19th century history.

Disraeli: A Brief Life
This is written for a british school person taking his or her O and or Alevels.It is an enjoyeable read which put Disraeli in a comptemparyhistorical view point.Yes, the Author actually compares Disraeli and hisgovernment to the tories of the 80's under the iron rule of Thatcher. ... Read more

Book Description
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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A first rate biography
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. ... Read more