Mr and Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance - Daisy Hay
Mr and Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance - Daisy Hay
Non-Fiction
Pages: 320
The marriage of Mary Ann and Benjamin Disraeli was uncommon in many respects. She was an wealthy independent widow, he a debt-ridden author with political ambitions. She was loud, flamboyant, outspoken, eccentric; he was controlled, ambitious, determined. He married her for her money but grew to love her. She valued her independence yet devoted herself utterly to his future career. They were visibly devoted to one another in an era when marrying for love was seen as utterly déclassé in the circles they moved in. Neither was of the Establishment - Mary Ann was born of distinctly middling stock and Disraeli's antecedents were Jewish, at a time when Jews could not hold political office.
And yet by the time of their deaths they were both beloved and respected by the public, the Queen and the political establishment, and neither could have achieved their positions in politics and society without the love and support of the other. Where Disraeli was unusual amongst his fellows was in his open acknowledgement of that fact, perhaps best exemplified by his request to Queen Victoria to ennoble his wife in her own right instead of him. It is only right therefore that this should be a dual biography - to tell Disraeli's story without giving his wife her rightful due would be a distortion of history.
History is fortunate indeed that both Disraelis were great collectors of personal papers, and Daisy Hay's book relies heavily on chronicling the Disraelis lives through their own words, which brings a realism and intimacy to these pages. One finds oneself growing quite fond of both of them. It also means there is so much less interpretation and extrapolation than one usually finds in biographies - there is no need for the 'X must have thought' or 'Y must have felt' because we know what Mary Ann thought or Disraeli felt, through the rich source of their letters.
This is the second of Daisy Hay's books I have read, after her 'Young Romantics' about Shelley and Byron and Mary Shelley, and I enjoyed it every bit as much. She is a fine writer and a fine historian.