British writer
Isaac D'Israeli
|
---|
|
Born
| (
1766-05-11
)
11 May 1766
|
---|
Died
| 19 January 1848
(1848-01-19)
(aged 81)
|
---|
Alma mater
| Leiden University
|
---|
Occupations
| |
---|
Years active
| 1782?1848
|
---|
Employer
| John Murray
|
---|
Spouse
|
Maria Basevi
(
m.
; died
)
|
---|
Children
| 5, including
Benjamin Disraeli
|
---|
Parents
| |
---|
Isaac D'Israeli
(11 May 1766 ? 19 January 1848) was a
British
writer, scholar and the father of
British prime minister
Benjamin Disraeli
. He is best known for his essays and his associations with other men of letters.
Life and career
[
edit
]
Isaac was born in
Enfield, Middlesex
, England, the only child of
Benjamin D'Israeli
(1730?1816), a
Sephardic Jewish
merchant who had immigrated from
Cento
, Italy, in 1748, and his second wife, Sarah Syprut de Gabay Villa Real (1742/3?1825). Isaac received much of his education in
Leiden
. At the age of 16, he began his literary career with some verses addressed to
Samuel Johnson
. He became a frequent guest at the table of the publisher
John Murray
and became one of the noted
bibliophiles
of the time.
In 1797 D'Israeli published
Vaurien
, a romantic novel set in radical circles following the French Revolution. Conservative commentators praised the book for its mockery of radicals in England and depiction of Vaurien, who has come from France to foment revolution. Yet they were perturbed by his depiction of a prostitute, who is kindly and was forced into prostitution to feed her family after her husband was ruined by a litigious neighbour for stealing an apple. Moreover, they were shocked by a chapter in which Disraeli launched a staunch defence of the Jewish community condemning the way Jews were treated in England.
[1]
On 10 February 1802, D'Israeli married Maria Basevi (1774/5?1847), who came from another London merchant family of
Italian-Jewish
descent. The marriage was a happy one, producing five children: Sarah ("Sa"; 1802?1859);
Benjamin
("Ben" or "Dizzy"; 1804?1881); Naphtali (b. 1807, died in infancy); Raphael ("Ralph"; 1809?1898); and Jacobus ("James" or "Jem"; 1813?1868). The children were named according to Jewish customs and the boys were all circumcised. Religiously, however, Isaac D'Israeli appears to have set aside his Jewish beliefs. In the midst of an eight-year dispute with the
Bevis Marks Synagogue
and on the advice of his friend, historian
Sharon Turner
, all his children were baptised into the
Church of England
in 1817. In 1833 he published a severely critical analysis of contemporary
Judaism
,
The Genius of Judaism
. He himself did not receive baptism, however, and never indicated any desire to exchange Judaism for Christianity. He did attend the inauguration ceremonies of the
Reform Synagogue
at Burton Street, London.
He penned a handful of English adaptations of traditional tales from the Middle East, wrote a few historical biographies, and published a number of poems. His most popular work was a collection of essays entitled
Curiosities of Literature.
The work contained myriad anecdotes about historical persons and events, unusual books, and the habits of book-collectors. The work was very popular and sold widely in the 19th century, reaching its eleventh edition (the last to be revised by the author) in 1839.
[2]
It was still in print when the
Encyclopædia Britannica
entry was written in 1911. His book
The Life and Reign of Charles I
(1828) resulted in his being awarded the degree of
D.C.L.
from the
University of Oxford
.
In 1841, he became blind and, though he underwent an operation, his sight was not restored. He continued writing with his daughter as his
amanuensis
. In this way he produced
Amenities of Literature
(1841) and completed the revision of his work on Charles I. He died of
influenza
at age 81, at his home,
Bradenham House
, in
Buckinghamshire
, less than a year after the death of his wife in the spring of 1847.
D'Israeli's daughter-in-law, the wife of his eldest son, Benjamin, erected
a monument to him
in June 1862 following his death. It stands on a hill near
Hughenden Manor
, the Disraelis' country house in Buckinghamshire.
[3]
Major works
[
edit
]
- Curiosities of Literature
(5 vols. [1791?1823]; 3 vols. [1824])
- A Dissertation on Anecdotes
[1793]
- An Essay on the Literary Character
[1795]
- Miscellanies; or, Literary Recreations
[1796]
- Romances
[1799]
- Flim-Flams!, or the Life and Errors of My Uncle and the Amours of My Aunt
[1805-6]
- Commentaries on the Life and Reign of Charles the First, King of England
(5 vols. 1828-1831)
- Amenities of Literature
[1841]
- Calamities of Authors
[1812?3]
- Quarrels of Authors
[1814]
- The Genius of Judaism
[1833]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Academics
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|