Skip to content

Who was Benjamin Disraeli?

Written by
Kit KowolUniversity of Oxford
Portrait of Disraeli as a young man
A portrait of Disraeli as a young man | © National Trust Images/John Hammond

Rising from charismatic young politician to Tory party leading light and eventually Prime Minister – twice – Benjamin Disraeli found sanctuary at Hughenden, his Buckinghamshire hideaway, where he loved to walk in the woods. A literary adventurer with an eye for style, he is considered by many to be the father of modern progressive Conservatism.

Disraeli the literary dandy

Benjamin Disraeli was born in London in 1804 into a moderately wealthy Jewish-Italian family. Immodest and easily bored, he abandoned being a solicitor to become a writer, dressing in ostentatious colourful clothes in homage to his idol, the poet Lord Byron.

His writing career

Though his novels were received generously, his early works never achieved the commercial success needed to pay off the debts he accrued in attempting to impress in literary circles. However, Disraeli’s later novels were massively well received and brought in significant funds.  Endymion, 1880, attracted the largest literary advance of the century and brought him out of the red for the first time.

For an ambitious young man seeking action and financial security, there was thus only one place to go: politics. After all, MPs couldn’t be imprisoned for debt.

 

A bird's-eye view of Hughenden nestling among the trees
Hughenden was Disraeli's Buckinghamshire hideaway | © National Trust Images/Andrew Butler

A ‘One Nation’ Conservative

In the unstable political atmosphere of the 1830s and 40s – many genuinely feared a revolution in Britain – Disraeli became a Tory and swapped his elaborate attire for a new uniform of black frockcoat, plush waistcoat, and grey trousers.

His message on wealth

Attention to image did not, however, mean aversion to thought. In a series of novels, most famously 'Coningsby' (1844) and 'Sybil' (1845), he attacked the extremes of wealth and poverty generated by the Industrial Revolution.

He argued instead for an alliance between masters and men – unsurprisingly to be led by a charismatic young politician – to restore the greatness of Britain’s institutions.

Disraeli’s move to Hughenden Manor

Despite rising quickly in the Tory Party, Disraeli’s Jewish origins and social standing inhibited his success. As such, his political sponsor, Tory leader Lord Bentinck, helped him purchase Hughenden Manor in 1848 where he went on to live with his beloved wife, Mary Anne.

Into the woods

Although never really a ‘country man’, it was Hughenden’s woods that Disraeli enjoyed the most. In a telling contrast to his great political rival, the Liberal leader William whom Disraeli often accused of playing fast and loose with the Constitution, Disraeli preferred removing ivy from trees rather than – as in Gladstone’s case – chopping them down.

 

Close up of a sculpture of Disraeli's face in terracotta set into a wall above a doorway with ivy growing around it
Disraeli left an enduring legacy | © National Trust Images/Chris McEvoy

Becoming Prime Minister

Disraeli’s eventual rise to the premiership in 1868 was to be the result of both port and policy. The Prime Minister Lord Derby was forced to resign on account of gout, and Disraeli, flushed with success after securing a bill to double the number of voters (more ironically than Gladstone intended), was his natural successor.

A short spell at the top

This initial spell in office was brief – the Liberals under Gladstone triumphed in that year’s General Election – and Disraeli didn’t return to Number 10 until 1874.

During this government he introduced legislation designed to improve the conditions of the working class – judged by most historians to be greater in rhetoric than reality – and undertook a bold imperial policy, including audaciously purchasing a controlling interest for Britain in the Suez Canal.

Disraeli’s legacy

Arguably more Boris Johnson than Theresa May, to some Disraeli remains a literary adventurer who led his country like a character in one of his novels. To others he is the founder of modern progressive Conservatism.

The evidence can support both interpretations. Yet, whatever our view, Disraeli reminds us that style and money (or a lack of it) have always played a part in politics. If only he had been alive in the age of Twitter.

Trusted Source

This is a Trusted Source article, created in partnership with the University of Oxford. This article was written by Kit Kowol, who researched the history of the British Conservative Party at the University of Oxford. He is currently working at King’s College, London, as an Early Career Development Fellow in Modern British History.

View of the house from the parkland at Hughenden, Buckinghamshire

Discover more at Hughenden

Find out when Hughenden is open, how to get here, the things to see and do and more.

Our partners

The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities

A hub for multi-disciplinary research projects and research engagement at the University of Oxford

Visit website 

You might also be interested in

The dovecote in the walled garden at Felbrigg, shown with the lily pond in the foreground.
Article
Article

What are Trusted Source articles? 

Find out more about our Trusted Source articles, which were created in partnership with the University of Oxford, and explore topics related to the special places in our care.

View of the house from the parkland at Hughenden, Buckinghamshire
Article
Article

The history of Hughenden 

Find out more about the history that surrounds this estate, from early Domesday records to becoming the home of Queen Victoria’s favourite Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli.

North front of Hughenden Manor in winter
Article
Article

The house at Hughenden 

Visit the house at Hughenden and discover its many stories, from being a famous prime minister’s home to a top-secret war base

Ash dieback on the Hughenden Estate, Buckinghamshire
Article
Article

The estate at Hughenden 

Explore the parkland on one of three colour-coded walks, with its carefully designed views, rare chalk stream and medieval church.

Visitors reading documents and exploring inside Hardy's Cottage, Dorset
Article
Article

Places with famous connections 

Walk in the footsteps of famous people. From The Beatles to Sir Winston Churchill, Agatha Christie to Isaac Newton, discover more as you step into their former homes.

Landscape detail of a portrait of George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, wearing a brown wig and red and white peer's clothes
Article
Article

Criminal or minister: who was George Villiers? 

Learn about George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, a powerful courtier and politician during the reign of Charles II.