Benjamin Disraeli, like many men of genius, had such an incredible variety of talents that his achievements of here to contradict one another. A giant among British statesmen, he was also a brilliant and prolific novelist. A close friend of Queen Victoria, Baron Rothschild and other aristocrats, he was also a champion of the poor in an era when they had few rights and fewer spokesmen. Celebrated as the "Lion of London society" for his charm and wit, he was at the same time a master of political intrigue around the conference tables of Europe.

The son of Jewish parents, Disraeli acquired early in life a sensitivity to the need for just laws for all people who were oppressed. His experiences in school were so shattering that he left school and was educated at home. He dreamed of becoming Prime Minister and, as a step in that direction, decided on politics as a career.

He became a member of Parliament, where he fought for social reforms. When the balance of power on the continent was in jeopardy, he matched wits with the infamous Bismark and others to restore harmony. In one brilliant diplomatic stroke, he borrowed $20,000,000 from the Rothschilds to purchase the Suez Canal for England. And it was because of his efforts the Queen Victoria was crowned Empress of India.

Benjamin Disraeli—statesman, novelist, darling of the aristocracy, idol of the underprivileged—was outspoken in his belief that the strength of a nation is found in the social and moral freedom of its subjects. His life story illuminates the Victorian Age in all its courtly grandeur, social ferment and its exalted place among those nations who forged new principles to protect the rights of man.

From the book