Benjamin Disraeli Letters, Vol. 5: 1848-1851

Bonnie Bates is a reference library assistant at the National Gallery of
Canada in Ottawa.

Benjamin Disraeli stands out in English history as a superior
politician, organizer, writer, and orator, but little is known about the
man behind the reputation. Fortunately for the contemporary scholar
there exists the Disraeli Project at Queen’s University, which since
1982 has been publishing the collected letters of Disraeli, complete
with annotations, indexes, and checklists. Vol. 5 covers the years
1848-1851, the period when Disraeli was gaining influence in Parliament.
Through these letters the reader is able to get inside Disraeli’s head
and see what he really thought about people, events, and issues.

The editors have wisely chosen to present the letters in chronological
order rather than using some form of thematic arrangement. They have
also done an excellent job of providing concise annotations for the
letters. Their introduction provides a good overview of the period
covered by the letters.

While it is certainly a daunting task to edit the work of a man who has
been described as the best letter writer ever among English statesmen,
the Disraeli Project has managed to preserve the integrity of the
letters while at the same time making them more accessible to the
general public. The audience for this publication will probably be
students and scholars of 19th-century Britain, but I would recommend it
for anyone interested in the Victorian period.