Disraeli, Benjamin
Disraeli, Benjamin ( 1804 – 81 ),first earl of Beaconsfield, politician, prime minister, and novelist. The oldest son of I. D'Israeli , Benjamin attended private schools in and near London, but acquired much of his education in his father's extensive library. When he was 15 he wrote a short tale, ‘A True Story’, which Leigh Hunt published in the Indicator in 1820 . At 17 he was articled in Lincoln's Inn but was more interested in the literary world inhabited by his father. He was to attempt an ambitious variety of literary forms (including epic, verse tragedy, and satire) before he settled on the novel. In 1826 , with profits from speculative ventures in the Americas, he and John Murray established a daily paper, the Representative, in opposition to The Times , and the organization was well advanced when the boom collapsed and Disraeli withdrew; the new paper survived for seven...
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