Disraeli A Picture of the Victorian Age Author:Andre Maurois The year 1874 was climactic for Benjamin Disraeli. A dandy, an occasional novelist, a brilliant orator and shrewd parliamentary tactician, he acted as though he always knew he would be prime minister... and now he was. — He traveled a singular road. Dizzy's grandfather was an Italian-Jewish emigre who got rich on speculation. His father, a st... more »udious man of strong convictions, lived on the inheritance. He broke with the synagogue and had his son baptized in the Church of England.« less