When we think of Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81), one of two images inevitably first springs to mind: either Disraeli the two-time prime minister of Britain, or Disraeli the author of major novels such as Coningsby, Sybil, and Endymion. But were these two sides of his persona entirely separate? After all, the recurring fantasy structures in Disraeli’s fictions bear a striking similarity to the imaginative ways in which he shaped his political career.

Disraeli: The Romance of Politics provides a remarkable biographical portrait of Disraeli as both a statesman and a storyteller. Drawing extensively on Disraeli’s published letters and speeches, as well as on archival sources in the United Kingdom, Robert O’Kell illuminates the intimate, symbiotic relationship between his fiction and his politics. His investigation shines new light on all of Disraeli’s novels, his two governments, his imperialism, and his handling of the Irish Church Disestablishment Crisis of 1868 and the Eastern Question in the 1870s.

Robert O’Kell is Professor of English, and Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Arts, at the University of Manitoba.

Robert P. O'Kell's profile page

‘Highly recommended.’

Choice Magazine, vol 51:02:2013

‘Disraeli: The Romance of Politics is the most thorough study to date of the relationship between Disraeli’s political and literary careers… O’Kell’s book, already thorough and valuable, may yet come to acquire additional relevance, by highlighting the circuitous nature of routes to political power, and the tenacity of the adventurer.’

Canadian Journal of History vol 49: autumn 2014

“O’Kell is at his most innovative when he reads Disraeli’s explicitly political writing against the imaginative backdrop of the novels. […] The result of this layered reading is that Disraeli’s career in fact appears more plausible as its disparate elements are yoked together in an account which incorporates the different tones of his voice.”

Times Literary Supplement, September 20, 2013

‘O’Kell has brought a remarkably fresh perspective to Disraeli’s career… It is certainly a book that should stand as an example of how a genuinely cross-disciplinary approach to Victorian Studies in general, and ‘the dynamics of political culture’ in particular, can enliven the most studied of nineteenth-century topics.’

The English Historical Review; September 2014

‘Thoughtful, lucid, well-researched book… O'Kell throws new, important, and interesting light on $rdquo;The Chief$rduo;’.

Review19, August 2015

‘The literary life of Benjamin Disraeli is the most important book to be published on this intriguing figure in at least a decade… For the Victorianist, O’Kell’s magnum opus is an exemplar of interdisciplinary methodology and offers a refreshing re-interpretation of Disraeli’s political life and literary works.’

Journal of Victorian Culture, 19 June 2015

O’Kell’s study is a fascinating and compelling portrait of one of Victorian Britain’s most colourful figures… A book that is certain to set a precedent for years to come.’

Victorian Periodicals vol 48:02:2015

‘Robert O’Kell’s Disraeli: The Romance of Politics is a brilliant original book that illuminates Benjamin Disraeli’s mind and temperament as no previous work has managed.; it threatens many other Disraeli biographies seem superficial.’

Victorian Studies vol 57:01:2014

‘This truly interdisciplinary study illuminates the way that drama and narrative art infuse the practice of nineteenth-century politics.’

SEL Studies vol 55:04:2015