Lord George Bentinck: A Political Biography.

DISRAELI, Benjamin.

Item Number: 137345

London: Colburn and Co., Publishers, 1852.

First edition of Disraeli’s authoritative biography of Lord George Bentinck. Octavo, bound in full polished calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panel, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, rebacked. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “The Marchioness of Salisbury with the Author’s Compliments.” The recipient, the Marchioness of Salisbury, was the wife, widow, or daughter in law of Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, also known as Lord Salisbury or Marquess Salisbury. Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen years. He was also Foreign Secretary for much of his tenure, and during his last two years of office he was Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal. Lord Robert Cecil was first elected to the House of Commons in 1854 and served as Secretary of State for India in Lord Derby’s Conservative government 1866–1867. In 1874, under Disraeli, Salisbury returned as Secretary of State for India, and, in 1878, was appointed foreign secretary, and played a leading part in the Congress of Berlin. After Disraeli’s death in 1881, Salisbury emerged as Conservative leader in the House of Lords, with Sir Stafford Northcote leading the party in the Commons. He succeeded William Ewart Gladstone as prime minister in June 1885, and held the office until January 1886. With an additional autograph note signed by and entirely in Disraeli’s hand which reads, “Dear Lady Salisbury, Your interesting conversation emboldens me to offer you a copy of a work which I am about to publish… in the treatment of my theme, there may be found, perhaps some traits of characters which may attract a mind as thoughtful as your own.. Disraeli Dec 16, 1867.” In near fine condition. A very nice association.

British statesman and Conservative politician Benjamin Disraeli served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party, defining its policies and its broad outreach. Disraeli is remembered for his influential voice in world affairs, his political battles with the Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone, and his one-nation conservatism or "Tory democracy". He made the Conservatives the party most identified with the glory and power of the British Empire. He is the only British prime minister to have been of Jewish birth. He was also a novelist, publishing works of fiction even as prime minister.