Isaac D'Israeli
Isaac D'Israeli was a prominent literary figure born in 1766 to a Jewish family in London, where his father was an importer from Italy. Although raised in a community known for its tolerance, D'Israeli faced educational limitations due to his non-Anglican status, which restricted him from attending university. He initially trained for a business career in Amsterdam, where he developed a passion for literature, inspired by Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau. Upon returning to England, he pursued a literary career, despite familial opposition, and published his first significant work, "Curiosities of Literature," in 1791, which became widely popular. D'Israeli also wrote poetry and prose, including historical romances and satirical works. He married Maria Basevi and had five children, one of whom, Benjamin D'Israeli, would become the British Prime Minister. Later in life, D'Israeli made the controversial decision to have his children baptized in the Anglican Church after a dispute with the Jewish community. He is remembered for his contributions to literature and his influential son, as well as his own reputation as a scholar and critic.
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Isaac D'Israeli
Scholar
- Born: May 1, 1766
- Birthplace: Enfield, Middlesex, England
- Died: January 18, 1848
- Place of death: Bradenham House, Buckinghamshire, England
Biography
Isaac D’Israeli was born to Benjamin D’Israeli and his second wife, Sarah Shiprut de Gabay Villa Real, in 1766. His father, an importer of Italian manufactured goods, immigrated to England from Italy in 1748, and the family settled as members of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community in London. In this era, London was particularly tolerant of its Jewish population, but D’Israeli’s education was limited. Since he was not an Anglican, he was forbidden a university education and was consigned to live life as a merchant.
He attended school in Enfield, England, before being sent to Amsterdam in 1780 to train for a career in business. In Amsterdam, he studied literature, particularly the Enlightenment works of Voltaire and Jean Jacques Rousseau, and languages, including French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Dutch. In time, the solitary youngster became more intrigued with literature than with business and returned to England bent on a literary career, despite his family’s deep objections. In 1787, D’Israeli was sent on a tour of France, where he spent time among Parisian writers. This trip strengthened his resolve to be a writer.
After the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, D’Israeli returned to England and began to write poetry. Most of his poetry, written in heroic couplets, was not well received and he soon came to realize his more valuable talents as a compiler and literary historian. In 1791, he published a volume of literary anecdotes, the very popular Curiosities of Literature, which was frequently updated and eventually grew to four volumes. The final version included 276 articles.
An Essay on the Manners and Genius of the Literary Character (1795), which foreshadowed William Wordsworth’s and Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s groundbreaking Biographia literaria, explored the psychology of genius. In his many literary circles, D’Israeli strongly advocated for the work of poets Lord Byron and William Blake. He also tried his hand at fiction, writing historical romances and a novel. His novel Mejnoun and Leila (1800) details life in Persia; Flim-Flams (1805) satirizes the scientific intelligentsia of the era.
In 1802, D’Israeli married Maria Basevi, the daughter of a wealthy Jewish merchant of Italian origin. The couple had five children, including the future British prime minister, Benjamin, born in 1804. In 1817, after an argument with the Jewish establishment, D’Israeli had his children baptized in the Anglican Church. D’Israeli is fondly remembered for his good nature and for his famous son, Benjamin, prime minister under Queen Victoria as well as a popular novelist. However, before the fame of his son placed the father in the shadows, D’Israeli was a highly regarded as a scholar and critic.