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Author: D'Israeli, Isaac

Biography:

D'Israeli, Isaac (1766-1848: ODNB)

Isaac D'Israeli was the only child of an Italian immigrant, Benjamin D'Israeli, who had become a prosperous businessman, and his second wife Sara Syprut de Gabay Villa Real. His parents wanted him to follow his father into business and sent him to gain experience on the Continent, but he took up languages and literature instead. In 1791 he became financially independent as a result of an inheritance and embarked on the life of a bibliophile and man of letters. His career as a poet was relatively short, and his prose fictions were not very successful. He was best known in his lifetime and thereafter for his collections of literary portraits, anecdotes, and essays, notably the Curiosities of Literature (1791-1823) and Essay on the Literary Character (1795, with later revisions). In 1802 he married Maria Basevi--a long and happy marriage that produced five children, including the novelist and statesman Benjamin Disraeli (q.v.). (ODNB 8 Sept. 2018)

 

Books written (3):

London: John Murray, 1803
Philadelphia/ Baltimore/ Washington City [DC]/ Petersburg [VA]/ Norfolk [VA]: Conrad and Co./ M. and J. Conrad and Co./ Rapin, Conrad and Co./ Somervell and Conrad/ Bonsal, Conrad and Co., 1803