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Books

Politics as an aphrodisiac: the secret of the Disraelis’ happy marriage

A review of Mr and Mrs Disraeli by Daisy Hay paints a glowing picture of the marriage of two political minds

17 January 2015

9:00 AM

17 January 2015

9:00 AM

Mr and Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance Daisy Hay

Chatto, pp.308, £20

The long, happy and unlikely marriage of the great Conservative leader Disraeli and his wife Mary Anne, 12 years his senior, is analysed thoughtfully in Daisy Hay’s new book. Reading between the lines, it is possible to see the Disraelis as a Victorian power couple not unlike the Underwoods in Netflix’s remade House of Cards — he, high on his own oratory; she, a valuable campaign asset; together, a marriage that is child-free and (with his sexuality in question) built on blackberries at bedtime.

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