Robert Blake (1) (1916–2003)

Few prime ministers in British history have been as memorable as Benjamin Disraeli. The son of a prominent literary scholar, he enjoyed success as a novelist before turning to a career in politics, Though elected to the House of Commons at a relatively late age, the split in the Conservative Party over the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 (a split resulting in part from Disraeli’s active campaigning against the measure) catapulted him to the front rank of the party. After several brief show more periods in office during the 1850s and 1860s, he became the leader of the party in 1868 and served twice as prime minister, where he spearheaded the acquisition of the Suez Canal and won admiration for his role at the Congress of Berlin in 1878.

Disraeli has not wanted for biographers, yet Robert Blake’s work has long been the standard by which they were judged. A renowned historian, his book offers an engaging and insightful look at Disraeli and his times. He presents Disraeli as a Romantic figure whose career was guided by his idolization of the monarchy and an aristocratic order that had long shunned him. While such views may have been more fitting for the political world of the 18th century rather than that of the 19th, his belief in the continuing relevance of these institutions in an increasingly democratic age eventually won the social parvenu the gratitude of the nobility and the devotion of his queen, who mourned his passing when he died in 1881.

In reading Blake’s book, it is easy to understand why it endures as a study of Disraeli’s life and career. Though some of his interpretations have been superseded by subsequent work, Blake’s success in conveying the flamboyance and political ability of his subject makes this a book a rewarding and enjoyable read today for anyone seeking to learn about this unique and fascinating figure. Nearly a half century after its publication, this remains the best single book on Disraeli and continues to serve as an excellent study of the politics of Victorian Britain, one that is essential reading for anyone interested in its subject. show less

Brilliantly written history of The Princely Hong
Written by renowned historian Robert Blake, this commissioned history of Jardine Matheson presents a sweeping history of this primus inter pares among British hongs, whose 171-year existence helped revitalize an Empire, and irrevocably changed the face of Asia.

Jardine Matheson is a British company whose prodigious trading activities were responsible for helping maintain a delicate balance of trade for Great Britain during the nineteenth show more century. A unique tripartite trade arrangement, bullion for tea and tea for opium, emerged, and the story of how this came about is as interesting as the story of Jardines.

During the 1830s, Chinese tea was in great demand in Britain, which consumed about 30 million pounds per annum. Tariffs on tea imports contributed about three million pounds annually to the British treasury; therefore, tea commerce held great political and commercial significance. However, this happy state of affairs presented a conundrum. Because the Chinese would only accept specie metals, such as silver, in payment for what an observer called 'the deleterious produce of China', the ever-increasing importation of tea from China began to considerably--and negatively--affect Britain's trade balance with that kingdom. To the Chinese kingdom's detriment and regret, the traders learned through trial and error that Indian opium was the key to maintaining the lucrative tea trade with the Middle Kingdom.

Jardine Matheson did not devise this three-sided trade, but the firm was in the right place at the right time, and was thus poised to profit immeasurably from this sort of arbitrage. The China trade made Jardines immensely powerful--so powerful, in fact, that its lobbying efforts to exact an indemnity from the Chinese government, which tried to stop the opium trade, led to the First Opium War.

This book makes an enthralling addition to business historiography, and considerably illuminates the role of private firms in economic and colonial adventurism in the Far East during the nineteenth century. For further reading, I recommend "Merchants to Multinationals: British Trading Companies in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries" if one wants to delve more into how the great British trading companies adapted to a changing economic landscape.

(Posted in Amazon.com, January 24, 2004) show less

1124 Disraeli, by Robert Blake (read 23 Aug 1971) This 1967 book has been acclaimed the definitive biography of its subject. Disraeli was born in London on Dec 21, 1804, baptized in the Church of England in 1817, led an immoral life as a young man, wrote novels, had much money trouble, finally got elected to Parliament on July 27, 1837 (he received 616 votes and won!), was instrumental in the downfall of Peel in 1846, became Prime Minister in 1868, won a great Tory victory in 1874, lost to show more Gladstone in 1880, and died on April 19,1881, at his country home, Hughendum. The book deals with all the obscure English parliamentary things, the Berlin Conference of 1878, and much more. I admired Disraeli in power, even though ideologically I would not expect to. But I have a soft spot in my heart for the British Empire, and always will have, and this book suited me fine. I really don't think this is as perfect a biography as the one I read of Asquith (by Roy Jenkins) in January of 1969, because it was not quite as chronological, and it was a little long, and it assumed a little too much familiarity with English mid-19th century facts. But I did enjoy it, and feel the reading to have been well worthwhile. show less

The low rating is due to the fact that I can't remember a thing about it. Either it is a collection of things said more vividly by other sources and therefore not traceable to this book...or....the critique was so devastating that I am suffering traumatic amnesia! I guess one might read it.