Reviews for Benjamin Disraeli in Spain, Malta and Albania, 1830-32: A Monograph

The average rating for Benjamin Disraeli in Spain, Malta and Albania, 1830-32: A Monograph based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-04-11 00:00:00 Ken Landsbaum It is very hard to know the absolute truth. It becomes even harder when said truth is tainted by countless sets of ideas, words and prejudices. The "truth" is nothing more than a word, subjective, and to each person there is one truth. It is only natural, therefore, that one story can take different turns and styles depending on who is writing it. De Profundis is a beautiful work of art, a piece that conveys the suffering and purest love of the one who wrote it. Many things have been said about that letter, but no one can deny it is a confession of pure and utter love. As it was made for one set of eyes only, one feels wicked while reading, like one is entering an intimate realm in which we were not meant to be a part of. Bosie's work is clearly made to be read, which makes it more bearable. It nevertheless managed to bring tears to my eyes, because of many reasons which I will state. - Bosie feels the need to excuse himself of his relationship with men, especially his relationship with Oscar Wilde, because he lived in an era where said relationships meant time in prison. This to me is an inexcusable and wicked flaw in society, and I wish I could tell him and Wilde that there was nothing wrong whatsoever with the way they felt. In both De Profundis and Bosie's work, we see from both authors a lot of pain and contempt with one another, but most of all one can read between the lines the love they had for each other. Wilde did not try to hide it, probably because, as I said, his letter was meant for Bosie only, but even Bosie in his attempt to downplay the whole thing as a "vice", he could not help but add that love he felt between his lines. A love that was corrupted by society and then by their friends, their enemies, and everyone else in between. - Bosie feels angry at De Profundis, he feels angry that he will be remembered moslty because of his relationship with Oscar Wilde and he is, to this day, remembered by it. As I said, the truth isn't, I don't think, in either of the pieces, though I do feel for Bosie when he says he has been made the villain of the story because it's true. Bosie is portrayed everywhere as this vicious man who corrupted Wilde and then abandoned him to his misery, a myth which I always have known to be untrue or, at the very least, a very corrupted version of the truth. The other people who have played parts in this, such as Ross and Harris, had their own agenda and their reasons to attack or defend either men. I do believe Bosie when he says he suffered inmensley from this whole ordeal. I believe him when he says he never left Wilde, mostly because it has been proven. I am inclined to believe he did not receive De Profundis until much later, because it explains his angry reaction in writing Oscar Wilde and Myself . I also believe Wilde when he says Bosie was spoiled, as being an aristocrat I expect no less. I believe the incidents both men portrayed to have some truth, and I definitely believe Ross made a huge part in turning them to each other. But most of it all, I believe it completely unfair that such a "sin" that today would have been seen as a simple relationship, not only ruined the lives of two great authors and brought one to his death, but it also will remain forever in history as the scandal it was at the time. I am glad we have come to such a progress, but it saddens me to think of them living this atrocious nightmare. Love becomes such a wicked word when it is tainted by jealousy and fear, by public opinion.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-10-07 00:00:00 John Ferrebee Bosie Douglas, well known for his role in Oscar Wilde's downfall, tends to be villainized by biographers and it's not difficult to understand why. Even in his own version of events he comes across as arrogant and snobbish. He was a self-confessed anti-Semitic whose preferred hobbies appeared to be gambling, suing people and being sued in return. It's also interesting that a man who claims to have so much merit as an artist was also so self-aware of the fact that people's interest in him largely revolved around his connection with Oscar, to the extent that even his own autobiography has Oscar's name in the title. I'll be honest that I was often bored when reading this. The most interesting part of the book is the middle, when he recounts his involvement with Oscar and his own version of events. However, because Bosie outlived Oscar by quite a large margin, the last 40% of the book barely mentions him at all except to make snide comments or to mention that Oscar's name always seemed to come up in court whenever he was in the witness-box. Because of this, the last section really drags. I'm not even going to pretend I was interested in the chapters where he goes into detail about his time at the races and all the money he lost and won. The chapters about his wife are a little more interesting, but then we switch to a detailed account of the many court cases Bosie was involved in, and once again the book becomes monotonous. I also sensed he was running out of steam by the end, because his most notable legal case - the one involving Winston Churchill, aka the only one that's particularly interesting - is glossed over pretty quickly, probably because Bosie lost. After that he trails off into a pretty dismal ending in which he attempts to gloss over the fact that he'd basically alienated everyone at this point. By the time of his death, he was penniless and alone, and it's hard to say he didn't deserve it. His arrogance is undeniable, but I actually think that was my favourite thing about the book. I couldn't help but laugh at how unapologetically up himself Bosie was, and I highlighted dozens of quotes where he extolls his own virtues with no self-consciousness whatsoever: his attractiveness, his intelligence, his artistic talent, his sense of humour. If there was anyone Bosie was truly in love with, it was undoubtedly himself. Here are some of my favourites: "I have a stack of George Wyndham's letters in my possession. I offered them to those who were compiling a collection of his letters, but they did not appear to want them. It is rather amusing, because in a hundred, or even fifty, years they will be worth more than all of his other letters put together, just because they were written to me." "There can be no object in pretending that I was not rather exceptionally good looking" "I have no doubt that some of my critics will say that I ought not to have chosen letters which make flattering references to my personal appearance. My answer is twofold. In the first place, I cannot choose other letters which are free from such a reference, for the simple reason that they do not exist." If you're interested in Wilde, this is probably worth the read just for a fresh perspective, but I can't pretend it clears the waters at all. The fact of the matter is that we're unlikely to know the whole truth of what happened - there are too many lies and obfuscations and way too much destroyed evidence - but this was an interesting read even so.