Disraeli, son of a bookish Jewish immigrant from Morocco, was the first outsider to rule Britain since the Romans, a rise achieved with brazen intrigue and brilliant wit but without money, land or connections. ‘Mr. Disraeli is Prime Minister!’ Queen Victoria wrote to her daughter Vicky. ‘A proud thing for a man “risen from the people”.’ He celebrated: ‘I’ve climbed to the top of the greasy pole.’
