Mary Anne Disraeli, 1st Viscountess Beaconsfield (; 11 November 1792 – 15 December 1872) was a British peeress and society figure who was the wife of the British statesman
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
.
Biography
![Hughenden Manor 20080726-4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Hughenden_Manor_20080726-4.jpg)
Born in Brampford Speke, near Exeter in Devon, the only daughter of Commander John Viney-Evans and his cousin Eleanor Scrope-Viney (later Mrs Eleanor Yate). In 1815 at Clifton, Bristol, Mary married
Wyndham Lewis, MP (1780–1838), a colleague of
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
. In August 1839, the year following Lewis's death, she married Disraeli at
St George's, Hanover Square
St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne C ...
, in London. Her fortune allowed him to purchase the estate of
Hughenden Hughenden may refer to:
*Hughenden, Queensland, a town in Australia
*Hughenden, Alberta, a village in central Alberta, Canada
*Hughenden Valley
Hughenden Valley (formerly called Hughenden or Hitchendon) is an extensive village and civil parish in ...
in
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
and to live in the style of an English gentleman.
In recognition of Disraeli's services to the nation,
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
desired to ennoble him at the end of his first ministry. However, as he wished to remain in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
, his wife accepted the title in his place and was created Viscountess Beaconsfield, of
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...
in the
County of Buckingham, on 30 November 1868. (After Mary's death, Disraeli accepted the title of
Earl of Beaconsfield
Earl of Beaconsfield, of Hughenden in the County of Buckingham, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1876 for Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, a favourite of Queen Victoria. Victoria favoured Disraeli's Tory poli ...
.)
Staid Victorians were often scandalised by Mary's uninhibited conversation but soon learned not to insult her within Disraeli's hearing. Even Queen Victoria herself was said to be amused when Mary Anne commented, in response to a remark about some lady's pale complexion, "I wish you could see my Dizzy in his bath!" Once, at a
house party
A house party is a type of party where people gather at the residence of the party's host.
Organization
A house party might be organized several months or just a few hours in advance. News of a party may be spread by personal invitations, ...
where
Lord Hardinge, a great soldier of the day, was in the room next to the Disraelis, Mary Anne announced at breakfast that she had slept the night before between the greatest soldier (Hardinge) and the greatest orator (Disraeli) of their times: Lady Hardinge was definitely not amused.
![The Primrose Tomb - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/The_Primrose_Tomb_-_geograph.org.uk_-_154226.jpg)
Disraeli had been unimpressed by Mary Lewis when he first met her, but he came to understand that she was shrewder than her outward manner had led him to believe. She was a great help to him in editing the books he wrote, and spent 30 years taking care of him. She once joked in public that although he had married her for her money he would do it again for love. In later life she became increasingly eccentric, both in conversation and appearance, but her husband's devotion and loyalty to her never faltered. She was some twelve years older than her husband but their romance continued until the day she died.
In the spring of 1872, Mary became seriously ill, and by May it was clear that she was dying of
stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...
. She rallied sufficiently to take a summer tour through the
Home Counties
The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often inc ...
with her husband. In November she felt well enough to hold a small dinner party for their close friends; but her condition deteriorated and she died on 15 December, at the age of eighty.
"There was no care which she could not mitigate, and no difficulty which she could not face. She was the most cheerful and courageous woman I ever knew" her husband wrote after her death. His great adversary
William Gladstone, who had liked Mary, wrote him a letter of condolence. Disraeli, touched by this sympathy from a man who disliked him, replied that "Marriage is the greatest earthly happiness when founded on mutual sympathy."
She is buried with Disraeli in a vault in the
Church of St Michael and All Angels Church, Hughenden, in
Hughenden, Buckinghamshire, close to the Disraeli family home,
Hughenden Manor
Hughenden Manor, Hughenden, Buckinghamshire, England, is a Victorian mansion, with earlier origins, that served as the country house of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield. It is now owned by the National Trust and o ...
. The house is now in the care of the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
, and has been preserved in the state when it was occupied by the Disraelis. It is open to the public as a visitor attraction.
Cultural depictions
George Arliss
George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...
became renowned for his portrayal of the man in the 1911 play,
''Disraeli'' (which Arliss commissioned), in its 1917 revival, and in
the 1921 and
1929 film adaptations. In all four productions, Arliss' wife,
Florence Arliss (née Montgomery), appeared in the role of Mary.
In ''
The Prime Minister,'' a 1941 British historical film starring
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...
as Disraeli, Mary is portrayed by
Diana Wynyard
Diana Wynyard, CBE (born Dorothy Isobel Cox; 16 January 1906 – 13 May 1964) was an English stage and film actress.
Life and career
Born in Lewisham, South London, Wynyard began her career on the stage. After performing in Liverpool and Lon ...
.
In the four-part 1978
ATV miniseries ''
Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic'', written by
David Butler, she is portrayed by
Mary Peach, opposite
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor, producer and director. He is known for his television performances, particularly as the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (2004 ...
as Disraeli. The miniseries was presented in the U.S. on PBS's
Masterpiece Theatre
''Masterpiece'' (formerly known as ''Masterpiece Theatre'') is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH-TV, WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaim ...
in 1980 and was nominated for the Emmy Award for
Outstanding Limited Series.
Arms
References
Further reading
*
Mollie Hardwick
Mollie Greenhalgh Hardwick (7 March 1916 in Prestwich, Lancashire – 13 December 2003), also known as Mary Atkinson, was an English author who was best known for writing books that accompanied the TV series '' Upstairs, Downstairs''.
Hardwi ...
, ''Mrs Dizzy: The Life of Mary Anne Disraeli, Viscountess Beaconsfield'' (1972)
*
Daisy Hay, ''Mr and Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance'' (2015)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Disraeli, Mary Anne
1792 births
1872 deaths
Disraeli, Mary
Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Women of the Victorian era
Benjamin Disraeli
19th-century Welsh people
Burials in Buckinghamshire
Hereditary peeresses created by Queen Victoria
Wives of knights