Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli. Lord George Bentinck: a political biography; new ed; with introd. by Charles Whibley. **$2. Dutton.
“It seemed timely, amid the great free-trade electoral campaign just closed across the water to bring out on behalf of the losing side a new edition of Disraeli’s political biography.... It opens on the eve of the repeal of the Corn laws, of which it gives the Tory view. Bentinck forestalled Chamberlain in thinking that England’s commercial policy should be not free trade but reciprocity.” (Nation.) Mr. Whibley in his introduction “leads thru unsparing denunciation of Cobden and Peel up to a parallel between the leader of the Protectionists in 1846 and the leader of the Protectionists to-day. Thus it trenches so closely upon present politics that we, being non-political must leave Mr. Whibley’s opinions to speak for themselves.” (Ath.)
“An eloquent, not to say vehement, introduction. Frankly partisan in tone.”
+ – Ath. 1905, 2: 610. N. 4. 150w.
“Mr Whibley has certainly managed to compress into a few pages an exhibition of a lack of political judgment and foresight, along with a degree of supercilious cocksureness which will not conduce to recommend his work to the reading public.”
– + Ind. 60: 804. Ap. 5, ’06. 450w.
“Mr. Whibley has written as if he had lost at once his temper and his sense of historical perspective.”
– + Lond. Times. 4: 348. O. 20, ’05. 1100w. Nation. 82: 200. Mr. 8, ’06. 190w.
“From the historical standpoint, too, there is ample room for criticism. The sweeping statements common to campaign documents abound.”