Mary Anne Disraeli 1792 - 1872

Mary Anne (aka MA) is the daughter of John and Elenor (nee Viney) Evans. She married Tory MP Wyndham Lewis in 1815, and she met Benjamin Disraeli in April of 1832. Lewis died in March of 1838, and Mary Anne married Disraeli on August 28th, 1839.

Mary Anne excercised a great deal of control over Benjamin. She mothered him, picked out his clothes, cut his hair, managed his house, and aided his political career through promotion. She adored her husband, and thought him most handsome, as well as brilliant. She brought money to the marriage, but Benjamin was exceedingly fond of her. Though she was relatively uneducated, she was very savvy and much fun.

She was very possesive and jealous, and it was this which created the fissure between Sarah and her brother. Mary Anne was a great believer in propriety, and insisted that all correspondances to Benjamin from women, even his sister, be specifically address to her. Because of this proclaimation, Sarah and Benjamin spent many years sending secret messages through his club address.

During the later 1850s, Mary Anne's health began to fail, as can be read in the letters. She was certain that death was near. The true extent of her illness is uncertain, as a favourite Victorian pastime was the lamentation and description of illness. She eventually died of cancer in 1872.