D'Israeli
ISAAC (diz-rāli), an English essayist, compiler, and historian; father of Benjamin; born in Enfield in Middlesex, May, 1766. He was of Spanish-Jew stock, but left the Jewish communion. Rejecting a career or trade, he frequented the British Museum and compiled the "Curiosities of Literature," in 1791. The author presented the copyright to the publisher, but bought it back a few years later on its remarkable success; it is still republished. A series of like collections followed, with the same success: "Calamities of Authors," "Quarrels of Authors," "Miscellanies, Literary Recollections." He wrote some unsuccessful romances; among them is "Mejnoun and Leila," probably the earliest Oriental romance in the language. His "Commentaries on the Life and Reign of Charles I." marked a distinct advance in the methods of historical research. He died Jan. 9, 1848. or