Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978) – Episode Three

Catch up with episodes one and two, then let’s jump right in! Episode three of Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978) opens in 1858, with the swearing in of three new members of Parliament, including Baron de Rothschild.

The ladies in the gallery, behind a privacy screen, watch the proceedings as Baron de Rothschild requests to take his oath of office on the Old Testament. Rothschild was a practicing Jew and, of course, Disraeli has some serious feels about his request being denied.

Even though Disraeli was himself a baptized Christian, his parents were Jewish, and he maintained a strong link to his ancestry throughout his life.

Which he delivers amidst the protests at Baron de Rothschild’s request, shaming everyone into shutting up. I have to give credit to the hair and makeup department on this episode. They’ve taken Ian McShane, who was about 36 during the filming of this show, and did a pretty faithful job of making him look like the real Disraeli, who was about 50 when the events in this scene took place.

This photograph of Disraeli dates to around 1860. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Of course, Ian McShane is way handsomer, but the hair and makeup team did a pretty good job nonetheless.

Mrs. Gladstone and her husband keep shooting weird looks at one another as Mary Anne prattles on over tea. This whole scene is so strange, but I think it’s meant to show that Mary Anne and Benjamin are vastly different from Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone. Gladstone was on the way to leaving the Conservative party by this point in history, finding himself increasingly at odds with his colleagues, including Disraeli.

Mary Anne is seen wearing a pale lavender moire silk dress with decidedly Aunt Pittypat vibes in the tea scene with Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone. Remember last post where I was complaining that the skirts weren’t full enough? Well, lucky me, she’s wearing an absolutely ginormous hoop skirt and can barely move around the set, lol. Still, I’m impressed that the costume department was able to source that much silk moire for a full late-1850s gown.

Dizzy has to go to Windsor to meet with the Queen and Prince Albert concerning the Indian rebellion of 1857. He describes facing them both down as “looking down the muzzle of a double barreled shot gun.” Victoria was not quiet about her dislike of Disraeli at this point, mainly due to his treatment of Peel, one of her favorites. However, she eventually began to come around and soften towards Dizzy as he laid on the charm, remarking at one point, “Everybody likes flattery; and, when you come to royalty, you should lay it on with a trowel.”

Pretty good impression of Prince Albert.

The Disraelis are summoned to Windsor to spend the weekend with the Queen, and the dinner party scene has some really fantastic gowns. This one worn by Princess Alice was my favorite, though the resolution is awful so it’s really hard to make out much of the detail.

Full-length shot of Alice’s gown, as well as Mary Anne’s and Victoria’s.

Victoria is wearing some fab replicas of a tiara and necklace. I can’t quite make out which tiara this could be based on (if it’s based at all on any of Victoria’s tiaras), but it almost looks like the Emerald and Diamond tiara. Mary Anne manages to charm Victoria with a slightly dirty joke, which, mad respect.

The timeline then skips to the winter of 1861 when Prince Albert dies of typhoid.

Victoria is in deep mourning when she receives Disraeli at Windsor to ask him not to burn down the country while she’s grieving. Albert was a big fan of Disraeli’s, and his favoritism brought Victoria even closer to Dizzy.

I think we’re into the late 1860s judging by the shape of Mary Anne’s hoops, which are shifting the fullness towards the back in anticipation of the bustle. This scene introduces Montagu Corry, later Baron Rowton, who became Disraeli’s private secretary in 1866. BTW, Mary Anne is 74 at this point in the timeline.

Dizzy is once again appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer, which also happened in 1866. Here he is meeting with Queen Victoria, who is very happy to see him back in the role.

Victoria is wearing a really nice little Mary Stuart-esque cap.

We’ve skipped again to 1868, during Dizzy’s short-lived first stint as Prime Minister. Victoria is seen here accepting his resignation and wearing they style of headdress that is most often associated with her following Albert’s death. She offers to grant him a peerage in thanks for his service and friendship, but he declines and requests instead that she bestow one on Mary Anne in her own right.

Mary Anne is by now suffering from the stomach cancer that eventually kills her. She’s upset to hear that Dizzy declined an earldom, which would put an end to his ambitions in the House of Commons. That said, she learns that Victoria has gone ahead and made her the Viscountess of Beaconsfield.

Here we are in the homestretch of this episode, the early 1870s. The Disraelis are entertaining guests at their home, where Dizzy insists on working to be close to Mary Anne, who is getting sicker by the day. This is more than likely November 1872, when Mary Anne was able to host a dinner party for guests before taking a turn for the worse.

Very obvious wig on Mary Anne, which I’m going to bet is intentional. Being 12 years older than her husband, she’s not long for the world at 80 years old. Her hair and dress are definitely outdated as she reminisces about her husband in his youth.

The episode ends in late 1872 with a visibly unwell Mary Anne insisting upon accompanying her husband to a speech in Manchester. Overall, there were a lot of great costumes for the women in this episode, despite the video quality not being all that good.

Which costume in Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978) is your favorite? Share it with us in the comments!

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2 thoughts on “Disraeli: Portrait of a Romantic (1978) – Episode Three”

ED says:

November 17, 2025 at 8:57 am

Man, they really nailed the casting for Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria – every time the actress’ photograph came up one experienced the same instinctive desire to sit bolt upright and stock still* one gets at the sight of Princess Anne, which seems very apt.

*Their vision is movement-based, remember.
1. Sarah Lorraine says:
  
  November 18, 2025 at 7:05 am
  
  Right? I thought Rosemary Leach was an excellent Victoria.