9 h 35 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 35 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a young prince believes he is called to end his people's exile?
In Benjamin Disraeli's Alroy, David Alroy lives under foreign rule in the medieval East. A young Jewish prince of the house of David, he faces a call to restore a kingdom. Jabaster, a student of mystic lore, believes he is chosen. His sister Miriam offers the strength of a quieter, steadier faith.
Alroy gathers followers from the mountains and cities, turning long-held hope into action. But Baghdad brings tests beyond the sword. Schirene, a charming woman of the court, draws him toward another life. As faith meets love and power, the story asks whether a sincere leader can keep pride from bending a noble aim.
What you’ll discover
- A prince under pressure Follow a brave, proud young man as his people's hopes become his personal burden.
- Faith with different faces Meet Miriam's quiet devotion and Jabaster's fierce belief in Alroy's mission.
- The pull of Baghdad Enter a court where Schirene offers Alroy a life beyond his mission.
- A richly drawn East Move through palaces, deserts, bazaars and mountain strongholds in Disraeli's bold, musical prose.
- Ambition put to the test Explore how faith, love and pride press upon a leader seeking power for his people.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy adventure with a dreamy edge, tales of kings and prophets, desert journeys, secret spells, and grand palaces.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Alroy refuses comfort bought by submission
- Protecting Miriam makes Alroy a fugitive
- Jabaster gives hope a sacred quest
- Honain offers power through worldly success
- The hidden scepter makes destiny public
- Faith gathers armies and wins victories
- Love tests the conqueror's sacred purpose
- Marvels and mockery share the stage
- Ambition pulls Alroy between rival loyalties
Who’s who
- David AlroyA young Jewish prince of the line of David who dreams of freeing his people and wins a scepter, an army and an empire.
- MiriamAlroy's gentle, devout sister, whose love steadies him and whose faith holds when his own wavers.
- JabasterA stern Cabalist and Levite who trains Alroy and wants a holy nation under the law of Moses.
- HonainJabaster's brother, a hidden Hebrew and physician to the Caliph, who trusts cunning and worldly power over creeds.
- Princess SchireneThe Caliph's daughter, witty and willful, who longs to escape her gilded life and gives her heart to Alroy.
- BostenayAlroy's wealthy uncle, who keeps his people safe by paying tribute and believes in prudence over rebellion.
- ScherirahA bandit chief with a Jewish mother who swears loyalty to Alroy and leads one of his armies.
- EstherA fierce young prophetess who stirs the soldiers with visions and warns Alroy of danger in Babylon.
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Alroy
by Benjamin Disraeli · 1833
A boy who kills a prince flees to a mountain cave, then journeys to the hidden tombs to win Solomon's scepter.
Medium level5–10 hours to read2 languages
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In short
What would you do if the whole world told you to bow and pay, and you could not? David Alroy faces that choice on the day he turns eighteen, in the Persian city of Hamadan.
Alroy at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 40 min4 h 30 min fast, 6 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 81,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1833by Benjamin Disraeli
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Prince Without a Kingdom Refuses Tribute
The story opens on tribute day in Hamadan. The old Prince of the Captivity, Bostenay, rides home on a white mule after paying the yearly tax to the Muslim rulers. His trumpeters sound, and he insists that the glory has not yet departed. He is proud of a procession that most people would call a humiliation.
Bostenay lives by prudence. He is rich, his caravans cross Asia, and his name carries weight in the bazaar of Bagdad. Permission to pay tribute with trumpeters and a few guards seems to him a victory won.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1833
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 10 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Disraeli, Benjamin. Alroy. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/alroy.
Disraeli, B. (2026). Alroy. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/alroy (Original work published 1833)
Disraeli, Benjamin. Alroy. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/alroy.
@book{disraeli2026alroy,
author = {Disraeli, Benjamin},
title = {Alroy},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/alroy},
note = {First published 1833}
}
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What is Alroy by Disraeli about?
It tells of David Alroy, a young Jewish prince in medieval Persia who kills a Muslim governor, flees, wins Solomon's scepter and builds a great empire, then faces the cost of his ambition, love and pride.
Is Alroy based on a true story?
Disraeli drew on a Jewish leader of the twelfth century, but the novel is a romance. He placed the hero in Hamadan and added Cabalistic spirits, magic and invented events, publishing it with a preface dated 1845.
Who is Jabaster in Alroy?
Jabaster is Alroy's teacher, a Cabalist and Levite who lives in a mountain cave. He guides the prince, sends him to find Solomon's scepter, and later becomes High Priest, pressing for a nation ruled by the law of Moses.
The author
Benjamin Disraeli
1804–1881 · British statesman and novelist
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) was a British politician and novelist. He was born in London and lived in England. His novels include Henrietta Temple (1837), Coningsby (1844), Sybil (1845), and Tancred (1847). He led the Conservative Party and served as British prime minister in 1868 and from 1874 to 1880.
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