Eminent Victorians

Eminent Victorians is a non-fiction book written by Lytton Strachey and published in 1918. The book is a collection of biographical essays that examine the lives of four famous Victorians: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold, and General Gordon. Strachey’s writing style is characterized by a witty and irreverent tone that challenges the traditional view of these figures as heroic and infallible. Instead, he presents them as flawed and complex individuals, whose actions and beliefs were shaped by the social and political context of their time. In the first essay, Strachey examines the life of Cardinal Manning, a prominent figure in the Catholic Church who converted from Anglicanism. He portrays Manning as a power-hungry and manipulative figure who used his influence to advance his own interests. The second essay focuses on Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Strachey portrays Nightingale as a driven and passionate reformer who was also deeply flawed. He criticizes her for her authoritarian leadership style and her belief in eugenics. The third essay is about Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School and a leading figure in the Victorian educational system. Strachey portrays Arnold as a well-meaning but misguided reformer who failed to address the underlying problems of the education system. The final essay examines the life of General Gordon, a British soldier and administrator who became a hero during the Siege of Khartoum. Strachey portrays Gordon as a deeply religious and eccentric figure who was ultimately undone by his own arrogance and naivete. Overall, Eminent Victorians is a groundbreaking work of biography that challenged the traditional view of Victorian heroes and paved the way for a more critical and nuanced approach to historical figures.1918. The famous biographer of the Victorians, Strachey was one of the leading members of the Bloomsbury group. Eminent Victorians is a groundbreaking work of biography that raised the genre to the level of high art. It replaced reverence with skepticism and Strachey’s wit, iconoclasm, and narrative skill liberated the biographical enterprise. His portraits of Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold, and General Gordon changed perceptions of the Victorians for a generation. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world’s literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.