A genre-changing work of biography
Eminent Victorians marked an epoch in the art of biography; it also helped to crack the old myths of high Victorianism and to usher in a new spirit by which chauvinism, hypocrisy and the stiff upper lip were debunked. In it, Strachey cleverly exposes the self-seeking ambitions of Cardinal Manning and the manipulative, neurotic Florence Nightingale; and in his essays on Dr Arnold and General Gordon, his quarries are not only his subjects but also the public-school system and the whole structure of nineteenth-century liberal values.
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One of the most famous and baffling romances in history-between Elizabeth I, Queen of England and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex-began in May of 1587, when she was fifty-three and he was just shy of twenty. Their relationship continued until 1601, when the Earl of Essex was beheaded for treason. And, in a succession of brilliant scenes, Strachey portrays the Queen's and the Earl's compelling attraction for on another, their impassioned disagreements, and their mutual contest for power, which led to a final, tragic confrontation. Here we also have superb portraits of influential people of the...

Thirty-five sketches, including pieces on Voltaire, Frederick the Great, Rousseau, Gibbon, Walpole, Boswell, Carlyle, and Sarah Bernhardt, by one of the great biographical writers of this century. Companion volume to Strachey's Literary Essays. Index.

A companion volume to Biographical Essays, this collection of twenty-five pieces includes two of Strachey's finest critical essays, "Shakespeare's Final Period" and "English Letter Writers." Index.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Few books have had such an impact on their own generation as did Eminent Victorians, which exposed the hypocrisy of the Victorian era by deflating the legends surrounding four of its most notable figures. In the process, Strachey revitalized the art of biography.

Eminent Victorians, first published in 1918 and consisting of biographies of four leading figures from the Victorian era. Its fame rests on the irreverence and wit Strachey brought to bear on three men and a woman who had till then been regarded as heroes and heroine. They were: * Cardinal Manning * Florence Nightingale * Thomas Arnold * General Gordon The book made Strachey's name and placed him firmly in the top rank of biographers, where he remains.

Reprint of the biography of Queen Victoria, originally published in 1921.