Library Journal
An illustrated edition of the classic, with numerous paintings, drawings, and photographs of the Victorian era enhancing the text.-- MR
Eminent Victorians (Oxford World's Classics Series)
- ISBN: 0192801589
- ISBN-13: 9780192801586
- Pub. date: 10/28/2003
- Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
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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.
Lytton Strachey's biographical essays on four "eminent Victorians" dropped an explosive charge on Victorian England when the book was published in 1918. It ushered in the modern biography and raised the genre to the level of high literary art. Strachey approached his subjects with skepticism rather than reverence, and his iconoclastic wit and engaging narratives thrilled as well as shocked his contemporaries. Debunking Church, Public School and Empire, his portraits of Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Dr. Arnold of Rugby, and General Gordon of Khartoum changed perceptions of the Victorians for a generation. This edition is unique in being fully annotated and in drawing on the full range of Strachey's manuscript materials and literary remains.
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**** Strachey's project for a collection of short biographies "written from a slightly cynical standpoint" began taking shape in 1912, and was published in May 1918. He chose four complementary figures through whom to explore the dynamics of the Victorian era: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Dr. Arnold and General Gordon. This new edition contains both b&w and color illustrations. No bibliography or index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)