Eminent Victorians

Eminent Victorians, published in 1918, is Lytton Strachey’s groundbreaking biographical work that helped redefine the genre. Consisting of four critical portraits—Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold, and General Gordon—Strachey uses wit, irony, and psychological insight to expose the moral rigidity and contradictions of Victorian figures. His approach, blending scholarly research with literary flair and satire, broke from traditional hagiography and launched modern biography. Eminent Victorians is both a brilliant critique of its subjects and a reflection on the cultural myths of the era.