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Lytton Strachey's classic work "Eminent Victorians" was an assault on the Victorian age and its values. In choosing four key figures, Cardinal Manning, Dr Arnold of Rugby, Florence Nightingale and General Gordon, Strachey conducted a masterly hatchet job on four key representatives of their age. His book was an instant bestseller and has been in print ever since. But now the mood has changed. Victorian studies are booming. Scholars are looking again at the Victorian age and are reassessing some of its more notable figures. The text of "Eminent Victorians" is printed here in its integrity with new critical afterwords by scholars, demonstrating how lopsided was Strachey's judgement and representing his subjects in fresh light. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Stories - Masterfully Told.
This book is a joy to read, so eloquently is it written.
Strachey really makes you feel like you're living in another time and place.
These are great stories, masterfully told.
I'm not qualified to comment on the books accuracy.

The chapter on Cardinal Manning also includes a wealth of information about Cardinal John Henry Newman, who was recently beatified. (September 2010)

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Customer Reviews (2)

Wonderful prose but on shaky ground psychologically
Elizabeth and Essex is perhaps the finest example of Strachey's incomparable style. More poetic than prosaic, ripe with imagery and atmosphere, Strachey's elegant, vigorous prose is a treat to read.

Thisis all the more unusual given that Strachey is a historian. In most cases,his style doesn't get in the way of the story; his subjects are usuallyrepresented accurately and with respect.

Unfortunately, he doesn't quitesucceed in this case. Strachey's Victorian sensibilities and Freudian viewof his subjects often take him on wild flights of fancy that fail the testof Occam's razor. For instance, he asserts that Elizabeth was sexuallydisorganized based on a smattering of rumours which, he claims, prove thatshe had a deep-seated fear of sex and perhaps a hysterical block whichprevented her from engaging in intercourse. Pretty convoluted reasoning,especially considering the fact that Elizabeth had perfectly soundpolitical reasons to remain single.

Strachey's portrait of Essex islikewise suspect. He turns the proud scion of an ancient family into amanic-depressive basket case, but his evidence for this is scanty and hisreasoning difficult to follow. Again, is it really likely that Essexplotted to overthrow the government because he saw himself as the true Kingof England, when a much more simple explanation (he was angry and feltinsulted) comes to mind?

Yet even through the flights of psychologicalfancy and the wildly improbable motives, Strachey's portrait continues toenchant. I cannot stress strongly enough how enjoyable and entertainingthis book is. Yes, one does have to take Strachey's explanations with agrain of salt, but the journey itself is a lot of fun and should not bemissed.

I highly recommend this book.

A nice introduction to the personality of QE
If you are interested in the personal details of the latter half of Queen Elizabeth's life, this is an excellent book to read.Her wars and reconciliations with the headstrong Lord Essex (many years her junior) are covered in just the right level of detail, so that the reader is nevergorged on nor starved for insights into what made Gloriana such aremarkable figure.Strachey's first chapter gives a particularly adeptplacement of the Queen's personality within the court of England and thefield of late-16th century Europe.Following chapters contain lesspolitics and more humanity.(The slow, initially frustrated but inevitablerise of Francis Bacon's star is interesting.) ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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Ivan the Poor loses the Wind's magic cloth and the Sun's magic goat to his brother Ivan the Rich, but then the Frost gives him a magic sack. ... Read more

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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free.This is an OCR edition with typos.Excerpt from book:CHAPTER HITHE AGE OF TRANSITIONIn the seventy years that elapsed between the death of Montaigne (1592) and the accession to power of Louis XIV, the tendencies in French literature were fluctuating and uncertain. It was a period of change, of hesitation, of retrogression even; and yet, below these doubtful, conflicting movements, a great new development was germinating, slowly, surely, and almost unobserved. From one point of view, indeed, this age may be considered the most important in the whole history of the literature, since it prepared the way for the most splendid and characteristic efflorescence in prose and poetry that France has ever known; without it, there would have been no Grand Siecle. In fact, it was during this age that the conception was gradually evolved which determined the lines upon which all French literature in the future was to advance. It can hardly be doubted that if the fertile and varied Renaissance movement, which had given birth to thePUiade, to Rabelais, and to Montaigne, had continued to progress unbroken and unchecked, the future literature of France would have closely resembled the contemporary literatures of Spain and England — that it would have continued to be characterised by the experimental boldness and the loose exuberance of the masters of the sixteenth century. But in France the movement was checked; and the result was a body of literature, not only of the highest value, but also of a unique significance in European letters. The break in the Renaissance movement was largely the result of political causes. The stability and peace which seemed to be so firmly established by the brilliant monarchy of Francis I vanished with the terrible outbreak of the Wars of Religion. For about sixty years, with a few intermissions, the nation was ... ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more