Giles Lytton Strachey

Broschiertes Buch

Eminent Victorians

A Pioneering Work in Victorian Biography and Bloomsbury Group Modernism

Beschreibung

Lytton Stracheys Eminent Victorians redefined biographical writing with its incisive, irreverent portraits of four iconic 19th-century figures. Published in 1918, this groundbreaking work dismantles Victorian hagiography through sharp psychological insight and modernist irony. Strachey, a central figure in the Bloomsbury Group, dissects Cardinal Mannings ecclesiastical ambition, Florence Nightingales complex legacy, Dr. Thomas Arnolds educational reforms, and General Gordons imperial contradictions. The book opens with Mannings rise to power within the Catholic Church, contrasting his spiritual zeal with political maneuvering. Strachey juxtaposes Nightingales public image as the « Lady with the Lamp » against her obsessive, domineering private persona. In his critique of Dr. Arnold, he questions the moral rigidity behind Rugby Schools educational ideals. The final portrait of Gordon captures the tragic absurdity of British imperialism during the Khartoum siege. Stracheys prose blends wit with meticulous research, situating the work within categories like Modernist Literature, Historical Biography, and Cultural Criticism. By focusing on flaws rather than virtues, he exposes the tensions between public myth and private reality, challenging the idolization of Victorian heroes. The narratives fragmented structure and subjective perspective reflect Bloomsburys rejection of traditional storytelling. This edition includes critical annotations contextualizing Stracheys anti-establishment stance in post-World War I Britain. Eminent Victorians remains essential reading for understanding how biography evolved into a tool for cultural critique.

Autor

Giles Lytton Strachey (1880.1932) revolutionized biographical writing as a leading intellectual of the Bloomsbury Group. Born into a prominent British family, he rejected Victorian conventions through works like Eminent Victorians, which redefined historical portraiture with psychological depth and ironic detachment. Educated at Cambridge, Strachey became a key figure in early 20th-century modernism, collaborating with Virginia Woolf and John Maynard Keynes. Stracheys career combined literary innovation with progressive social views. His 1918 masterpiece dismantled the heroic narratives surrounding Cardinal Manning and Florence Nightingale, employing fragmented storytelling and subjective analysis. This approach aligned with Bloomsburys emphasis on individualism and artistic experimentation. Later works, including Queen Victoria, further demonstrated his ability to humanize icons through intimate, unflinching detail. A pacifist during World War I, Strachey channeled his disdain for authoritarianism into critiques of imperialist ideologies. His prose style marked by epigrammatic wit and elliptical phrasing influenced generations of biographers. Despite controversies over factual accuracy, Eminent Victorians endures as a landmark in 20th-century historiography, bridging literary modernism and cultural analysis.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: BoD - Books on Demand / Books on Demand GmbH
• 1. Auflage
• Seitenzahl: 78
• Erscheinungstermin: 14. April 2025
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 210mm x 148mm x 6mm
• Gewicht: 126g
• ISBN-13: 9782322572380
• ISBN-10: 2322572381
• Artikelnr.: 73896094