eminent victorians summary
He appointed prefects from the Sixth Form (the equivalent of eleventh and twelfth grade in the United States) who were given responsibilities over every part of school life. He also felt drawn towards the Roman Catholic Church. If not, which essay in the book is least accurate? With relentless precision, Strachey explores the lives of four exemplars of the Victorian age: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold and General Gordon, irreverently bringing to light the flaws, strengths, ambitions and hypocrisies of these treasured legends. The early Victorian years witnessed the emergence of a cluster of values and beliefs that represented the central ideas of Victorianism. In this work, instead of using the conventional method of detailed chronological narration, he has carefully selected his facts to present highly personal portraits of his subjects. 1918 Dr. Arnold. Dr. Thomas Arnold, the father of the poet and critic Matthew Arnold, is generally considered to have been the founder of the British public school system. The biographies of these famous Victorians are hardly exhaustive but focus on only the most important aspects of each life. Nightingale was driven on by a compulsive desire to work. He then sunk into obscurity for six years as the supervisor of a project to erect a system of forts at the mouth of the River Thames. Why is Lytton Strachey, author of Eminent Victorians, called a partial biographer? EMBED. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. He ruled his diocese with efficient zeal, lecturing, organizing charities, delivering sermons, and writing many devotional books. It concentrates on Arnold’s role as headmaster of Rugby School, a position to which he was appointed in 1828. BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD: Lytton Strachey (1880–1932). Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. By introducing morals and religion into education he altered the atmosphere of public school life, but not for the better. Pushed on by Nightingale, Herbert died of overwork, and Aunt Mai left her to return to her own family. Start your 48-hour free trial and unlock all the summaries, Q&A, and analyses you need to get better grades now. Walking at the head of his troops, with nothing but a light cane in his hand, he seemed to pass through every danger with the scatheless equanimity of a demi-God. But then he wrote Apologia pro Vita Sua, which became a classic of Catholic thought. Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey. In the sphere of teaching, Arnold made few reforms. Cardinal Manning is presented as a scheming, ambitious man rather than a pious representative of God. Within seven years, Manning had become Archbishop of Westminster. What do these eminent Victorians have in common? Practical ability, rather than saintliness or learning, was the key to his career. Each of the lives is very different from the others, although there are common threads—for example the recurrent appearance of William Ewart Gladstone and Arthur Hugh Clough. The mission, a military one requiring the utmost of a negotiator’s self-control, tact, and skill, was the arrangement for the inglorious evacuation of British forces from the Sudan, a project for which Gordon was disqualified by his opinions, his character, and everything in his life. Eminent Victorians Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to For ignorance is the first requisite of the historian--ignorance, which simplifies and clarifies, which selects and omits, with a placid perfection unattainable by the Eminent Victorians is a book by Lytton Strachey (one of the older members of the Bloomsbury Group), 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. Although to some Victorians, Dr. Arnold was one of the most influential pedagogues, Strachey considers him the apostle of harmful and absurd ideas. Each story is set against a specific background. Already a member? Eminent Victorians Item Preview remove-circle Share or Embed This Item. But as the Oxford Movement seemed to slip closer to Roman Catholicism, Manning, who was now Archdeacon of Chichester, cut himself off from it. These years are associated with developments in governance, economic and social life, science, and learning that capture the essential features of Victorianism. One important asset was his ability to make friends in the right places, especially in the Vatican. In the hospital, ‘‘want, neglect, confusion, misery’’ reigned, for which Strachey blames the incompetence of the English authorities. Eminent Victorians summary: Eminent Victorians summary is updating. Strachey picked an ecclesiastic, a woman of action, an educational authority, and a man of adventure to illustrate the multifaceted era in which they lived and worked. Strachey's Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, is little more than a pompous, pedantic fool. Each story is very different and is a reflection of the background events before which it takes place. The present text is a part of the famous book Eminent Victorians (1918) written by Lytton Strachey. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. London was eventually forced to send an expeditionary force to relieve the city, but it arrived too late. I read most of the book at an emergency clinic, where I was stuck for almost twelve hours without food or drink. Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey ... scenes of rage, desperation, towering courage, and summary execution. He introduced modern history, modern languages and mathematics into the curriculum, but did not allocate enough time for their instruction. Unable to find peace, he analyzed his motivations in detail, trying to decide whether, if advancement came along, he should accept or reject it. With hard work, discipline, attention to detail, and a strong will, Nightingale addressed all the problems successfully, becoming in effect the administrative head of the hospital. Eminent Victorians is a book by Lytton Strachey, consisting of biographies of four leading figures from the Victorian era. When Manning went to Oxford University, he seemed set for a political career, but his hopes were dashed when his father was declared bankrupt. In 1874, he was put in charge of the Equatorial Provinces of Sudan, where he labored for six years, trying to bring the benefits of civilization to a huge, forbidding, unexplored land. The four in question were Cardinal Manning, the leader of England's Roman Catholic community; Florence Nightingale, the nurse; Thomas Arnold, the educational reformer; and General Charles George Gordon, a soldier and adventurer. Arnold himself remained remote, although the boys were awed by his presence. Manning was a rising force in the Church of England, a man of great energy and administrative skill. The sketch of Dr. Thomas Arnold is the shortest of the four. Book review: “Eminent Victorians” By Lytton Strachey August 29, 2012 Patrick T Reardon 0 Twenty years ago, a friend of mine, Steve Swanson, recommended Lytton Strachey’s “Eminent Victorians” as a classic in the field of biography — and a delightful read as well. The result, in Eminent Victorians, is a series of radical reinterpretations. He tried the Church of England as an alternative, perhaps less promising, avenue to fulfillment. His account makes clear the almost miraculous energy and endurance that carried Nightingale past the many obstacles in her path. Arnold was a man of strong religious conviction, and he was also a reformer who set out to make morals and conduct the centerpiece of the school. Strachey’s bias against the doctor is obvious in Eminent Victorians, based largely on the fact that Dr. Arnold was determined to make good Christians, as well as good Englishmen, out of his public school boys. He was determined not to let Khartoum fall, but when he reached the city, the situation rapidly worsened. Religious and moral principle, and gentlemanly conduct, were valued more highly than intellectual ability. In Eminent Victorians (1918), Lytton Strachey examined the lives of four famous English individuals from the Victorian Era and found that they were not quite what previous biographies and popular legend had made them out to be. This representative of ancient tradition and uncompromising faith is revealed as a survivor from the Middle Ages who forced the nineteenth century to accept him as he was. Gordon’s ingenuity and military skill played a large part in the victory, and he returned to England with an enviable reputation. Enduring to the age of ninety, she became a legend, though, ironically and cruelly, her last years brought senility and softness upon her. EMINENT VICTORIANS by Lytton Strachey Preface THE history of the Victorian Age will never be written; we know too much about it. At the end of a long and twisted road, his egoism, fierce ambition, and gift for intrigue had brought him desired as well as some unexpected rewards, not least among them the regard of the poor. subscribe or … Eminent Victorians is a groundbreaking work of biography that raised the genre to the level of high art. Strachey promises to show a different Florence Nightingale than the saintly "Lady with the Lamp" of popular legend. Gordon, in his fifties, was chosen by the English government for a delicate African mission. At the time of writing Eminent Victorians, the country was more than usually certain that God was on its side. Wilson to be published in the United States in 1990, the other two being C.S. Its pretentiousness exasperated the artist in Strachey, but he could not help acknowledging its solidity and force and its many outstanding scientists and individuals. For ignorance is the first requisite of the historian--ignorance, which simplifies and clarifies, which selects and omits, with a placid perfection unattainable by the Strachey determined that these large and tedious volumes, full of what he called "ill-digested masses of material," did a disservice to the art of biography. These aims dominated her completely, and in their execution she drove her friends ruthlessly but used herself with even less mercy. (Strachey had little patience with either Christianity or Christian institutions, a point of view that colors his attitude toward all his subjects in Eminent Victorians.) Cardinal ManningEminent Victorians begins with an account of the life of Cardinal Manning (1807–1892), a convert from the Church of England who became Archbishop of Westminster and the leader of England’s Catholic community. Strachey was one of the influential members of Bloomsbury Group, a loosely associated group of English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists who shared and propagated a common view of life in the early 20th century England. Manning became the supreme commander of the Roman Church in England, then a cardinal. Four such individuals are his subjects in Eminent Victorians. He was put in command of a Chinese army from Shanghai that won back huge amounts of land from a rebel force. Whatever charges may be brought against Strachey today, it is generally admitted that he brought to biographical writing good proportion, good style, and colorful realism. General Charles George Gordon was born in 1833. In her early thirties, Nightingale became superintendent of a charitable nursing home in London. It replaced reverence with skepticism and Strachey's wit, iconoclasm, and narrative skill liberated the biographical enterprise. The second of Strachey’s eminent Victorians is Florence Nightingale. What is Strachey's concept of biography as seen in the light of his preface to Eminent Victorians? Well, not much, according to the life histories detailed within the book. Eminent Victorians (1918) is a collection of four short biographies by Lytton Strachey. He continued his strenuous work until old age. Strachey picked an ecclesiastic, a woman of action, an educational authority, and a man of adventure to illustrate the multifaceted era in which they lived and worked. His deeds were genuinely heroic—no one has ever questioned Gordon’s bravery—but they combined oddly with his passion for religion. Manning became attracted to the Oxford Movement, a reform movement in the Church of England associated with the names of John Keble and John Henry Newman. This Study Guide consists of approximately 62 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - After its publication, Strachey was no longer in need of assistance from family or friends. Strachey sought a new approach to biography. His faith was unconventional, focusing on an idea of the just man who served the will of God by turning away from earthly desires. His magnetism and vigor spread his influence beyond church boundaries, and at his death crowds of working people thronged the route of his funeral procession. Such indictments often came from partisans of one or more of the subjects of Eminent Victorians, but not infrequently they were joined by more objective critics as well. The appointment followed an internal struggle involving. Strachey also disapproved of the prefectorial system Dr. Arnold instituted at Rugby, which Strachey credits with two dubious, if unexpected, effects on later English education: the worship of athletics and the worship of good form. When the news reached England, there was an outpouring of grief and indignation. 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 … Gordon’s instructions were to supervise a withdrawal from the city, but Gordon wanted to take vigorous military action. Widely differing in background, vocation, and personality, the four individuals illustrate different phases of the England of the later nineteenth century. Upon leaving college he aspired to a political career, but its doors were abruptly closed to him by his father’s bankruptcy. In 1827 the headmastership of Rugby school fell vacant, and it became necessary for the twelve trustees, noblemen and gentlemen of Warwickshire, to appoint a successor to the post. Very early in his life, Manning had fixed his hopes on a position of power and influence in the world. In his treatment of one of the most remarkable women of any age, the biographer is conspicuously successful in resisting any urge to be gallant. Is Eminent Victorians a fictional work? Eminent Victorians Contents: Cardinal Manning -- Florence Nightingale -- Dr. Arnold -- The end of General Gordon Language: English: LoC Class: DA: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Great Britain, Ireland, Central Europe: Subject: Great Britain -- Biography Subject: Great Britain -- History -- Victoria, 1837-1901 -- Biography Subject We’ve discounted annual subscriptions by 50% for our End-of-Year sale—Join Now! Strachey promises to show a different Florence Nightingale than the saintly ‘‘Lady with the Lamp’’ of popular legend. In the Middle Ages, says Strachey, he would have been neither a Francis nor an Aquinas, but he might have been an Innocent. Manning, Cardinal Wiseman, the Archbishop of Westminster, and another cleric, Dr. Errington, the representative of England’s Old Catholic community. However, he was tormented by what he believed to be the temptations of the devil to worldly ambition. Florence Nightingale, although Strachey does not devalue her astonishing achievements, is presented as a woman maniacally obsessed with work, whose personality was acerbic rather than saintly. She was supported by loyal friends such as Sidney Herbert, her Aunt Mai, Arthur Clough, the poet, and her private secretary, Dr. Sutherland. It is with apparent relief that the biographer turns to his fourth and final portrait, which provides a strong contrast between the single-mindedness of the educator and the maddening inconsistencies of General Charles George Gordon. The main objects of study remained ancient Greece and Rome. His book, Eminent Victorians, a wartime book composed of four miniature biographies, won him widespread recognition as a literary critic and a biographer. This study guide contains the following sections: This detailed literature summary also contains Bibliography on For the sake of convenience, Strachey divides Nightingale’s accomplishments into two phases. They are related to one another, however, by the possession of a restless, questing vitality and by the fact that each left a mark upon the age. This one-page guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey. In her old age, her character softened and she became less acerbic. In contrast, he wrote short, pithy, artful biographies that told the truth about the subjects as Strachey understood it. In Eminent Victorians (1918), Lytton Strachey examined the lives of four famous English individuals from the Victorian Era and found that they were not quite what previous biographies and popular legend had made them out to be. The first is her dramatic contribution to the welfare of the British wounded during the course of the Crimean campaign; the second deals with her unflagging efforts after the war to transform the Army Medical Department, revolutionize hospital services, and work much-needed reform in the War Office itself. They had power to discipline the younger boys, and they in turn were answerable to the headmaster. The pope appointed him provost of the Chapter of Westminster. Eminent Victorians is a book by Lytton Strachey (one of the older members of the Bloomsbury Group), 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. everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Eminent Victorians. General Gordon The typical, sprawling two-volume Victorian biography presented its subject in the best possible light, ignoring any aspects of the life that might tarnish the person's achievements. Thereafter his ecclesiastical career was an almost unbroken series of triumphs and advances. She wanted to be a nurse, an occupation that was not held in high repute. At his funeral in January, 1892, there was grief in the streets; he had managed to touch the hearts of working people. What followed was the tragedy at Khartoum, an episode seldom matched in military annals for the mystery and horror with which it enveloped the fate of the principal actor. The Victorians made a memorable contribution to the ongoing debate over the character and origins of democracy through their examination of a host of issues, including the role of the Founding Fathers, ... Show Summary Details. The age of Victoria at once fascinated and repelled him. EMBED (for wordpress.com hosted blogs and archive.org item
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