Featuring prominent figures in education, religion, science, and war, Eminent Victorians is a fascinating collection of Victorian biographies. Beginning with a discussion of the achievements of Cardinal Manning, Strachey provides insight on the Cardinal’s rise to power and follows the creation of the Oxford Movement, which began the development of the Anglo-Catholic church. Sparing no detail, Manning’s feud with the influential theologian John Henry Newman and its effects on his career is well highlighted. Next, Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, is depicted in a more flattering light that the other subjects. Portrayed as a clever, intense, and ambitious woman, Nightingale is deemed to have an insufferable personality, but as a woman of undeniably impressive achievement. Credited for the development of the public school system, Dr. Thomas Arnold is commended for his ideas, but criticized for the unintentional negative impact he had on education. Finally, General Gordon’s legacy is saved from obscurity as the stories of his intense missions are explored. As an adventurous mercenary, Gordon navigated conflicts between governments, often decreasing the collateral of war. First published in 1918, Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey brought innovation to the biographical genre. With exciting and honest narratives, Eminent Victorians challenges the idealistic portrayal of historical figures, observing their fault without greatly slighting their achievements. Through this lens, prominent historical figures such as Florence Nightingale, Cardinal Manning, Thomas Arnold, and General Gordon are remembered as real people instead of mere figures of adoration. Featuring the depiction of innovation in religion, education, science, math, and politics, Strachey’s work encompasses much of the Victorian society, granting readers a riveting and entertaining perspective on the period. This edition of Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey features an eye-catching new cover design and is presented in a font that is both modern and readable. With these accommodations, this edition is accessible and appealing to contemporary audiences, restoring Eminent Victorians to modern standards while preserving the original innovation and insight of Lytton Strachey’s work. Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book. With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.
Lytton Strachey (1880-1932) was an English writer and critic, best known for his innovation in the biographical genre. After starting his career by writing reviews and critical articles for periodicals, Strachey reached his first great success and crowning achievement with the publication of Eminent Victorians, which defied the conventional standards of biographical work. Strachey was a founding member of the Bloomsburg Group, a club of English artists, writers, intellectuals and philosophers. Growing very close to some of the members, Strachey participated in an open three-way relationship with Dora Carrington, a painter, and Ralph Partridge. Stachey published a total of fourteen major works, eight of which were publish posthumously.
