Texte intégral révisé suivi d'une biographie de Lytton Strachey. "Victoriens éminents" rassemble les biographies de quatre grandes figures typiques de l'époque victorienne. Le premier portrait est consacré à Henry Edward Manning (1807-1892), qui fit le pas décisif d'abandonner l'anglicanisme pour le catholicisme et fut nommé cardinal de l'Église romaine. Le second portrait, peut-être le meilleur, est celui d'une héroïne de la charité: Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), célèbre pour avoir organisé, durant la guerre de Crimée, le service d'assistance aux blessés et pour s'être efforcée ensuite de créer un système hospitalier rationnel qui fut imité dans tout le monde civilisé. La "dame à la lampe" (comme l'appelle Longfellow) est représentée par la tradition comme une créature toute de douceur mais dans le caractère de cette jeune femme, Strachey découvre et met en relief l'énergie batailleuse qui la soutint dans sa longue lutte, finalement victorieuse, contre l'indifférence des gouvernants, de nombreux médecins et contre l'inertie bureaucratique. Le troisième personnage victorien éminent selon l'auteur est le docteur Thomas Arnold (1795-1842) qui, comme directeur du collège de Rugby, imprima une nouvelle direction à tout le système d'éducation des écoles secondaires anglaises. La dernière biographie enfin est consacrée à Charles-George Gordon (1823-1885). Ce dernier, après mille aventures en Extrême-Orient et en Afrique, périt tragiquement à Khartoum. Homme simple et sincère, ambitieux et désintéresse, dévoué à son pays mais indépendant jusqu'à l'insubordination, excentrique mais conformiste, il était un composé absurde et héroïque de contradictions toutes anglaises. La concision, l'intelligence, le mordant et la vivacité des portraits de Lytton Strachey l'imposent comme un maître du genre biographique. Il joint à l'amour de la vérité et aux solides recherches documentaires une ironie subtile, parfois féroce, qui enchante ses lecteurs et leur fait trouver ses personnages du passé plus vivants que nos contemporains.

L’Angleterre élisabéthaine comme vous ne l’avez jamais lue : entre intrigues politiques, passion dévorante et destin tragique, Élisabeth et le Comte d’Essex dépeint la relation tumultueuse entre une reine toute-puissante et son favori ambitieux.

The Complete Collection of Lytton Strachey: Academic Works and Biographies is a compelling and elegantly illustrated volume that brings together the most influential writings of one of the pioneers of modern biography. This collection includes Strachey's celebrated works such as Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History, Queen Victoria, Portraits in Miniature, Eminent Victorians, and many other essays and studies. Renowned for his wit, clarity, and psychological insight, Strachey revolutionized the art of biography by moving beyond conventional, overly reverent accounts to present vivid, human portraits of historical figures. His works challenge traditional narratives, offering sharp, often ironic interpretations that reveal the complexities, contradictions, and inner lives of his subjects. In Eminent Victorians, he reexamines celebrated figures with bold skepticism, while Queen Victoria provides a nuanced and intimate portrait of the monarch's long and eventful reign. In Elizabeth and Essex, he explores the dramatic interplay of power and emotion at the Elizabethan court, and Portraits in Miniature showcases his skill in capturing character with precision and brevity. Blending literary elegance with historical analysis, this collection offers readers a rich exploration of history through the lens of personality and perspective. Both engaging and thought-provoking, it stands as a testament to Strachey's enduring influence on biography as a literary form and his lasting contribution to modern historical writing. Contents: Landmarks in French Literature (1912) Eminent Victorians: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Dr Arnold, General Gordon (1918) Queen Victoria (1921) Books and Characters (1922) Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History (1928) Portraits in Miniature and Other Essays (1931)

Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History by Lytton Strachey is a masterful and psychologically nuanced portrait of one of the most dramatic relationships in English history-that between Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. In this elegant and incisive work, Strachey departs from traditional historical narrative to focus on the emotional and personal dynamics that shaped the fates of both the aging queen and her ambitious favorite. Through vivid characterization and sharp wit, he explores themes of power, pride, love, and betrayal, revealing how private passions can influence public events. Strachey's distinctive style-marked by irony, clarity, and psychological insight-brings historical figures to life with remarkable immediacy. Elizabeth emerges as a complex and formidable ruler, torn between affection and authority, while Essex is portrayed as impulsive, charismatic, and ultimately tragic in his overreaching ambition. Rather than presenting a conventional chronicle of events, the book offers a compelling interpretation of history as human drama, where personality and emotion play a decisive role. The tragic arc of Essex's rise and fall unfolds against the backdrop of the Elizabethan court, culminating in a powerful and inevitable conclusion. Both accessible and intellectually engaging, Elizabeth and Essex remains one of Strachey's finest works and a classic of modern historical biography, offering readers a fresh and enduring perspective on a pivotal episode in England's past.

Please note: This audiobook has been created using AI voice. The publication of Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians in 1918 was a tremendous success. In it, Strachey looked at four iconic figures of the Victorian Age and punctured the hagiographical illusions surrounding them. It seems only fitting that he should follow up in 1921 with a similarly unsentimental but fair biography of the person at the pinnacle of that era, Queen Victoria herself. Thoroughly researched, with his references documented in hundreds of footnotes, Strachey looks at the life of the young woman who, when she was born, was by no means certain to become the British monarch. He also spends considerable time on her consort, Prince Albert, who, in Strachey's telling, develops from a careless youth to becoming a truly remarkable and effective figure in British society, while continuing to be generally perceived as an outsider. Strachey's sardonic and witty style makes this account of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert an entertaining and very informative read.