English Fiction & Prose Literature - General & Miscellaneous - Literary Criticism, Great Britain Historiography, 19th Century British History - Victorian Era (1837-1901), Biography & Autobiography - Literary Criticism, British History - Social Aspects

The Victorians: An Age in Retrospect

Name: The Victorians: An Age in Retrospect
Author: John Gardiner
ISBN: 9781852853853

by John Gardiner

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Overview

A major study of changing attitudes to the Victorians, from Lytton Strachey to the present day.

Synopsis

"Who were the Victorians? Were they self-confident imperialists secure in the virtues of the home, and ruled by the values of authority, duty, religion and respectability, or self-doubting and hypocritical prudes whose family life was authoritarian and loveless? Ever since Lytton Strachey mocked Florence Nightingale and General Gordon in Eminent Victorians the reputation of the Victorians, and of what they stood for, has been the subject of vigorous debate." "In The Victorians John Gardiner provides a fascinating guide to the way attitudes to the Victorians changed during the twentieth century. Very different social, political and aesthetic values, two world wars, nostalgia, new historical trends and the heritage industry have all affected the way we see the period and its men and women. The second half of the book shows how radically biographical accounts have changed over the last hundred years, exemplified by four archetypal Victorians: Charles Dickens, W.E. Gladstone, Oscar Wilde and Queen Victoria herself."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

About the Author, John Gardiner

John Gardiner graduated with a First in History from Peterhouse, Cambridge before undertaking postgraduate research at the University of Kent at Canterbury. He has written about a number of subjects in nineteenth and twentieth-century history. In 2004 he was awarded the Carfax-IAMHIST Prize for his article on the life and music of Edward Elgar.