The Victorians

Résumé du livre

"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