Lytton Strachey

by Michael Holroyd

Book Overview

When Michael Holroyd's life of Strachey appeared in 1967, it changed the course of modern biography, setting a new standard for the recounting of literary lives and launching the enduring Bloomsbury revival. In the 1960s, however, many of Strachey's friends and lovers were still alive; much could not be said, and access to letters and resources was restricted. Since then, almost all his circle has died, and homosexuality in England has been decriminalized...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374194394
• ISBN13: 9780374194390
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 779 Pages
• Weight: 2.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.3" x 6.5" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

A true classic

Reading this biography, I can understand why this is a classic in its field. It reads like water. It's effortless. It's a look into, of course, the life and times of another person, but also a look at another time and world. For not being a "thriller", I think it's a real page turner. I have read some of Strachey's books which are beautifully crafted and very evocative and this biography is a real tribute to that writer. The preface is also quite interesting as the author tells us about the history of his writing the book. While it is a long book it doesn't feel long in the reading. For anyone interested in the Bloomsbury group this is a not to be missed read. Just terrific.

Behavior in Personal Relationships

Holroyd revised his biographies of Lytton Strachey, (1967, 1968). More information became available, comments were received on the original volumes, and so everything in the originals is here, re-arranged, along with some new material. It is interesting to note how much the times have changed. The initial volumes were met with amazement that the sexual preferences of the subject and his friends were covered in the rendition of the life. In this era nothing dealt with in the book is surprising. The additional issue is that the author's original volumes on Strachey were among the first accounts of the Bloomsbury group, a group subsequently treated extensively in numerous works such as published diaries, letters, memoirs, and biogrphies. Dora Carrington, Lytton Strachey's companion, was a member of the younger generation. Initially she was attached to Lytton and to Mark Gertler, (she broke off with Gertler). David Garnett was a disciple of Lytton Strachey. When a house was rented, Mill House, Tidmarsh, Carrington undertook the gardening, much of the cooking and much of the housework. Less time was devoted by her to painting. EMINENT VICTORIANS was brought out in 1918. The reviews were laudatory. It was called a revolutionary textbook. After the war Ralph Partridge fell in love with Carrington. In 1920 Lytton completed QUEEN VICTORIA. Max Beerbohm became a new older acquaintance. Lytton planned to stay with the Berensons in Florence after his book was published. Ralph Partidge got a job working for Leonard Woolf at the Hogarth Press. In Lytton's absence, Carrington told Ralph she would marry him, (she feared getting on Lytton's nerves). Lytton found it difficult to express his feelings, but he provided reassurance to Carrington that marrying Ralph was the best plan. On their honeymoon, Carrington and Ralph spent a week with Lytton in Venice. Lytton brought to his biographies psycho-sexual insights. BOOKS & CHARACTERS, a collection of essays, was issued by Lytton in 1920. Later LANDMARKS IN FRENCH LITERATURE was brought out again. Ralph, Carrington, and Lytton moved from Mill House, Tidmarsh, to Ham Spray House in 1924. The house was registered in Ralph's name. Lytton gave Ralph a car and Carrington a horse. ELIZABETH AND ESSEX was completed in 1928. Lytton brought out PORTRAITS IN MINIATURE in 1931. The biography shows a writer, (a biographer), his friends, his family, in full. He struggled against the impression he made for reason of physical gawkiness and a high-pitched voice. He regretted his failures such as not entering Oxford, not receiving a fellowship, not winning prizes, and he moved on. He was productive, serious, an intellectual. Holroyd's achievement fills in the reader's knowledge of the Bloomsbury group and presents an amazing sort of figure in all of his unique attributes.

An excellent biography of a key figure in Bloomsbury.

Lytton Strachey was one of the key figures in the Bloomsbury group, and one of Virginia Wolf's best friends. He is best known today for his portraits of four famous Victorians in "Emminent Victorians." At the time, the book was something of piece of generational warfare; the figures that Strachey dismantles were models of piety and determination held up to Strachey's generation when they were young as the sort of people to emulate. Strachey, who was one of the wittiest men of his time, shows that actually they were something of narrowminded fanatics. Holroyd's biography is a superb portrait of Strachey and the circle he moved in. Well-documented, it brings to life many people never well-known in America. Strachey's personal life was extremely complicated; a woman named Carrington (she refused to use her first name which was Dora) fell desparately in love with him. This was unfortunate for her because Strachey was a confirmed homosexual. When examined for possible conscription during the First World War, he was asked what he would due if he saw a German trying to rape his sister; his response was "I should try to come between them." This made no difference to Carrington, whose love for him was so great that she committed suicide after his death. Carrington, and other figures who became involved in Strachey's complicated life make this almost a group biography. In fact, the biography was rereleased in connection with the movie "Carrington" (starred Emma Thompson in the title role and Jonathan Pryce as Strachey) and on the cover Carrington's name is in type as big as that used for Lytton Strachey. Holroyd's writing style is fluid, and his eye for a tellng anecdote make the biography eminently readable. One does not have to be obsessed with Bloomsbury to enjoy this book.

Great Nostalgia

I remember when I first saw this immense book that Lytton Strachey must be a person of some importance. As I had at that point never heard of Lytton I was surprised that a person of such importance had escaped my notice. It was then that I discovered one of the important things in understanding books. The size is often related to the amount of material available rather than the importance of the person. Lytton Strachey was an English writer in the interwar period. He wrote a number of histories including a biography of Queen Victoria and another work called Eminent Victorians. At the time it was published Eminent Victorians was seen as a savage attack on the reputation of a number of English heroes. Nowadays it seen as an affectionate but realistic portrait of a number of figures who were previously given mythical status. The biography of Strachey is really a biography of the Bloomsbury Group. Keynes, Virginia Wolf and the others who lived or met around the London Suburb of Bloomsbury. It tells of their affairs, the ups and downs of their lives and how they interconnected. The portrait of Strachey is a gentle and affectionate one. Strachey was a person who was gay. He married Carrington a woman who became a minor artist. Their relationship has been turned into a recent film. The book is quite long but it is the portrait of an England that is long since gone. A description of a number of people who were once at the centre of their nations cultural life. It is a book that is gently endearing.

A Forgotten Artist

Michael Holroyd's landmark biography of Lytton Strachey - a once-bright luminary of the Bloomsbury Group (including Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, John Maynard Keynes and others) - keeps the spirit and achievement of this great writer alive for future generations. Strachey is probably known now, if at all, for the eccentric figure portrayed in the film "Carrington" but his contributions to the art of biography go far beyond what the film conveyed. Holroyd does an excellent job of capturing the milieu of Strachey's times, in particular London and the surrounding countryside (where Strachey lived in a succession of cottages) in the early part of the 20th century. Not only is Strachey's admittedly idiosyncratic personality expertly portrayed, we also get a strong sense of other equally unique individuals who played such an important part in his life (Ottoline Morrell, for one). Holroyd also writes in a flowing, sometimes complicated manner, but this is a welcome change from dryer, academic recitations of dates and places. In fact, the narrative often reads like a long novel with a relaxed pace. It's also extremely forthright about Strachey's sexual inclinations - in fact, at its original publication in the mid-60s, it was among the first to be so forthcoming. In all, Holroyd is to be saluted for making Lytton Strachey's achievements better known (especially his book, "Eminent Victorians," which freed the biographical form from more conventional restrictions from the l9th century.)