Abstract
In an essay called “English Prose between 1918 and 1939” (1944), E. M. Forster takes some trouble to describe Lytton Strachey’s method as an historian. He worked from within, says Forster, thus rendering his characters psychologically alive. By managing to get inside his subjects he was able to bring whole societies to life, and in so doing he revolutionized the art of biography. According to Forster, Strachey was implacable in his pursuit of truth.
swindon. I can’t believe it! What will history say?
burgoyne. History, sir, will tell lies, as usual.
— Shaw, The Devil’s Disciple
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© 1988 John Halperin
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Halperin, J. (1988). Eminent Victorians and History. In: Jane Austen’s Lovers and Other Studies in Fiction and History from Austen to le Carré. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-19332-5_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-19332-5_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-19334-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-19332-5
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