23 - Eminent Victorians by Giles Lytton Strachey

Ranked on Modern Librarys list of 100 Best Non-Fiction books, Eminent Victorians revolutionized the art of biography and shattered the old-fashioned myths of Victorian society. With his piercing insight, Strachey unearths the self-serving motives of Cardinal Manning and the obsessively controlling Florence Nightingale. His essays on Dr Arnold and General Gordon transcend the individuals, critiquing the broader public-school system and the entrenched liberal values of the nineteenth century.