Florence Nightingale
Nightingale has almost become synonymous with any kind of above-and-beyond actions intended to save lives; in real life, she was the founder of modern-day nursing who was also highly decorated after World War One. Named after the city in which she was born, she was a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, which was a military conflict that pitted an uneasy alliance of Britain, France, Sardinia, and Turkey against Russia. Like most wars of its time (and since) its chief cause was religious, chiefly, the barbaric treatment of Christians by the Muslims within the Empire.
Nightingale was driven to improve conditions for soldiers who were injured and even garnered a nickname - the Lady with the Lamp - so given because of her habit of making rounds of her patients by lamplight at night. Although it is suggested that the media at the time hugely exaggerated her acts of daring, her contribution to modern nursing cannot be underestimated, because she gave nurses a fundamental respect that they had not received before. Later in her life, she founded the first non-denominational nursing school in London.
Strachey recognizes in his book Nightingale's driven nature and her stubborn, mule-headed tendencies that made her simultaneously an absolute nightmare to be around on a personal level, yet determined and courageous in her professional goals. She was selfless in her dedication to her patients and was not frightened to confront the War Office when she felt that the welfare of the soldiers was not enough of a priority for them. She was also one of the pioneers of "girl power", showing that women were just as brave and accomplished as men, and just as important to the war effort.
Cardinal Manning
The first of the key interdenominational "defectors", Manning was an English cardinal who later became the second Archbishop of Westminster. This conversion from Anglicanism to Catholicism was akin to the quarterback of the New York Giants signing a contract to play football with the Dallas Cowboys - the feeling between the two camps was that strong.
Henry Edward Manning is often revered as the man who created Anglican Catholicism, and whilst this is technically true, he was a manipulative man whose methods were not always as admirable as his results. He began to adhere to the High Church style of teaching after becoming a "follower" of Cardinal Newman, who was his unofficial mentor, but his conversion to Catholicism was cemented after an evangelical cleric was introduced into the Privy Council of the Anglican church, and his subsequent denial of the importance of the sacraments forced Manning to leave the church altogether.
In Strachey's eyes, though, Manning is seen as a manipulative turncoat, who worked behind the scenes to sabotage Newman's chances of ever becoming Cardinal, despite their previous friendship, and despite the kindnesses that Newman had shown him. Manning, according to Strachey, was vengeful and spiteful, despite his general adherence to the principles of peace and forgiveness.
Thomas Arnold
In Britain, there are private schools, and private boarding schools for the very elite - these, somewhat confusingly to the American reader, are known as public schools, which is ironic given the fact that to most of the public, they are eminently inaccessible.
Thomas Arnold is considered to be the father of this modern education system with its reliance on prefecture (the principle of the older boys leading the pastoral guidance of the younger ones), the importance of playing sports, and the reverence of the arts and literature. His teaching style was more Dead Poets' Society than Dangerous Minds, but he did believe in bringing out of boys in his care a strength of character that they did not know themselves was there. Arnold introduced new subjects to the curriculum, including history, math, and modern languages, the latter being particularly innovative because previously only classical languages such as Latin and Greek were studied.
According to Strachey, whilst much of what is credited to Arnold is legitimate and true, he was not, in fact, responsible for introducing sports into schools, or for generating an obsession with them that became modern-day school spirit. He was also negligent in providing a rounded education because as a non-believer in science, he chose never to introduce it into the curriculum, to the detriment of his students.
Charles George Gordon
General Gordon, Gordon of Khartoum, Chinese Gordon - whatever name he is known by, there is no dilemma when it comes to the courage and bravery of the man who almost single-handedly troubleshot awkward and problematical military and political situations all over the world on behalf of the British government. His service in China was perhaps his most outstanding, yet it is often forgotten because of the one-person siege he was responsible for in the then-capital of Sudan, Khartoum. A rebellion had taken over the city, and Gordon was sent to "clean up" the situation, but rather than withdraw troops he refused to leave, digging in, and creating a siege that the minimal troops with him were ill-equipped to win.
Rather than being a determined and skilled strategy maker, as history often tells, Strachey considers Gordon to be a maverick, the kind of rogue soldier who can just as easily cause the loss of a thousand men as save them. Gordon was also a loner, who was well aware of this tendency within himself, but was unable to find any way to change the way that he was. He had a "me against the world" mentality, which was generally justified.
William Gladstone
Gladstone was leader of the British Liberal Party for over sixty years, twelve of which were spent as Prime Minister. He was a disestablishment figure when it came to the church, believing that it was far too influential, and wanting to dissipate its control over the population, whom he believed should be far more influenced by politicians than by church clerics. He served as Prime Minister during the pivotal times in the careers of the Victorians profiled in the book, chiefly during the Fall of Khartoum, which was a campaign rescued almost entirely by General Gordon.
