Victorian Moral Supremacy
Until Strachey's book, historical works about the Victorian era bought into the theory that the Victorians were morally superior to both the generations who went before, and the generations who came after them. With this book, this myth is thoroughly debunked, because some of the key heroes are re-examined, and their characters all but assassinated.
For example, until it was revealed in this book that Cardinal Manning was almost Machiavellian in his behind the scenes manipulations that made sure only the people he wanted to be promoted within the church were promoted, even trying to blackball those who had been generous towards him, including his mentor. Similarly, General Gordon, revered as a war hero, is revealed to be more of a maverick gunslinger who was involved in a large number of relatively covert, and usually dubious, maneuvers on behalf of the British government.
The upstanding nature of the government is also shown to be highly exaggerated, as the powers that be made decision after irresponsible decision that negatively impacted their citizens, particularly the military fighting around the world.
Fighting Within the Church
The Victorian era was a pivotal time in the Anglican church; despite centuries of resistance when it came to Spanish Catholicism, the Victorian era saw the emergence of the Anglican Catholic church, and also saw a number of prominent high church leaders "defecting" to Catholicism. There was both personal rivalry, and rivalry between different groups within the church; the high church separated itself from its Anglican roots and its denial of the sacrements was really the catalyst for a large number of the defections, including Cardinal Manning's. The book also mentions the introduction of evangelicalism which also proved divisive between progressives and traditionalists.
War
One of the themes of the book, and of the era, is war, predominantly the Crimean war. The chapters about Florence Nightingale explain the circumstances of the war, and the appalling conditions that the soldiers were expected to operate within. The book also illustrates that the main cause of all of the conflicts of the Victorian era was the Ottoman Empire's desire to expand its "kingdom" and its borders.
War was also "unofficial" during the Victorian era. There were many almost unsanctioned operations that had the sole purpose of putting down native rebellion within the colonies of the British Empire, and this is demonstrated by Gordon's involvement in several missions and attacks. There was also a great deal of unsuccessful military action that was largely hidden from the public at the time, giving the impression that the Prime Minister was actually doing a far better job of extending Britain's influence around the world than he actually was.
