'Eminent Victorians' was first published in 1918 and consists of biographies of four leading figures from the Victorian era. Its fame rests on the irreverence and wit Strachey brought to bear on three men and a woman who had until then been regarded as heroes and heroine. They were: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold, and General Gordon. The book made Strachey's name and placed him firmly in the top rank of biographers, where he remains.