Eminent Victorian Soldiers: Seekers of Glory

by Byron Farwell

This book brings together the lives of eight of Queen Victoria's most renowned and idiosyncratic generals, men who helped create the British Empire and whose lives reflect the vigor and diversity of the age. They Hugh Gough, Charles Napier, Charles Gordon, Frederick Roberts, Garnet Wolseley, Evelyn Wood, Hector Macdonald, and Herbert Kitchener.

Genres: History, Military History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, European History, British Literature, War

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Farwell graduated from Ohio State University and the University of Chicago (M.A., 1968). He served in World War II as a captain of engineers attached to the Mediterranean Allied Air Force in the British Eighth Army area and later also saw combat in the Korean War. He separated from the military after seven years of active duty.

As a civilian, he became director of public relations and director of administration for Chrysler International from 1959 to 1971. He also served three terms as mayor of Hillsboro, Virginia (1977-81).

He published articles in the New York Times, Washington Post, American Heritage, Harper's, Horizon, Smithsonian Magazine as well as serving as a contributing editor to Military History, World War II, and Collier's Encyclopedia. Farwell also published biographies of Stonewall Jackson, Henry M. Stanley, and Sir Richard Francis Burton.

He was a fellow of the MacDowell Colony and a member of both the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society of Literature.

Farwell gave his papers to the University of Iowa.

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another terrific book from one of my favorite historians, Byron Farwell. He looks at the lives of eight of the great (and maybe no-so-great) military leaders of Empire.....their early lives and their rise through the ranks to leadership.

Some, like "Little Bobs" (Lord Frederick Roberts) were effective military tacticians and deserving of their renown. Others, like Charles "Chinese"Gordon, the martyr of Khartoum, were misguided zealots who craved power, and stopped at nothing to gain it. All, however, were unbelievably heroic on the field of battle and venerated by the British public.

Farwell pulls no punches in his assessment of each man and provides information that was not generally known during his subjects' lifetimes. Two other books by Farwell, Queen Victoria's Little Wars and Mr. Kipling's Army(which I just read last week) are good companions to this volume. Fact filled and enjoyable, this is another winner from one of the greatest historian of the British military experience.

[David Eppenstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

My TBR shelf has been getting dangerously shallow lately and I have been having a heck of a time trying to find interesting books to read. At times like this my GR friends are an invaluable resource. Thanks to a GR friend (thanks Jill) who read and wrote a review of this book a few weeks ago I have been spared a bookless TBR shelf. My friend's review piqued my interest so I ordered the book and enjoyed reading it. I give the book 3 stars because it is a worthwhile purchase and read but it is not particularly noteworthy and would be of interest primarily to readers interested in British history and especially their military exploits. I found it interesting for other reasons beyond the military aspects but those were interesting nonetheless.

The book is a collection of 8 brief biographies of 19th century British military heroes. Of the 8 most people will probably only have heard of 2, Kitchener and Gordon and will only have known of Gordon because of a 1960's movie "Khartoum" starring Charleton Heston as Gordon. That movie only reaffirms Hollywood's commitment to not letting history get in the way of a good movie plot. Heston would have been nearly a foot taller and 100+ lbs heavier than the real Gordon who was also a religious zealot. These biographies are a view into life in the 19th century British military as well as their social structure, politics, government policies, and general moral attitude. The British government at that time had a Secretary of War and that should tell you something. The British Empire, the paragon of modern civilization, had an established practice of expanding their empire by attacking weakly defended territories and just taking over. So says an American living on land formerly owned by Native Americans. So maybe this resident of a euphemistic glass house shouldn't throw stones but really, a government policy of war? I am familiar with how the British stole India but from reading this book I learned how they attempted to occupy Afghanistan because they didn't want Russia to get there first as that might mean Russia had designs on India which England considered their property. The arrogance of 19th century England is astounding and on full display in this book through the lives of these men and what they were doing on behalf of queen and empire.

The book ends with a the biography of Herbert Kitchener (Herbert? I didn't know that either). The author didn't seem to be a big fan of Kitchener and his biography does seem to give the reader a very strong hint at why so many allied soldiers died in suicidal frontal attacks on entrenched machine guns during WWI. Kitchener ended his career as England's premier military hero at the start of WWI and this book details Kitchener's regard for the lives of his men and how to perform in the face of the enemy. Beyond that his career and climb up the promotion ladder was rather typical of the path followed by the other 7 "heroes". Opportunism, ambition, luck, and a craving for glory which could only be found in war. The book clearly portrays empire as something created by war and military exploitation and 19th century Britain was a society totally committed to such an enterprise and these men were idols of that ideology. Let's hope that empires are a thing of our primitive past never to be seen again on this planet. Enjoy.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good, educational

[Dave Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Eminent Victorian Soldiers” is a rousing yet cautionary narrative. Nineteenth century Britain produced a surfeit of eccentric and intrepid warriors; however, Queen Victoria’s army was largely ill-prepared, underpaid, subject to capricious political directives, and forced to enforce hide-bound societal customs within its ranks. That the sun set on the British Empire was inevitable, despite the heroic actions of a brave few. The author, Byron Farwell, a former American military officer, served as an engineer, working with the British 8th Army during World War II. Later, as a captain, he saw combat in Korea. Following seven years of active duty, he did graduate work at the University of Chicago, before writing several entertaining and informative studies of British military history.

“Victorian Soldiers” is a compelling history of Victoria's reign (1837-1901) during which not a year passed without the loss of blood and treasure. Farwell focuses on eight generals: Hugh Gough, Charles Napier, Charles Gordon, Frederick Roberts, Garnet Wolseley, Evelyn Wood, Hector Macdonald and Herbert Kitchener.

Farwell's life of Gough (1779-1869) is normative. Gough began soldiering at 12, became a field grade officer at 25, was soon promoted to colonel, and at 37, was returned to Ireland at half pay. Eventually, he returned to active service, was promoted to major general and fought in 16 bloody conflicts. As commander-in-chief in India, he favored frontal assaults and bayonet charges. The empire lavished honors upon Gough but seldom reflected on his tactics.

Chinese Charles Gordon (1833-1886) compulsively sought fame and fortune, enjoyed brandy, cigars and young cubs and died in the Sudan; his severed head was stoned by the Mahdi's Dervishes.

Most of Farwell’s subjects are simple yet brave men, essentially feudal chieftains who found themselves actors in an industrial and colonial revolution. For instance, Garnet Wolseley's account of his first action, a charge on foot against Myat Teen's fortified stronghold, in Burma is emblematic: "What a supremely delightful moment it was! . . . for the moment your whole existence, soul and body, seems to revel in a true sense of glory. . . The blood seems to boil, the brain to be on fire. Oh! that I could again hope to experience such sensations!"

In contrast, Herbert Kitchener's relentless assaults against the Boers served no strategic end and bordered on sheer insanity, insofar as they took no notice of the technological changes which rendered Wolseley's approach in Burma obsolete. Indeed, the Boer War foreshadowed Kitchener's leadership during WWI, tactics made worse by the advent of gas and machine guns. Thus, Colonel Max Hoffmann, Ludendorff's chief of staff, summarized Kitchener’s legacy when he remarked “the British fought like lions but were led by donkeys.”

Farwell's biographical studies are spare and unaffected, a clear look at the Victorian habit of conveying "lowly titles and vast powers to officers and bureaucrats who ruled in far places." This is a book that deserved assiduous consideration in post 9/11 America; unfortunately, the reader cannot invest in hindsight.

[John Gossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories are interesting, and the writing is engaging. Still, the genius of this book is to compress a set of biographies into a single book rather than the current trend of writing definitive 1000-page biographies of even minor figures. In bite-sized chunks, you can survey the human condition, learn something about the history of a time, and get a great set of stories in a fraction of the time.

I wish there were more books like this. I want to write a book like this. The subject matter is an acquired taste, but read the book anyway to see how history could be written.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engaging account of 8 British military leaders, of rogues and heroes, sometimes contained within the same person. These men could be cruel and stupid, but rarely small or cowardly. It was a different time when national heroes could say with all sincerity "We break treaties, but that is not a reason for letting others do the same."

The book focuses almost exclusively on the subjects' military exploits, yet does not present a detailed analysis of their tactics and strategies. It is an overview of 8 men of a similar mindset and era (one particularly interesting aspect is how often their paths cross), and should be viewed as an introduction to each and an composite portrait of an era, a perspective from one of history's greatest empires at the zenith of its power.

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here Farwell profiles an octet of British generals, some well-known (Charles Gordon, Herbert Kitchener), others more obscure (Evelyn Wood, Hector Macdonald). They're a diverse lot, some gifted amateurs, some career soldiers, others "rankers" who fought their way to a commission. Farwell shows their military successes but also their personal foibles, some more severe than others. I found Wood the most fascinating, a man who couldn't get out of bed without breaking a limb, and whose sister was the infamous Kitty O'Shea. Garnet Wolseley comes off as a hateful jingo, Kitchener a cold-hearted ladder-climber, Macdonald a shamed pederast. A fascinating survey.

[Devon Start · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a bad book about the heros of the victorian empire, gordon, chelmsford are in here as well as some lesser known but equally important personages.
the book is broken up into sections for each person, giving a short biography and an overview of his career. often paying attention to the actions that might have won him the victoria cross or what have you.
has a lot of over lap with the subject matter in queen victorias little wars

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will not to everyone’s taste as by looking at the men in the context of their times, i.e. sympathetically, it does not condemn them by evaluating them for standards of more recent time, such as works like Lytton Strachey’s Eminent Victorians does. Nonetheless this reader found the portraits of Hugh Gough, Charles Napier, Charles Gordon, Frederick Roberts, Garnet Wolseley, Evelyn Wood, Hector Macdonald, and Herbert Kitchener superb and while easy to read.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

concise history of most of the great Victorian generals. Interesting details and Farwell is always good.