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Although it is not frequently done, biographical data can legitimately be used as empirical evidence to test clinically derived hypotheses. This can be clearly demonstrated with Michael Holroyd's Lytton Strachey: A Critical Biography.
When Holroyd's book was published in 1967 and 1968, it was hailed by C. P. Snow as “without any qualification, one of the great biographies of our time.” The Times Literary Supplement of London recognized it as “a splendid piece of work,” and one “which will not be superseded.”6
On the other hand, a number of critics were rather less enthusiastic. These critics did not deny that Holroyd had produced a vivid and comprehensive portrait of an intriguing epoch in English literature, nor did they question his careful exposition and analysis of Strachey's work. Indeed, it has been generally acknowledged that Holroyd's analysis is rigorously objective, well-informed, and extremely thorough.
The aspect of Holroyd's book which grated upon the sensibilities of certain critics was somewhat removed from the direct consideration of Strachey's literary work. This aspect was Holroyd's frank and unflinching account of Strachey's personal life, particularly his long succession of highly emotional homosexual love affairs. Holroyd enjoyed the gracious and complete (and, in this type of situation, rather unusual) cooperation of Strachey's heirs, notably his brother James Strachey. Through this good fortune, Holroyd had access to almost countless letters and diaries, as well as Strachey's private papers, which included a large number of unpublished and