The real movement of history, it turns out, is fueled not by matter but by spirit, by the will to freedom.

"They depended on no special breeding talent sensibility or even money. "The Victorian Ethos: Before and after Victoria" is the title of one essay; "Victorianism before Victoria" are the opening words of another. Ideas
Himmelfarb is best known as a historian of Victorian England.

She has written extensively on intellectual history with a focus on Britain and the Victorian era as well as on contemporary society and culture.