Long after his death and despite the popularity of Strachey's essay in "Eminent Victorians", the appeal of the Gordon legend lived on. As late as 1933, the French historian Pierre Crabitès wrote in his book "Gordon, le Soudan et l'esclavage" ("Gordon, the Sudan and Slavery") that as a Frenchman the Gordon legend had meant nothing to him when he began researching his book, but after examining all of the historical evidence, he could not help but admire Gordon who "died as he lived, a Christian, a gentleman and a soldier".