Young Bloomsbury : the generation that redefined love, freedom, and self-expression in 1920s England / Nino Strachey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Strachey, Nino, author.

Contributor:

Hiram G. Haney Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bloomsbury group--History.

Bloomsbury group.

Authors, English--20th century--Biography.

Authors, English.

Artists--Great Britain--20th century--Biography.

Artists.

Art--History.

Art.

Great Britain.

Genre:

Biography.

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

xi, 287 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Atria Books hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Atria Books, 2022.

Summary:

Revealing an aspect of history not yet explored, this illuminating and thought-provoking book brings to vibrant life the second generation of the iconic Bloomsbury Group who inspired their elders to new heights of creativity and passion while also pushing the boundaries of sexual freedom and gender norms in 1920s England.

In the years before the First World War, a collection of writers and artists--Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, and Lytton Strachey among them--began to make a name for themselves in England and America for their irreverent spirit and provocative works of literature, art, and criticism. They called themselves the Bloomsbury Group and by the 1920s, they were at the height of their influence. Then a new generation stepped forward--creative young people who tantalized their elders with their captivating looks, bold ideas, and subversive energy. Young Bloomsbury introduces us to this colorful cast of characters, including novelist Eddy Sackville-West, who wore elaborate make-up and dressed in satin and black velvet; artist Stephen Tomlin, who sculpted the heads of his male and female lovers; and author Julia Strachey, who wrote a searing tale of blighted love. Talented and productive, these larger-than-life figures had high-achieving professional lives and extremely complicated emotional lives. The group had always celebrated sexual equality and freedom in private, feeling that every person had the right to live and love in the way they chose. But as transgressive self-expression became more public, this younger generation gave Old Bloomsbury a new voice. Revealing an aspect of history not yet explored and with "effervescent detail" (Juliet Nicolson, author of Frostquake), Young Bloomsbury celebrates an open way of living and loving that would not be embraced for another hundred years.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Bloomsbury Comes Together

Finding Their Chosen Family, 1904-14

Dispersal, 1914-18

New Recruits

2. Bloomsbury Meets The Bright Young Things

Bloomsbury Reassembles, 1919-22

Young People from Oxford

Young People from Cambridge

Young Relations and Many More

3. Bloomsbury Parties

Playing Close to Home

Testing the Boundaries

Venturing Further Afield

Unexpected Outcomes

4. The Cult Of The Effeminate

Mincing in Black Velvet

Painted Boys

Prince Charming

Shepherds and Shepherdesses

5. Cheerful Weather For The Wedding

The Persian Princess

Consensual Non-Monogamy

Finding Love at Ham Spray

Breaking Out in New Directions

6. Conversation And The Exchange Of Ideas

The Cranium Club

Hearing Women's Voices

Sapphists and Hermaphrodites

7. The Coming Struggle For Power

Leading a Double Life

Atlantic Crossings

Honeymoon at the Villa America

A Changing World.

Notes:

Originally published in Great Britain in 2022 by John Murray.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 241-270) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Hiram G. Haney Fund.

ISBN:

9781982164768

198216476X

OCLC:

1299300586

Publisher Number:

99992597537