Young Bloomsbury: the generation that reimagined love, freedom and self-expression

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Unlike a lot of books about the Bloomsbury set, this particular book takes the bright young things—the next generation of Bloomsbury lovers, admirers and hangers-on—as its focus but, err, given the way the roaring twenties went they’re all androgynously beautiful twenty-somethings who went to Oxford and potentially had mental health issues. Bloomsbury had always celebrated sexual equality and freedom in private, but this younger generation brought their transgressive lifestyles out into the open.

We use Google Analytics to see what pages are most visited, and where in the world visitors are visiting from. The idea behind this title being that the emphasis will not be on Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, etc.

It is accepted by you that Daunt Books has no control over additional charges in relation to customs clearance. As such, I ended the book feeling as though I had eaten an insubstantial meal and was left, casting around, feeling rather unsatisfied. And now my TBR list has a slew of new authors: some previously unknown, some I've dabbled in but must now commit to reading and some I know only by literary reputation.

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. My view may have been unduly influenced by my other current reading - Frances Spalding's biography of Gwen Raverat. Strachey is obviously a descendent of Lytton and her knowledge of family bric-a-brac is extensive so that alone makes it worthwhile. Young Bloomsbury just BRIMS with the same kind of sexy vitality embodied by the characters Nino Strachey describes in such effervescent detail.The protagonist in that book is obsessed with Stephen Tennant, a Bright Young Thing/member of Young Bloomsbury, but the book focuses on locating missing Blackness in the archives and the lack of historical Black representation. I went back to Eminent Victorians after this in an effort to really grasp its significance - more to come on that soon. She also does a decent job of highlighting the difficult negotiations between sexual exploration and life in a wider, hostile environment in which any overt signs of queer expression were often rigidly policed and punished. This cohort still embraced art and creativity as their predecessors did, but brought new explorations of sexuality, gender norms, polyamory, and freedom of self-expression in all aspects of life.