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Young Bloomsbury: The Generation That Redefined Love, Freedom, and Self-Expression in 1920s England
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About This Book
An "illuminating" ( Daily Mail , London) exploration of 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.
Reviews
"Bloomsbury Group devotees and readers of LGTBQ+ history will likely relish Strachey's unique perspective."
"Young Bloomsbury's biggest flaw is that it introduces a fascinating array of characters and a convincing thesis from an inside source but moves too swiftly to blossom into a portrait worthy of its subject."
"With short chapters written in lucid prose, this is a dream to read for those interested in queer history, and Strachey treats the colorful drama of her subject's lives with tact ..."
"But the pale powdered faces, haughty expressions and white-stockinged poses of the men and women captured in Beaton's photos take on a new poignancy when viewed alongside the serious message that lurks at the heart of Strachey's book ..."
"The author's group portrait is both enlightening and fond (she is herself a Strachey) and does literature a great favor by gifting them with this fascinating account."
"Nino Strachey puts Bloomsbury's orgiastic side in useful context ..."
"Strachey provides frothy accounts of their gatherings at the Gargoyle ..."
"Their charisma died when they did, as is charisma's way."
"The book comes across as a generous love letter to Bloomsbury; and the author allows that she has skin in this game 'as the mother of a teenager who identifies as gender-fluid and queer'."
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