Hidden Flame (Bloomsbury Group)

Author: (English) Quentin Bell
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: In the early 20th century, Bloomsbury in London gathered a group of intellectually inclined young people—Virginia Woolf, Clive Bell, Roger Fry, E.M. Forster, and John Maynard Keynes. They engaged in all-night discussions, appreciating each other and cherishing the flames of rational collisions, believing in tolerance and a spirit of skepticism, while mocking the aesthetic tastes and moral customs of "Victorian Britain." Their social circle was loose yet distinctive, both fiercely criticized and highly revered. Amidst a variety of definitions and mixed reviews, they left a brilliant mark on the history of British modern culture. As a second-generation member of Bloomsbury, Quentin Bell used himself as a source of material, portraying the formation, development, and fundamental characteristics of this cultural circle with concise and refined brushstrokes, sketching the vivid personalities of its key members, leaving us a combined sketch of Bloomsbury—both broad and detailed.