Bright Young People
The Bright Young People was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London.[1] They threw elaborate fancy dress parties, went on elaborate treasure hunts through nighttime London, and drank heavily and experimented with drugs—all of which was enthusiastically covered by the journalists such as Tom Driberg.[2] They inspired a number of writers, including Nancy Mitford (Highland Fling), Anthony Powell (A Dance to the Music of Time), Henry Green (Party Going) and the poet John Betjeman (A Subaltern's Love Song). Evelyn Waugh's 1930 novel Vile Bodies is a satirical look at this scene.[2] Cecil Beaton began his career in photography by documenting this set, of which he was a member.[3]
The Bright Young People were also frequently referred to as the Bright Young Things,[4][5] as reflected in the 2003 film Bright Young Things.
[edit] List of Bright Young People
- Cecil Beaton
- Patrick Balfour
- John Betjeman
- Edward Burra
- Robert Byron
- Daphne Fielding
- Edward Gathorne-Hardy
- "Babe" Plunket Greene
- Bryan Guinness
- Gavin Henderson
- Brian Howard
- Teresa Jungman
- Zita Jungman (see Nico Wilhelm Jungmann)
- Barbara Ker-Seymer
- Beverley Nichols
- Brenda Dean Paul
- Elizabeth Ponsonby, daughter of Arthur Ponsonby
- Anthony Powell
- Diana Mitford
- Nancy Mitford
- Stephen Tennant
- Evelyn Waugh
- Henry, Viscount Weymouth
- Henry Yorke
[edit] References
- Taylor, D.J. (2009). Bright Young People: The Lost Generation of London's Jazz Age. New York: DFarrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0374116830.
- ^ Philip Hoare, ‘Tennant, Stephen James Napier (1906–1987)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004
- ^ a b Rubin, Martin (2009-01-10). "Book Review of "Bright Young People" - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123154973492170131.html. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
- ^ "Chris Beetles Gallery Announces a Cecil Beaton Collaboration with Sotheby's". Art Knowledge News. 2009-02-21. http://www.artknowledgenews.com/Sir_Cecil_Beaton.html. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
- ^ Fashion page ref
- ^ Social history ref
