Bloomsbury Women

 



Bloomsbury Women: Distinct Figures in Life and Art  by Jan Marsh has been on my radar for several years. Finally after much procrastination, I ordered a used copy from BN which arrived today. Alas, my copy does not have this luscious dust jacket but does boast a darkish red cloth cover which I find most acceptable. The drawing, photos, and text are not a disappointment in this fascinating non-fiction work.

 

Here are the opening sentences:

 

" 'Bloomsbury was conceived in 1904, when Vanessa and Virginia Stephen and their brothers Thoby and Adrian moved from fashionable Kensington to the quieter London district of Bloomsbury, close to the British Museum. It was born, so to speak, the following year, when the house at 46 Gordon Square became the melting place for their young artistic and intellectual friends, who gathered on regular weekday evenings to talk and to listen." 

 

 And from page 56:

" 'One day someone said you might get a job to paint furniture and do decorative work at the Omega Workshops,' she recalled. 'Feeling brave I went to Fitzroy Square and asked to see Mr. Fry. He was a charming man with grey hair and said I should come round the next day and start work. I went round and was shown what to do. Batiks. I was paid by the hour...and felt like a millionaire.' "

 

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