{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"startTime":6.935,"endTime":10.685,"body":"Hello, I am delighted to be here this evening talking about the queer history of"},{"startTime":10.685,"endTime":11.685,"body":"the Blooms Street Group."},{"startTime":12.425,"endTime":16.863,"body":"I'm going to start by focusing on the younger associates of the Blooms Street Group"},{"startTime":16.863,"endTime":21.302,"body":"in the 1920s, uh, looking at what it meant to be young and queer a"},{"startTime":21.302,"endTime":25.741,"body":"hundred years ago, and how their open way of living and loving is still relevant"},{"startTime":25.741,"endTime":26.925,"body":"to the present day."},{"startTime":28.105,"endTime":33.559,"body":"So in the years before the First World War, a collection of writers and artists"},{"startTime":33.559,"endTime":39.013,"body":"began to make a name for themselves in England and America celebrated for their irreverent"},{"startTime":39.013,"endTime":44.467,"body":"spirit and provocative works of literature and art, uh, including Litten Strait, she, Virginia Wolf,"},{"startTime":44.467,"endTime":46.285,"body":"Vanessa Bell, and Duncan Grant."},{"startTime":46.675,"endTime":48.685,"body":"They called themselves the Bloomsbury Group."},{"startTime":49.025,"endTime":52.365,"body":"And by the 1920s, they were at the height of their influence."},{"startTime":53.475,"endTime":59.182,"body":"Then a new generation stepped forward, creative young people who tantalized their elders with their"},{"startTime":59.182,"endTime":61.085,"body":"captivating looks and bold ideas."},{"startTime":62.035,"endTime":64.325,"body":"Some were the children of Bloomsbury families."},{"startTime":64.584,"endTime":69.325,"body":"Others were lovers who became friends most remarkably for the period."},{"startTime":69.715,"endTime":73.999,"body":"They were a group of queer young people who found the freedom to express their"},{"startTime":73.999,"endTime":74.285,"body":"sexuality."},{"startTime":74.785,"endTime":81.167,"body":"Amidst a group of supportive adults to a 21st century world still riven by homophobia,"},{"startTime":81.167,"endTime":87.125,"body":"biphobia, and transphobia, they provide a powerful historical example of the benefits of acceptance."},{"startTime":88.415,"endTime":93.601,"body":"Bloomsbury had always celebrated sexual equality and freedom in private feeling that every person had"},{"startTime":93.601,"endTime":97.405,"body":"the right to live and love in the way they chose."},{"startTime":98.585,"endTime":104.866,"body":"But as transgressive self-expression became more public, this younger generation gave old Bloomsbury a new"},{"startTime":104.866,"endTime":105.285,"body":"voice."},{"startTime":106.605,"endTime":113.556,"body":"Together, they pioneered an exte inclusive way of living, not seen for another century, a"},{"startTime":113.556,"endTime":120.045,"body":"brief flowering of intergenerational acceptance, pushing at gender boundaries, floating conventions, embracing sexual freedom."},{"startTime":122.745,"endTime":125.445,"body":"So first of all, talking about old Bloomsbury."},{"startTime":126.025,"endTime":130.163,"body":"So the Bloomsbury Group had gained a controversial reputation before the First World War."},{"startTime":130.785,"endTime":134.565,"body":"By the twenties, they reached a new level of commercial success."},{"startTime":135.505,"endTime":141.583,"body":"Blooms Bri's, irreverent spirit struck a chord with this post-war generation reaching an audience eager"},{"startTime":141.583,"endTime":143.205,"body":"to challenge traditional conventions."},{"startTime":143.975,"endTime":148.66,"body":"Young people who met them in person was struck by their frank approach to life"},{"startTime":148.66,"endTime":149.285,"body":"and love."},{"startTime":149.825,"endTime":152.965,"body":"It was rare to find an older group so open to new ideas."},{"startTime":153.185,"endTime":155.205,"body":"So accepting of different sexualities."},{"startTime":155.955,"endTime":160.085,"body":"Meeting your heroes was easier when most of them lived next door to each other."},{"startTime":160.745,"endTime":167.327,"body":"Uh, Vogue's October, 1925 edition provided a helpful guide to the Bloomsbury area of London,"},{"startTime":167.327,"endTime":168.205,"body":"the Strait."},{"startTime":168.285,"endTime":173.462,"body":"She family, Vanessa Bell, Clive Bell, Duncan Grant, and Main a cas were all in"},{"startTime":173.462,"endTime":178.639,"body":"Gordon Square and Virginia and Leonard Wolf were just around the corner in Tavistock Square,"},{"startTime":178.639,"endTime":180.365,"body":"living above their Hogarth press."},{"startTime":182.465,"endTime":187.709,"body":"Now it's easy to imagine the Bloomsbury group running on a small, smooth pass towards"},{"startTime":187.709,"endTime":191.205,"body":"success in continuous occupation of their favored territory in London."},{"startTime":191.865,"endTime":197.282,"body":"But their habitat was in fact the result of determined action dispersed during the First"},{"startTime":197.282,"endTime":198.005,"body":"World War."},{"startTime":198.345,"endTime":203.724,"body":"The friends came back together in the twenties, like homing, pigeons, reassembling in the streets"},{"startTime":203.724,"endTime":209.104,"body":"around 46 Gordon Square, the home to which Vanessa and Virginia, Steven had escaped after"},{"startTime":209.104,"endTime":214.125,"body":"the death of their father in 1904, seeking a life free from adult interference."},{"startTime":214.945,"endTime":220.476,"body":"It was here that the Steven Sisters had first got to know the Cambridge friends"},{"startTime":220.476,"endTime":226.007,"body":"of their brothers, Toby and Adrian, finding new ways to connect, a commitment to honest"},{"startTime":226.007,"endTime":231.538,"body":"communication between the sexes to freedom in creativity, to openness in all sexual matters, a"},{"startTime":231.538,"endTime":232.645,"body":"family of choice."},{"startTime":233.155,"endTime":240.198,"body":"They created ties of love that lasted a lifetime, embracing queerness, acknowledging difference, defying traditional"},{"startTime":240.198,"endTime":247.242,"body":"moral codes with Litten Strait, she as their a agile provocateur, the friends challenged each"},{"startTime":247.242,"endTime":254.286,"body":"other to break new ground economists Maynard Keynes stood alone amidst a group dominated by"},{"startTime":254.286,"endTime":256.165,"body":"artists and writers, painter."},{"startTime":256.165,"endTime":259.485,"body":"Vanessa Steven became Vanessa Bell when she married the art critic."},{"startTime":259.615,"endTime":261.365,"body":"Clive Bell, writer Virginia."},{"startTime":261.365,"endTime":263.565,"body":"Steven became Virginia Wolf when she married."},{"startTime":263.565,"endTime":269.28,"body":"Aspiring author Leonard Wolf of the Writers, only Em Foster reached a major audience before"},{"startTime":269.28,"endTime":270.805,"body":"the first World War."},{"startTime":271.425,"endTime":277.388,"body":"In the early days, it was the painters who gathered public attention, curator and critic"},{"startTime":277.388,"endTime":283.351,"body":"Roger Fry inspired Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, with his passion for the French Post"},{"startTime":283.351,"endTime":287.725,"body":"Impressionists seen as part of a pioneering group of British modernists."},{"startTime":287.895,"endTime":293.125,"body":"Their reputations were amplified through association with the Omega Go Workshops."},{"startTime":293.585,"endTime":299.965,"body":"An artist collective that helped to develop public perception of Bloomsbury as a brand critical"},{"startTime":299.965,"endTime":304.645,"body":"support was just gathering momentum when war broke out in 1914."},{"startTime":305.025,"endTime":308.525,"body":"And the war years formed a temporary break in the group's activities."},{"startTime":309.425,"endTime":314.405,"body":"But sales of works by Bloomsbury writers and artist took again off again after 1918,"},{"startTime":314.405,"endTime":317.725,"body":"building a definitive reputation on both sides of the Atlantic."},{"startTime":318.585,"endTime":322.125,"body":"By this stage, most of the original members were nearing their forties."},{"startTime":322.615,"endTime":325.885,"body":"Their ideas honed by years of close-knit conversation."},{"startTime":326.905,"endTime":327.565,"body":"Litten Rai."},{"startTime":327.585,"endTime":330.125,"body":"She set the ball rolling with eminent Victorians."},{"startTime":330.385,"endTime":337.725,"body":"In 1918, Maynard Keynes challenged conventional economic thinking with the economic consequences of the piece."},{"startTime":337.865,"endTime":346.091,"body":"In 1919, Duncan Grant held his first solo exhibition in 1920, impressing reviewers with his"},{"startTime":346.091,"endTime":348.285,"body":"defiantly modern style strai."},{"startTime":348.305,"endTime":354.257,"body":"She followed up with Queen Victoria in 1921, breaking British publishing records by selling 4,000"},{"startTime":354.257,"endTime":355.845,"body":"copies in 24 hours."},{"startTime":355.845,"endTime":360.728,"body":"Something I'd love to do do \u003claugh\u003e Virginia Wolf couldn't compete at this stage with"},{"startTime":360.728,"endTime":365.612,"body":"litton's sales figures, but she took comfort in the response of literary critics, um, signing"},{"startTime":365.612,"endTime":369.845,"body":"up with the same US publisher Har court brace for her American editions."},{"startTime":370.745,"endTime":375.689,"body":"And Virginia resented the way that journalists began to lump together pre-war founding members of"},{"startTime":375.689,"endTime":379.645,"body":"Bloomsbury with the younger circle of admirers who gathered in the twenties."},{"startTime":380.545,"endTime":385.557,"body":"But other members of the group were more matic, well aware of the publicity value"},{"startTime":385.557,"endTime":388.565,"body":"of linking their names with fashionable, bright young things."},{"startTime":391.785,"endTime":398.455,"body":"So young Bloomsbury seems the most helpful shorthand to describe these younger admirers who gathered"},{"startTime":398.455,"endTime":405.125,"body":"near Gordon Square, renting rooms in Gordon Place, Tavern Street, Brunswick Square, and Heathkit Street."},{"startTime":405.425,"endTime":408.805,"body":"Oh, you can walk around and and map exactly where they were living today."},{"startTime":409.625,"endTime":413.765,"body":"And a lucky few actually found lodgings in Gordon Square itself."},{"startTime":414.405,"endTime":419.832,"body":"Leasing whole floors of these two tall Bloomsbury houses from Vanessa Bell or from Litton's,"},{"startTime":419.832,"endTime":422.365,"body":"half-brother James and his wife Alex Strai."},{"startTime":422.385,"endTime":429.365,"body":"She many were fresh from university, finding useful starter roles as models or assistants."},{"startTime":429.875,"endTime":435.822,"body":"They posed for grant and Bell's paintings, organized exhibitions set type for the whole Garth"},{"startTime":435.822,"endTime":437.805,"body":"Press and sifted Litten Rai."},{"startTime":437.805,"endTime":439.285,"body":"She's erotic correspondence."},{"startTime":440.665,"endTime":446.125,"body":"Others were already launched on their own successful careers, bringing reflected glory on their idols."},{"startTime":447.125,"endTime":448.325,"body":"Talented and productive."},{"startTime":448.325,"endTime":452.925,"body":"They led interesting professional lives and complicated emotional ones."},{"startTime":453.325,"endTime":454.645,"body":"Individually intriguing."},{"startTime":455.015,"endTime":458.325,"body":"Their collective value has been consistently underplayed."},{"startTime":458.575,"endTime":465.54,"body":"Their ob achievement obscured in later accounts, young men dismissed as frivolous for embracing their"},{"startTime":465.54,"endTime":466.005,"body":"femininity."},{"startTime":466.615,"endTime":473.053,"body":"Young women judged by their relationships rather than their careers, connections with fashion show business"},{"startTime":473.053,"endTime":478.205,"body":"or the popular press portrayed as culturally inferior to more intellectual pursuits."},{"startTime":479.515,"endTime":483.165,"body":"Most were graduates from Oxford, Cambridge, or the Slade School of Art."},{"startTime":483.495,"endTime":489.89,"body":"Young people with artistic or literary ambitions seeking their way in the world, nearly all"},{"startTime":489.89,"endTime":496.285,"body":"were looking for ways to explore different sexual identities post university and blues breeze's approach"},{"startTime":496.285,"endTime":497.565,"body":"was unusually appealing."},{"startTime":498.545,"endTime":501.645,"body":"His twenties, London was a place of confusing extremes."},{"startTime":502.345,"endTime":507.523,"body":"On one side stood this news syncopated world of the bright young things with treasure"},{"startTime":507.523,"endTime":510.285,"body":"hunts, fancy dress parties, jazz music and cocktails."},{"startTime":511.105,"endTime":517.712,"body":"On the other stood the old establishment, stern figures of conservative reaction represented most fiercely"},{"startTime":517.712,"endTime":524.32,"body":"by William Joins and Hicks, who was the repressive home secretary from 1924 to 29,"},{"startTime":524.32,"endTime":527.845,"body":"who cracked down on nightclubs and indecent literature."},{"startTime":528.785,"endTime":535.194,"body":"At the beginning of the decade, Bloomsbury stood somewhere in between, offering safe spaces for"},{"startTime":535.194,"endTime":541.603,"body":"experimentation and conversations of reassuring emotional honesty with men and women who had earned a"},{"startTime":541.603,"endTime":542.885,"body":"reputation for candor."},{"startTime":543.515,"endTime":549.807,"body":"Gradually, the closed circle expanded to bring a wider range of new recruits, a more"},{"startTime":549.807,"endTime":552.325,"body":"playful understanding of intellectually appropriate activity."},{"startTime":553.345,"endTime":559.045,"body":"And when I was researching this period, I was continually struck by the cultural resons"},{"startTime":559.045,"endTime":564.745,"body":"with the present day, this inclusive approach to sexuality, a joyous exploration of different gender"},{"startTime":564.745,"endTime":565.125,"body":"identities."},{"startTime":565.585,"endTime":571.046,"body":"And with this in mind, I want to consider this wonderful image taken by Ctle"},{"startTime":571.046,"endTime":576.508,"body":"Beaton, uh, 'cause for me it symbolizes more than anything this crossover between Bloomsbury and"},{"startTime":576.508,"endTime":577.965,"body":"the bright young things."},{"startTime":579.065,"endTime":584.375,"body":"The photograph was taken on the morning of the 17th of October, 1927 at Wilford,"},{"startTime":584.375,"endTime":589.685,"body":"the home of the artist Stephen Tenet, who you can see standing on the left."},{"startTime":590.735,"endTime":596.226,"body":"Later that day, the poet Siegfried Suo took tenant over to tea with litten strai,"},{"startTime":596.226,"endTime":597.325,"body":"she and Strai."},{"startTime":597.385,"endTime":599.205,"body":"She spread the story all round."},{"startTime":599.295,"endTime":604.285,"body":"Bloomsbury and Litten sent a r account to his lover, Roger Shouse in London."},{"startTime":604.985,"endTime":609.401,"body":"And he said of this group, he said the night before, they had all dressed"},{"startTime":609.401,"endTime":610.285,"body":"up as nuns."},{"startTime":611.595,"endTime":614.685,"body":"That morning they had all dressed up as shepherds and shepherdess."},{"startTime":615.265,"endTime":619.653,"body":"In the evening, they were going to dress up as God knows what, but they"},{"startTime":619.653,"endTime":623.165,"body":"begged and implored me to return with them and share their raptures."},{"startTime":624.785,"endTime":631.049,"body":"So this, uh, inspired by the romantic pastoral paintings of the 18th century French painter,"},{"startTime":631.049,"endTime":637.313,"body":"Nicola Re tenant had supplied his guests with seven identical shepherds outfit to wear in"},{"startTime":637.313,"endTime":642.325,"body":"a tableau printed floral jerkins and with white ruffled collar on top."},{"startTime":642.385,"endTime":644.765,"body":"And they've all got knee britches and stockings below."},{"startTime":645.625,"endTime":647.645,"body":"And there are a whole series of photographs."},{"startTime":647.705,"endTime":652.405,"body":"And baten and tenant led the group like Pi Preppers across the lawn at Wellsford."},{"startTime":652.405,"endTime":657.085,"body":"And they posed with these baskets of flowers and willow wands and straw hats."},{"startTime":658.185,"endTime":664.342,"body":"And although Litton was correct to mention shepherds and shepherdess, as both men and women"},{"startTime":664.342,"endTime":666.805,"body":"were involved, the costumes actually unisex."},{"startTime":667.505,"endTime":672.591,"body":"And if anything, the male members of the party look more decorative as they seem"},{"startTime":672.591,"endTime":674.965,"body":"to have whitened faces and rou cheeks."},{"startTime":675.825,"endTime":680.648,"body":"And so these crop headed young people skipped interchangeably across the grass, and they have,"},{"startTime":680.648,"endTime":685.472,"body":"they collapse and abandoned beneath trees and they line up on a rustic bridge at"},{"startTime":685.472,"endTime":688.045,"body":"their ruffles and ribbons silhouetted against the sky."},{"startTime":689.865,"endTime":690.885,"body":"Our lit and strait shoes."},{"startTime":690.885,"endTime":695.525,"body":"Wheelchair home ham spray was only about a 40 minute drive, drive from Wilford."},{"startTime":695.985,"endTime":700.125,"body":"And tenant would've found the atmosphere that day, very welcoming."},{"startTime":700.905,"endTime":706.535,"body":"By October, 1927, Litton was deeply involved with a former Oxford student, Roger Shouse, who"},{"startTime":706.535,"endTime":712.165,"body":"made him so happy that Litton said he wanted to do cartwheels over the downs."},{"startTime":713.205,"endTime":715.165,"body":"Somewhat unlikely, I think, but he felt like that."},{"startTime":715.785,"endTime":719.165,"body":"Uh, and he loved to deck Roger with garlands of flowers."},{"startTime":719.585,"endTime":723.565,"body":"And there's some wonderful photographs showing with, um, Roger surrounded by lilies."},{"startTime":724.145,"endTime":728.365,"body":"Um, and he devised plays and performances where genders were disguised."},{"startTime":729.425,"endTime":735.284,"body":"And in 1927, Litton was writing Elizabeth and Essex and echoes of his relationship with"},{"startTime":735.284,"endTime":741.143,"body":"Roger appear in the description of his relationship between the aging queen and her much"},{"startTime":741.143,"endTime":741.925,"body":"younger favorite."},{"startTime":743.465,"endTime":747.085,"body":"So I wouldn't want to give the impression that Hams Spray was all about Litton."},{"startTime":747.085,"endTime":753.853,"body":"And Roger Litton lived in a creatively productive polyamorous throuple with Dora Carrington and her"},{"startTime":753.853,"endTime":758.365,"body":"husband, Rafe Partridge Carrington was a painter and decorative artist."},{"startTime":758.945,"endTime":762.605,"body":"And Partridge worked as litten secretary and literary assistant."},{"startTime":763.335,"endTime":770.183,"body":"Their relationship was sensually, non-monogamous and litten welcomed Rae and carrington's lovers in the same"},{"startTime":770.183,"endTime":777.032,"body":"way as they welcomed his and Hams Spray became a creative crucible with Litten and"},{"startTime":777.032,"endTime":780.685,"body":"Carrington nurturing the output of those they loved."},{"startTime":781.515,"endTime":788.365,"body":"Stephen Tomlin became Litton's sculptor in ordinary at Hams spray, fulfilling multiple commissions."},{"startTime":788.905,"endTime":794.098,"body":"Uh, notably a nymph of the IEX modeled on Litton's niece Julia, the writer Julia"},{"startTime":794.098,"endTime":794.445,"body":"Strait."},{"startTime":795.265,"endTime":801.147,"body":"And when Julia and Tomlin fell in love, Litton and Carrington encouraged their work, supported"},{"startTime":801.147,"endTime":806.245,"body":"the couple financially, and gave them refuge at Hams bra whenever challenges arose."},{"startTime":809.785,"endTime":814.605,"body":"So how did Old Bloomsbury meet all these young people?"},{"startTime":815.905,"endTime":822.931,"body":"Uh, by happy Accident, Oxford University was only a short drive away from Garsington Manor"},{"startTime":822.931,"endTime":824.805,"body":"home of the pacifists."},{"startTime":824.985,"endTime":831.725,"body":"Philip and Lin Mull a haven for Bloomsbury conscientious objectors before the war."},{"startTime":832.105,"endTime":835.485,"body":"It reigned a were welcome weekend retreat thereafter."},{"startTime":836.625,"endTime":841.405,"body":"Um, and Lin's eccentricities were ruthlessly mocked by Litten and Virginia."},{"startTime":842.065,"endTime":846.808,"body":"But the charm of her golden stone house with its shaded terraces was hard to"},{"startTime":846.808,"endTime":847.125,"body":"resist."},{"startTime":847.785,"endTime":850.365,"body":"Um, and I always think it's quite naughty of blues group members."},{"startTime":850.365,"endTime":854.141,"body":"They tended to be rude about those, those they stayed with, however often they went"},{"startTime":854.141,"endTime":854.645,"body":"back \u003claugh\u003e."},{"startTime":855.945,"endTime":863.133,"body":"Um, and in the 1920s, Gaston gained a new attraction, delicate Oxford undergraduates said by"},{"startTime":863.133,"endTime":867.925,"body":"Virginia Wolff to grow like asparagus shoots on the lawn."},{"startTime":868.445,"endTime":870.885,"body":"'cause they were all so delicate and attenuated."},{"startTime":871.825,"endTime":875.325,"body":"Um, so they're invited by ly to amuse her teenage daughter."},{"startTime":875.635,"endTime":879.727,"body":"They were of much more interest to lit and rai she and Duncan Grant, who"},{"startTime":879.727,"endTime":881.365,"body":"followed them attentively around the garden."},{"startTime":882.665,"endTime":889.171,"body":"And one young man who caught everyone's attention was Philip Richie, a handsome broad shoulder"},{"startTime":889.171,"endTime":889.605,"body":"figure."},{"startTime":890.065,"endTime":895.753,"body":"He had thick auburn hair, green eyes, and a tendency to burst into song, um,"},{"startTime":895.753,"endTime":899.925,"body":"escaping the restrictions of his background through drink and gambling Rich."},{"startTime":899.925,"endTime":905.575,"body":"He experienced a sense of release when, uh, introduced to Litton's Bloomsbury friends Carrington remembered"},{"startTime":905.575,"endTime":908.965,"body":"him talking frenziedly about male love at Hams spray."},{"startTime":909.585,"endTime":913.365,"body":"And Virginia Wolf used to use him as bait to tempt litten to her parties."},{"startTime":914.865,"endTime":921.525,"body":"And when Richie died suddenly of tonsillitis in 1927, Wolf experienced a twinge of regret."},{"startTime":922.225,"endTime":927.175,"body":"She wished she'd paid more attention to him during his life, being kinder to him,"},{"startTime":927.175,"endTime":929.485,"body":"and suddenly conscious of her own mortality."},{"startTime":930.075,"endTime":934.251,"body":"Wolf wrote in her diary that she wanted to write a history of all her"},{"startTime":934.251,"endTime":935.365,"body":"friends during their lifetimes."},{"startTime":936.145,"endTime":942.195,"body":"And she created a hero who evaded death remaining forever young, changing their gender as"},{"startTime":942.195,"endTime":943.405,"body":"the centuries progress."},{"startTime":944.075,"endTime":950.125,"body":"This was the book, which became Orlando Feta Sackville."},{"startTime":950.225,"endTime":955.99,"body":"West's role in the genesis of Orlando has been widely acknowledged, but the role of"},{"startTime":955.99,"endTime":961.756,"body":"her first cousin, Eddie Sackville West, and his circle of genderqueer Oxford friends, tends to"},{"startTime":961.756,"endTime":962.525,"body":"be downplayed."},{"startTime":963.375,"endTime":969.88,"body":"These were the graceful young men, Virginia encountered at Garsington, surprising her with their tendency"},{"startTime":969.88,"endTime":975.085,"body":"to wear lipstick and powder, small and delicate with large violet eyes."},{"startTime":975.415,"endTime":978.245,"body":"Eddie sat for West, had his own distinctive charm."},{"startTime":979.285,"endTime":984.319,"body":"Virginia Wolf pretended to be irritated by Eddie of Feminity, his frivolous interest in makeup"},{"startTime":984.319,"endTime":987.005,"body":"and jewelry, but she never turned him away."},{"startTime":987.695,"endTime":992.963,"body":"She'd listened to agonized accounts of his broken relationships, had spirited debates with him regarding"},{"startTime":992.963,"endTime":998.231,"body":"sexuality, and even said she would read his diary if it would help him to"},{"startTime":998.231,"endTime":999.285,"body":"unravel his emotional."},{"startTime":999.625,"endTime":1002.975,"body":"In fact, he used to bring his diary round to her house and they'd, they'd"},{"startTime":1002.975,"endTime":1003.645,"body":"read it together."},{"startTime":1004.985,"endTime":1011.135,"body":"Um, after Oxford, Eddie's life became a crisscross of Bloomsbury connections, he moved into a"},{"startTime":1011.135,"endTime":1014.005,"body":"London flat with Litton's cousin John Strait."},{"startTime":1014.005,"endTime":1018.765,"body":"She and enjoyed brief, but passionate love affairs with Stephen Tomlin and Duncan Grant."},{"startTime":1019.505,"endTime":1023.955,"body":"And his first two novels were snapped up by Heinemann and appeared in quick succession"},{"startTime":1023.955,"endTime":1028.406,"body":"in 1925 and 26, which is pretty good when that's your first year after university,"},{"startTime":1028.406,"endTime":1030.483,"body":"I think one year after the other."},{"startTime":1031.464,"endTime":1037.029,"body":"And the proud young author was photographed for Vogue by Cecil Beaton, lying under a"},{"startTime":1037.029,"endTime":1038.885,"body":"leopard skin with Stephen Te."},{"startTime":1039.355,"endTime":1040.805,"body":"It's a wonderful photograph."},{"startTime":1040.805,"endTime":1042.964,"body":"They're all lying with their heads tipped back."},{"startTime":1044.425,"endTime":1046.765,"body":"Now, Stephen Teon didn't go to Oxford."},{"startTime":1046.905,"endTime":1052.033,"body":"He trained at the Slade School of Fine Art, but he fitted very neatly with"},{"startTime":1052.033,"endTime":1054.085,"body":"Eddie's circle of painted Oxford boys."},{"startTime":1054.865,"endTime":1059.725,"body":"His clothing designs explored the boundaries between masculinity and femininity."},{"startTime":1060.115,"endTime":1065.112,"body":"Sometimes they veered into full drag as when he appeared as Queen Marie of Romania"},{"startTime":1065.112,"endTime":1067.445,"body":"for the impersonation party of July 27."},{"startTime":1068.345,"endTime":1073.052,"body":"And more often, they were blended in approach with an element of poetic humor, as"},{"startTime":1073.052,"endTime":1077.759,"body":"with his pink satin outfit for the great lovers of the ages pageant, where according"},{"startTime":1077.759,"endTime":1081.525,"body":"to the press, he had difficulty with the slipper of his Cinderella."},{"startTime":1082.825,"endTime":1087.165,"body":"Our tenant produced beautiful line drawings in the style of Aubrey Beardsley."},{"startTime":1087.585,"endTime":1093.251,"body":"And his proud mother mounted his first solo exhibition at the age of 15 Tenants"},{"startTime":1093.251,"endTime":1098.917,"body":"designs, uh, by, no, by 27, he was swamped with illustrative work for books and"},{"startTime":1098.917,"endTime":1104.583,"body":"magazines, and his designs were sensuous and atmospheric with a hint of the Russian artist"},{"startTime":1104.583,"endTime":1110.249,"body":"Leon Bt, as well as Aubrey Beardsley and his exploration of bodily adornment and his"},{"startTime":1110.249,"endTime":1114.405,"body":"love of performance, anticipate the self-expressive confidence of modern drag culture."},{"startTime":1114.985,"endTime":1118.125,"body":"And his friends remembered his public appearances fondly."},{"startTime":1119.545,"endTime":1121.845,"body":"So we've talked about Oxford and the Slade."},{"startTime":1121.945,"endTime":1127.06,"body":"I'm now going to move on to talk about Cambridge, uh, which was an equally"},{"startTime":1127.06,"endTime":1128.765,"body":"productive source of stimulating youth."},{"startTime":1129.665,"endTime":1134.941,"body":"So Maynard Keynes left the Treasury to return to King's College as an economics lecture"},{"startTime":1134.941,"endTime":1135.645,"body":"in 1919."},{"startTime":1136.545,"endTime":1141.535,"body":"And one of his first actions was to help revive the apostles, the Secret Discussion"},{"startTime":1141.535,"endTime":1146.525,"body":"Society where many of the original Bloomsbury group had met in the early 19 hundreds."},{"startTime":1147.385,"endTime":1151.205,"body":"Old members were allowed to return for the Saturday night meetings."},{"startTime":1151.705,"endTime":1157.594,"body":"And Litten Rechy and Ian Foster spent many pleasurable weekends in Cambridge, surveying each new"},{"startTime":1157.594,"endTime":1159.165,"body":"set of e initiates."},{"startTime":1159.385,"endTime":1163.474,"body":"And I love the idea of they then coming back every weekend to meet these"},{"startTime":1163.474,"endTime":1164.565,"body":"new generations of students."},{"startTime":1165.785,"endTime":1171.422,"body":"So one of them was, uh, a young man called Wal Walter Sprott, who was"},{"startTime":1171.422,"endTime":1174.805,"body":"rebranded as Sebastian when he, uh, joined the Apostles."},{"startTime":1175.345,"endTime":1182.245,"body":"Uh, and he enjoyed a non-exclusive relationship with Maynard Keynes from 1920 to 1925."},{"startTime":1182.945,"endTime":1187.53,"body":"Uh, he was the son of a provincial solicitor and he was less financially comfortable"},{"startTime":1187.53,"endTime":1189.365,"body":"than some of his Oxford contemporaries."},{"startTime":1189.865,"endTime":1194.223,"body":"He was elegantly attenuated, uh, and he had sharp cheek bones and a shock of"},{"startTime":1194.223,"endTime":1194.805,"body":"dark hair."},{"startTime":1195.465,"endTime":1200.981,"body":"And he was, um, studying moral sciences with the hope of becoming an academic friendly"},{"startTime":1200.981,"endTime":1202.085,"body":"and self effacing."},{"startTime":1202.305,"endTime":1206.365,"body":"He was quickly, uh, absorbed into many Bloomsbury households."},{"startTime":1207.285,"endTime":1212.369,"body":"Virginia Wolf worried about his skinny frame, his lack of resources, and made sure he"},{"startTime":1212.369,"endTime":1213.725,"body":"was invited to Garsington."},{"startTime":1214.065,"endTime":1218.061,"body":"And there's a lovely picture of of, of Sebastian as he was by that point"},{"startTime":1218.061,"endTime":1221.525,"body":"on his bicycle, 'cause he was bicycling from Oxford Station out to Gaston."},{"startTime":1222.435,"endTime":1227.001,"body":"Vanessa Bell employed him one summer as a tutor for her children, uh, and he"},{"startTime":1227.001,"endTime":1230.045,"body":"also served as a model for her and Duncan Grant."},{"startTime":1230.825,"endTime":1235.925,"body":"Now Sebastian took a double first and went on to, became a, uh, professor of"},{"startTime":1235.925,"endTime":1237.965,"body":"psychology at the University of Nottingham."},{"startTime":1238.665,"endTime":1243.115,"body":"And here he began a long-term relationship with a young man called a local man"},{"startTime":1243.115,"endTime":1244.005,"body":"called Charles Lovett."},{"startTime":1244.545,"endTime":1249.998,"body":"And it was through, uh, Sebastian and his writer friend Joe Ley, that em Forster"},{"startTime":1249.998,"endTime":1254.725,"body":"began to connect more regularly with young gay men from working class backgrounds."},{"startTime":1255.585,"endTime":1261.418,"body":"And Forster found these experiences, life changing, triggering revisions to his novel Maurice, and the"},{"startTime":1261.418,"endTime":1266.085,"body":"creation of other works, celebrating love between men of different social classes."},{"startTime":1267.365,"endTime":1274.093,"body":"Although none of this material could be published during Foster's lifetime due to the looming"},{"startTime":1274.093,"endTime":1279.925,"body":"threat of prosecution, the posthumous impact was considerable dismissed by Litten as colorless."},{"startTime":1280.545,"endTime":1286.117,"body":"Uh, another Cambridge student, Angu Davidson made a deeper impression on the artist Duncan Grant,"},{"startTime":1286.117,"endTime":1291.69,"body":"who found him inspiring as a lover and a model returning to the same subject"},{"startTime":1291.69,"endTime":1292.805,"body":"again and again."},{"startTime":1293.425,"endTime":1298.172,"body":"And Angus would sit patiently for portraits in oils and for intimate drawings of his"},{"startTime":1298.172,"endTime":1298.805,"body":"naked form."},{"startTime":1299.505,"endTime":1305.673,"body":"Uh, and when he moved into rooms in Heke Street near Gordon Square, Duncan covered"},{"startTime":1305.673,"endTime":1311.841,"body":"the walls and his furniture with romantic decoration, serenading lovers on the cupboards, em lilies"},{"startTime":1311.841,"endTime":1316.365,"body":"over the fireplace, uh, panels of swirling color in every alcove."},{"startTime":1316.365,"endTime":1317.765,"body":"And again, this is a lovely gesture."},{"startTime":1317.825,"endTime":1321.602,"body":"Duncan said that when he went to the home of anybody who had nothing, he"},{"startTime":1321.602,"endTime":1323.365,"body":"longed to fill the walls with decoration."},{"startTime":1324.265,"endTime":1329.8,"body":"Um, and Angus's rooms ended up being illustrated in vogue and in new interior decoration"},{"startTime":1329.8,"endTime":1331.645,"body":"as examples of Duncan's work."},{"startTime":1332.225,"endTime":1338.075,"body":"And Astute observers would've noticed his figure appearing both naked and clothed in Duncan solo"},{"startTime":1338.075,"endTime":1340.805,"body":"exhibition at the Independent Gallery in 1923."},{"startTime":1341.745,"endTime":1346.427,"body":"Uh, and in 1924, the Wolfs took him on as their assistant at the Hogarth"},{"startTime":1346.427,"endTime":1350.485,"body":"Press, thankful to have found someone so quiet and industrious to rely on."},{"startTime":1350.485,"endTime":1353.821,"body":"And I think it's lovely the way you see these young people being employed in"},{"startTime":1353.821,"endTime":1356.045,"body":"all sorts of different ways across the, the Bloomsbury Group."},{"startTime":1357.145,"endTime":1361.685,"body":"Um, and, uh, uh, Virginia Wolf and Litten Strait."},{"startTime":1361.685,"endTime":1366.045,"body":"She would also go to watch student performances from another Cambridge student."},{"startTime":1366.465,"endTime":1372.325,"body":"Uh, the beautiful Dadi Rylands Duncan grant designed costumes and stage sets."},{"startTime":1372.945,"endTime":1376.205,"body":"SLE Beaton photographed him, dressed as the Duchess of Mafi."},{"startTime":1377.225,"endTime":1381.777,"body":"And Wolf offered Dadi a job at the Hogarth press, and published his first volume"},{"startTime":1381.777,"endTime":1384.205,"body":"of poetry, which was called Ross and tta."},{"startTime":1385.385,"endTime":1391.17,"body":"Uh, but he decided to return to Cambridge to lecture in English and Dadi and"},{"startTime":1391.17,"endTime":1396.956,"body":"his artist friend Douglas Davidson, rented rooms from Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant at number"},{"startTime":1396.956,"endTime":1398.885,"body":"37 Gordon Square and Dadi."},{"startTime":1398.885,"endTime":1402.925,"body":"And Douglas threw parties at number 27 37, which spread throughout the house."},{"startTime":1403.345,"endTime":1407.038,"body":"And what was interesting about them is that they crossed the world of stage and"},{"startTime":1407.038,"endTime":1407.285,"body":"cinema."},{"startTime":1407.965,"endTime":1413.045,"body":"Introducing Bloomsbury to film stars such as Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks."},{"startTime":1414.025,"endTime":1417.485,"body":"Uh, evenings out with Dadi could be a rollercoaster ride."},{"startTime":1417.585,"endTime":1419.845,"body":"And I, I find it quite exhausting hearing about them."},{"startTime":1419.905,"endTime":1425.258,"body":"But, uh, on one night, apparently he ended and started the fun at the Cafe"},{"startTime":1425.258,"endTime":1430.611,"body":"Royal went on to churros nightclub, then to various apartments via taxi, drinking champagne on"},{"startTime":1430.611,"endTime":1431.325,"body":"the way."},{"startTime":1432.185,"endTime":1434.085,"body":"And on another night they had dinner at the Ivy."},{"startTime":1434.085,"endTime":1437.665,"body":"Then they went off to the BBC to listen to Dadi give a broadcast, and"},{"startTime":1437.665,"endTime":1441.245,"body":"they finished the evening in the pub so that daddy could pick up a soldier."},{"startTime":1442.425,"endTime":1447.005,"body":"And Litten leaves long accounts of each of these evenings, which I think quite fun."},{"startTime":1448.545,"endTime":1452.645,"body":"Um, then finally talking about young relations."},{"startTime":1453.345,"endTime":1458.048,"body":"Um, so sometimes these connections were sort of closer to home, uh, 'cause there were"},{"startTime":1458.048,"endTime":1462.125,"body":"a few children of Bloomsbury families who reached adulthood in the early twenties."},{"startTime":1462.785,"endTime":1465.405,"body":"Uh, and of these, the Strai, she were most numerous."},{"startTime":1466.415,"endTime":1471.073,"body":"Julia Strai, she who was the eldest child of Litton's brother Oliver, would've stood out"},{"startTime":1471.073,"endTime":1472.005,"body":"in any crowd."},{"startTime":1472.765,"endTime":1477.141,"body":"Virginia Wolf described her as a gifted wasteful, um, one of those beautiful young people"},{"startTime":1477.141,"endTime":1481.517,"body":"who seemed to be able to turn their hand to everything and, and actually end"},{"startTime":1481.517,"endTime":1482.685,"body":"up settling at nothing."},{"startTime":1483.425,"endTime":1488.365,"body":"Um, Julia could write and act and she drew with unusual sensitivity."},{"startTime":1488.785,"endTime":1491.445,"body":"And apparently she played jazz piano like a demon."},{"startTime":1492.465,"endTime":1496.59,"body":"Um, her father hoped she'd make her living as a commercial artist and sent her"},{"startTime":1496.59,"endTime":1497.965,"body":"to study at the Slade."},{"startTime":1498.465,"endTime":1504.281,"body":"But what Julia really wanted to do was write, um, and so encouraged by Litten"},{"startTime":1504.281,"endTime":1510.097,"body":"and by Carrington, Julia filled notebook after notebook with Proustian descriptions of the world around"},{"startTime":1510.097,"endTime":1510.485,"body":"her."},{"startTime":1511.265,"endTime":1515.939,"body":"And Virginia Wolf kept a BDI on Julia's work and prized her first finished novel"},{"startTime":1515.939,"endTime":1520.613,"body":"out of her hands, complaining that she was a typical strai she and slippery as"},{"startTime":1520.613,"endTime":1520.925,"body":"Neil."},{"startTime":1522.145,"endTime":1526.732,"body":"And that Julia's cheerful weather for the wedding was duly published by the Hogarth Press,"},{"startTime":1526.732,"endTime":1529.485,"body":"with a cover drawing of Julia by Duncan Grant."},{"startTime":1529.985,"endTime":1535.014,"body":"And it was very successful and reviewed both in England and America as an interesting"},{"startTime":1535.014,"endTime":1535.685,"body":"perceptive book."},{"startTime":1537.105,"endTime":1543.36,"body":"So Uncle Litten and Taunt Carrington, as she called herself, uh, fostered a consensually non-monogamous"},{"startTime":1543.36,"endTime":1548.365,"body":"union, uh, of Julia with Julia and the bisexual sculptor Steven Tomlin."},{"startTime":1549.145,"endTime":1553.54,"body":"Um, and so little say a bit about Tommy, who had dropped out of Oxford"},{"startTime":1553.54,"endTime":1555.885,"body":"to study with the established sculptor Frank Dobson."},{"startTime":1556.385,"endTime":1561.113,"body":"And he had a studio in Fulham and a cohort of willing sitters, and he"},{"startTime":1561.113,"endTime":1563.005,"body":"seemed destined for a shining future."},{"startTime":1563.865,"endTime":1568.125,"body":"Um, the couple married in 27 and moved to swallow Cliff in Wiltshire."},{"startTime":1568.705,"endTime":1575.085,"body":"But Tommy lived a life of sensory extremes when happy, his wild excitement was infectious."},{"startTime":1575.465,"endTime":1580.885,"body":"His energy mesmeric when sad, he'd be plunged into almost fathomless despair."},{"startTime":1581.425,"endTime":1586.431,"body":"He might be present for weeks, then withdrawing silence to his studio, refusing, uh, all"},{"startTime":1586.431,"endTime":1586.765,"body":"contact."},{"startTime":1587.895,"endTime":1594.768,"body":"Julia accepted Tommy's bisexuality well aware of his ongoing relationships with many Bloomsbury figures, young"},{"startTime":1594.768,"endTime":1595.685,"body":"and old."},{"startTime":1596.105,"endTime":1601.115,"body":"And she even welcomed one of his male lovers into their home, um, which she"},{"startTime":1601.115,"endTime":1606.125,"body":"found harder to cope with were his periods of severe depression and frenzied self reproach."},{"startTime":1606.665,"endTime":1610.278,"body":"Um, she was perfectly happy for that, them to live this way, but she didn't"},{"startTime":1610.278,"endTime":1611.965,"body":"want him to be complaining about it."},{"startTime":1612.645,"endTime":1617.645,"body":"\u003claugh\u003e."},{"startTime":1613.345,"endTime":1619.564,"body":"Um, but however erratic his moods, um, the young sculpture went on to create the"},{"startTime":1619.564,"endTime":1624.125,"body":"definitive images of Duncan Grant bitten Strait Sheet and Virginia Wolf."},{"startTime":1624.625,"endTime":1631.067,"body":"And today many of his pieces are in public collections displayed at Charleston Monk's House"},{"startTime":1631.067,"endTime":1633.645,"body":"Tate and the National Portrait Gallery."},{"startTime":1634.225,"endTime":1639.405,"body":"And his bust of wolf stares angrily out from a pedestal in Tavistock Square."},{"startTime":1640.635,"endTime":1643.525,"body":"Wolf absolutely hated being pinned down for sittings."},{"startTime":1643.865,"endTime":1647.27,"body":"Um, and I think she actually described Tommy, uh, to Litton as the man I"},{"startTime":1647.27,"endTime":1648.405,"body":"hate most in the world."},{"startTime":1649.865,"endTime":1655.877,"body":"Uh, and her furious discontent is etched into the clay, creating an image of haunting"},{"startTime":1655.877,"endTime":1659.485,"body":"pop potency, and it remains her best known representation."},{"startTime":1660.385,"endTime":1663.646,"body":"And if any of you, I don't know it, I'd encourage you to go and"},{"startTime":1663.646,"endTime":1666.907,"body":"look at Tavistock Square at the bus that was, um, funded by the Virginia Wolf"},{"startTime":1666.907,"endTime":1667.125,"body":"Society,"},{"startTime":1669.995,"endTime":1671.685,"body":"Julia's cousin John Strai."},{"startTime":1671.785,"endTime":1677.835,"body":"She seemed set to follow the typical family path, having been embedded in the aesthetic"},{"startTime":1677.835,"endTime":1679.045,"body":"crowd at Oxford."},{"startTime":1679.465,"endTime":1685.071,"body":"He became a regular at Gaston before setting up home in London with Eddie SVA"},{"startTime":1685.071,"endTime":1685.445,"body":"West."},{"startTime":1685.705,"endTime":1692.383,"body":"We heard about earlier and inspired by the same sense of Bloomsbury rebellion against conventional"},{"startTime":1692.383,"endTime":1694.165,"body":"moral and social practices."},{"startTime":1694.955,"endTime":1700.445,"body":"John took his activism beyond that personal sphere and into the political arena."},{"startTime":1701.635,"endTime":1707.843,"body":"John joined the Labor Party campaigning for his first parliamentary seat in 1924, and he"},{"startTime":1707.843,"endTime":1714.052,"body":"became a committed Marxist editing the Socialist Review and standing on the side of the"},{"startTime":1714.052,"endTime":1718.605,"body":"workers in the general strike of 1926, the Gordon Square Strai."},{"startTime":1718.625,"endTime":1722.085,"body":"She took this more personal approach to social change."},{"startTime":1722.895,"endTime":1728.047,"body":"Their dissent was embodied in individual action, and they never sought a fundamental change to"},{"startTime":1728.047,"endTime":1729.765,"body":"the organization of their country."},{"startTime":1730.675,"endTime":1731.325,"body":"John Strai."},{"startTime":1731.345,"endTime":1736.857,"body":"She had grown up in a more revolutionary era, exposed to the call of Soviet"},{"startTime":1736.857,"endTime":1740.165,"body":"propaganda, lured by the dream of a socialist utopia."},{"startTime":1741.195,"endTime":1747.873,"body":"John became a labor MP in 1929 and his 1932 book, the Cumming Struggle for"},{"startTime":1747.873,"endTime":1752.325,"body":"Power, became one of the UK's most influential Marxist publications."},{"startTime":1757.065,"endTime":1764.326,"body":"So if we think about John's radical political beliefs and Tommy's character revealing sculpture where"},{"startTime":1764.326,"endTime":1771.588,"body":"they represent these interesting touch points between the generations, each group had something to learn"},{"startTime":1771.588,"endTime":1773.525,"body":"from the other cross-dressing."},{"startTime":1773.545,"endTime":1778.3,"body":"Bright young people were as happy to be snapped by Ctle beaten in broad daylight"},{"startTime":1778.3,"endTime":1779.885,"body":"as they were after dark."},{"startTime":1780.665,"endTime":1787.529,"body":"And Bloomsbury figures began to embrace the new approach appearing in popular magazines alongside writers"},{"startTime":1787.529,"endTime":1788.445,"body":"and artists."},{"startTime":1788.665,"endTime":1790.125,"body":"20 years their junior."},{"startTime":1790.995,"endTime":1798.321,"body":"Over the next decade, the Oxford and Cambridge graduates transformed into journalists, novelists, poets and"},{"startTime":1798.321,"endTime":1803.205,"body":"party givers, inviting their seniors to join in the fun."},{"startTime":1804.135,"endTime":1810.858,"body":"After some agonized wrestling with intellectual snobbery, Virginia Wolf embraced the high fees offered for"},{"startTime":1810.858,"endTime":1814.445,"body":"pieces in vogue in an equally bold step."},{"startTime":1814.495,"endTime":1819.788,"body":"Grant and Wolf signed up as founder members of the Gargoyle Club in Soho, which"},{"startTime":1819.788,"endTime":1822.965,"body":"became a center for Bohemian nightlife in the decades."},{"startTime":1823.115,"endTime":1828.792,"body":"That follows tempted by the ideas of a club free from rules where members were"},{"startTime":1828.792,"endTime":1830.685,"body":"encouraged to express themselves freely."},{"startTime":1831.065,"endTime":1835.091,"body":"And I love the idea of Virginia Wolf at the Gargoyle, which is a very"},{"startTime":1835.091,"endTime":1836.165,"body":"sort of countercultural place."},{"startTime":1836.625,"endTime":1840.172,"body":"She tended to go there at lunchtime rather than the evenings, I think is what"},{"startTime":1840.172,"endTime":1840.645,"body":"she said."},{"startTime":1840.965,"endTime":1845.965,"body":"\u003claugh\u003e."},{"startTime":1842.265,"endTime":1848.512,"body":"So the younger generation promoted and inspired their seniors, propelling them into new types of"},{"startTime":1848.512,"endTime":1851.845,"body":"media and energizing their artistic and literary production."},{"startTime":1852.775,"endTime":1859.313,"body":"Bloomsbury figures learn to broadcast on the radio mix cocktails, dance the black bottom and"},{"startTime":1859.313,"endTime":1862.365,"body":"exploit the publicity value of gossip columns."},{"startTime":1863.155,"endTime":1867.805,"body":"This was the age of the elaborate fancy dress party, and Bloomsbury loved nothing more"},{"startTime":1867.805,"endTime":1869.045,"body":"than gender blurring costume."},{"startTime":1870.345,"endTime":1874.965,"body":"Litten Straight Sheet and Clive Bell would appear regularly on guest lists in the evening."},{"startTime":1875.445,"endTime":1882.005,"body":"Standard donning, elaborate outfits for events like the nautical party or the Circus party."},{"startTime":1882.945,"endTime":1888.805,"body":"And Wolf accepted almost as many invitations merely denouncing her hosts and fellow guests."},{"startTime":1888.855,"endTime":1893.165,"body":"Afterwards, you wouldn't want to necessarily be recorded by Wolf."},{"startTime":1893.865,"endTime":1897.205,"body":"And she and Litten adored gossip and sexual injury."},{"startTime":1897.215,"endTime":1901.285,"body":"Clean a willing ear to troubled young lovers of varying orientations."},{"startTime":1902.535,"endTime":1908.991,"body":"Journalist Raymond Mortimer was one of many to find contact with Bloomsbury, a transformative experience"},{"startTime":1908.991,"endTime":1912.005,"body":"as a smart young man about town."},{"startTime":1912.425,"endTime":1917.982,"body":"He was soon writing pieces for the new statesman and Vogue, slim, dark and attractive"},{"startTime":1917.982,"endTime":1920.205,"body":"with a mop of curly hair."},{"startTime":1920.515,"endTime":1925.805,"body":"Raymond would never be Litton's idea of a beauty, but he cut a dashing figure."},{"startTime":1926.925,"endTime":1932.158,"body":"Virginia was amused by his tiger stripe sweaters and his loud ties she used to"},{"startTime":1932.158,"endTime":1933.205,"body":"comment on regularly."},{"startTime":1933.825,"endTime":1941.005,"body":"Um, uh, and, um, the curious shape of his inquisitive nose ever charming."},{"startTime":1941.305,"endTime":1946.421,"body":"He was invited everywhere, figuring us often in the social columns as he did in"},{"startTime":1946.421,"endTime":1947.445,"body":"the review pages."},{"startTime":1948.965,"endTime":1954.421,"body":"For a few brief years, Raymond became what will be described today as a social"},{"startTime":1954.421,"endTime":1954.785,"body":"influencer."},{"startTime":1956.285,"endTime":1961.901,"body":"Old Bloomsbury was pleased when he reviewed their work or attended their parties, and Young"},{"startTime":1961.901,"endTime":1965.645,"body":"Bloomsbury turned out in droves for his after dinner gatherings."},{"startTime":1966.465,"endTime":1971.698,"body":"His flat in Gordon Place was helpfully located halfway between the Wolf's home in Tavistock"},{"startTime":1971.698,"endTime":1975.885,"body":"Square and the growing cohort of Bloomsbury members in Gordon Square itself."},{"startTime":1976.585,"endTime":1981.485,"body":"And his set, his top floor rooms became the setting for regular late night parties."},{"startTime":1982.355,"endTime":1987.485,"body":"Some were mixed, including his Vogue editor, Dorothy Todd, and her partner Mag Garland."},{"startTime":1987.825,"endTime":1990.045,"body":"But the majority were for men only."},{"startTime":1991.885,"endTime":1996.725,"body":"Vogue articles tend to mention Raymond's Bizarre newspaper wallpaper."},{"startTime":1996.865,"endTime":2001.804,"body":"He had new topical figures all over the walls, but they tend not, not to"},{"startTime":2001.804,"endTime":2006.085,"body":"dwell on his pair of backlit wig stands she had in the corner."},{"startTime":2006.625,"endTime":2012.053,"body":"Um, and the cupboards beneath them were painted by the surrealist John Banting, uh, with"},{"startTime":2012.053,"endTime":2017.482,"body":"naked men and the portraits of male friends and the adjoining room murals by Duncan"},{"startTime":2017.482,"endTime":2022.911,"body":"Grant and Vanessa Bell show rich red curtains being drawn back to reveal a lush"},{"startTime":2022.911,"endTime":2025.445,"body":"garden filled with fountains, flowers, and fruit."},{"startTime":2026.145,"endTime":2031.624,"body":"The stage was set for amorous interactions on the van below, and all of those"},{"startTime":2031.624,"endTime":2037.103,"body":"interiors were photographed and repeatedly used as promotion, both for Raymond himself and for the"},{"startTime":2037.103,"endTime":2038.565,"body":"artists in the group."},{"startTime":2040.215,"endTime":2045.368,"body":"Every now and then Virginia Wolf would stray into one of Raymond's evenings and the"},{"startTime":2045.368,"endTime":2048.804,"body":"frankness of conversation pops up in her letters and diaries."},{"startTime":2049.705,"endTime":2053.565,"body":"Images, A past round relationships discussed."},{"startTime":2054.005,"endTime":2060.455,"body":"Clothing admired and similar incapacities are shared in correspondence between young and old male and"},{"startTime":2060.455,"endTime":2060.885,"body":"female."},{"startTime":2061.105,"endTime":2061.965,"body":"Across the group."},{"startTime":2062.705,"endTime":2068.821,"body":"In letters to Litton Dadi, Rylands reveals his passion for fellow students, his success with"},{"startTime":2068.821,"endTime":2070.045,"body":"soldiers and sailors."},{"startTime":2071.195,"endTime":2076.898,"body":"Dora Carrington sends love and lust to Litton's niece Julius Strai, Litten teases Sebastian brat"},{"startTime":2076.898,"endTime":2082.601,"body":"for Glading the eye of male admirers with his taste for rings, dete shirts and"},{"startTime":2082.601,"endTime":2088.304,"body":"Venetian sombreros, which I say, I don't know what a Venetian sombrero looks like, but"},{"startTime":2088.304,"endTime":2089.445,"body":"it sounds fun."},{"startTime":2090.975,"endTime":2095.764,"body":"Eddie Saville West pours out his his heart to Litten psychoanalysts sister-in-law."},{"startTime":2095.764,"endTime":2101.006,"body":"Alex Strai, she who returns the favor with tortures, tortured accounts of her rejection by"},{"startTime":2101.006,"endTime":2102.405,"body":"her lover, Nancy Morris."},{"startTime":2103.705,"endTime":2108.845,"body":"So sexual openness of this type between friends would be impressive in the 2020s."},{"startTime":2109.385,"endTime":2111.405,"body":"But in the 1920s it was remarkable."},{"startTime":2112.315,"endTime":2117.365,"body":"Homosexuality remained illegal and hostile attitudes to lesbian love were whipped up."},{"startTime":2117.365,"endTime":2121.165,"body":"When Radcliffe's Hall, well of loneliness was condemned as an obscene publication."},{"startTime":2121.185,"endTime":2127.547,"body":"In 1928, Bloomsbury provided a supportive environment for queer young people that they were unlikely"},{"startTime":2127.547,"endTime":2131.365,"body":"to find elsewhere for those who could afford it."},{"startTime":2131.865,"endTime":2135.045,"body":"Mental healthcare tended to be a traumatic experience."},{"startTime":2135.655,"endTime":2141.285,"body":"Mainstream psychiatry still saw same-sex love as an illness requiring treatment."},{"startTime":2141.945,"endTime":2147.816,"body":"My heart bleeds for Eddie Sackville West, who was subjected to an eight week cure"},{"startTime":2147.816,"endTime":2150.165,"body":"in Germany involving painful testicular injections."},{"startTime":2150.995,"endTime":2156.325,"body":"Stephen Te spent 12 months of virtual isolation in a psychiatric hospital."},{"startTime":2157.485,"endTime":2160.165,"body":"Freudian approaches were scarcely more sympathetic."},{"startTime":2160.745,"endTime":2163.285,"body":"The leading British psychoanalyst, Dr."},{"startTime":2163.285,"endTime":2170.63,"body":"Ernest Jones diagnosed Stephen Tomlin's, lover Henrietta Bingham as suffering from sexual inversion with neurotic"},{"startTime":2170.63,"endTime":2177.975,"body":"symptoms and suggested strategies for displacement using Henrietta as a case study for the treatment"},{"startTime":2177.975,"endTime":2179.445,"body":"of female homosexuality."},{"startTime":2180.145,"endTime":2186.476,"body":"Dr. Jones was actually sharing progress reports with Freud in Vienna and anonymized accounts with"},{"startTime":2186.476,"endTime":2188.165,"body":"the British Psychoanalytical Society."},{"startTime":2188.585,"endTime":2192.042,"body":"And it's really interesting to read that, you know, that analysis of of what was"},{"startTime":2192.042,"endTime":2192.965,"body":"happening at the time."},{"startTime":2194.085,"endTime":2199.26,"body":"Virginia Wolf took no prisoners with her language, but it was surely far better to"},{"startTime":2199.26,"endTime":2204.435,"body":"feel able to have a robust debate with Virginia or litten on sexual terminology than"},{"startTime":2204.435,"endTime":2207.885,"body":"to sit in fearful silence, ashamed of your unmentionable identity."},{"startTime":2209.505,"endTime":2210.925,"body":"Why does this matter to me?"},{"startTime":2211.355,"endTime":2216.068,"body":"Queerness is no longer seen as a mental illness in Britain, but the mistreatment of"},{"startTime":2216.068,"endTime":2217.325,"body":"queer young people persists."},{"startTime":2218.125,"endTime":2222.525,"body":"Bullying and discrimination lead to alarming rates of depression, self-harm and feelings."},{"startTime":2222.525,"endTime":2227.605,"body":"Some suicide children and young adults still go to school and university feeling unsafe."},{"startTime":2228.015,"endTime":2231.565,"body":"Their peers using labels they identify with as insults."},{"startTime":2232.015,"endTime":2238.407,"body":"Trans students are particularly at risk with queer histories so often silenced and records destroyed"},{"startTime":2238.407,"endTime":2240.965,"body":"through fear of discrimination or persecution."},{"startTime":2241.315,"endTime":2246.325,"body":"Sharing stories of positive interaction between the generations takes on a new relevance."},{"startTime":2246.935,"endTime":2253.067,"body":"Older people play a vital role when they show their support, building, conference, and nurturing"},{"startTime":2253.067,"endTime":2253.885,"body":"future talent."},{"startTime":2254.425,"endTime":2258.325,"body":"And I found much to celebrate in the world of young Bloomsbury and in the"},{"startTime":2258.325,"endTime":2259.885,"body":"queer history of my own family."},{"startTime":2261.065,"endTime":2265.85,"body":"Litten Strai, she was one of the lucky guests at a party thrown by Virginia"},{"startTime":2265.85,"endTime":2267.765,"body":"Wolf and her sister-in-law, Karen Steven."},{"startTime":2268.185,"endTime":2273.645,"body":"In February, 1925, crowds of bright young people flooded through the doors."},{"startTime":2274.305,"endTime":2274.925,"body":"Litten straight."},{"startTime":2274.945,"endTime":2281.085,"body":"She hovered ecstatically amongst a group of Oxford undergraduates invited specially to capture his attention."},{"startTime":2281.875,"endTime":2287.755,"body":"Vanessa Bell spent hours talking to the bisexual sculptor, Steven Tomlin, who was besieged by"},{"startTime":2287.755,"endTime":2293.636,"body":"admirers from every side and writing afterwards to her friend, Jacque Ra Virginia conjured up"},{"startTime":2293.636,"endTime":2299.516,"body":"a perfect vision of queer contentment young men in white tie tails, waltzing around the"},{"startTime":2299.516,"endTime":2305.005,"body":"room in each other's arms, and young women flirting with each other in corners."},{"startTime":2306.905,"endTime":2312.377,"body":"So Bloomsbury group houses formed safe spaces for sexual expression, places where men who loved"},{"startTime":2312.377,"endTime":2317.485,"body":"men could meet women who loved women with little express of exposure or challenge."},{"startTime":2317.945,"endTime":2323.108,"body":"Gender non-conformity was to be expected and age was never seen as a barrier for"},{"startTime":2323.108,"endTime":2324.485,"body":"a queer young person."},{"startTime":2324.545,"endTime":2330.35,"body":"In the twenties, these homes provided welcome moments of life-affirming normality in a generally hostile"},{"startTime":2330.35,"endTime":2331.125,"body":"adult world."},{"startTime":2332.025,"endTime":2337.854,"body":"Severe legal penalties threatened the unwary policemen prowled the streets around Il, looking for signs"},{"startTime":2337.854,"endTime":2343.684,"body":"of gross indecency, which just at this point could mean wearing lipstick or pado compacts"},{"startTime":2343.684,"endTime":2346.405,"body":"or wide leg trousers were very suspicious."},{"startTime":2346.805,"endTime":2353.673,"body":"\u003claugh\u003e, um, tabloid journals like John Bull ated against the apparent rise in painted boys"},{"startTime":2353.673,"endTime":2360.085,"body":"deploring male use of perfume and cosmetics, encouraging arrests for anything that looked suspicious."},{"startTime":2361.025,"endTime":2365.813,"body":"But tall Bloomsbury houses had their drawing rooms on the first floor, and that meant"},{"startTime":2365.813,"endTime":2369.645,"body":"that their transgressive parties were safely outta view from the pavements below."},{"startTime":2371.225,"endTime":2375.445,"body":"Men who danced with men became a clear target for police enforcement during this period."},{"startTime":2375.895,"endTime":2381.366,"body":"Plain clothes officers in vd their way into clubs and dance halls, seething clothing and"},{"startTime":2381.366,"endTime":2384.285,"body":"makeup as evidence and recording what they saw."},{"startTime":2384.945,"endTime":2389.695,"body":"If you are unlucky enough to have a hostile neighbor, raids can even be made"},{"startTime":2389.695,"endTime":2390.645,"body":"on private homes."},{"startTime":2391.725,"endTime":2396.975,"body":"A dancer called Bobby Britt was subjected to the full force of the law when"},{"startTime":2396.975,"endTime":2401.525,"body":"officers stormed into his basement flat at 25 Fitzroy Square, arresting everyone present."},{"startTime":2402.225,"endTime":2406.512,"body":"The police had been watching his home for several days, peering in through the bedroom,"},{"startTime":2406.512,"endTime":2409.085,"body":"Ruth Lights looking for signs of men entering together."},{"startTime":2410.485,"endTime":2415.885,"body":"A strange double standard seemed to apply if found wandering near Piccadilly with a powder"},{"startTime":2415.885,"endTime":2417.325,"body":"compact in his pocket."},{"startTime":2417.965,"endTime":2422.331,"body":"A young man could be charged for importuning for immoral purposes and sentenced to three"},{"startTime":2422.331,"endTime":2423.205,"body":"months in prison."},{"startTime":2424.465,"endTime":2429.676,"body":"If invited to an expensive fancy dress ball, you could smother yourself in makeup and"},{"startTime":2429.676,"endTime":2433.845,"body":"expect your face to appear in the press with little adverse comment."},{"startTime":2433.995,"endTime":2440.129,"body":"Even if you were dressed as a foreign queen or a famous female film star,"},{"startTime":2440.129,"endTime":2441.765,"body":"the context was critical."},{"startTime":2442.245,"endTime":2447.937,"body":"Regardless of social background, men who enhanced their features on a daily basis were to"},{"startTime":2447.937,"endTime":2453.63,"body":"be suspected of vice their behavior, a signifier of sexual transition, guests transforming themselves to"},{"startTime":2453.63,"endTime":2457.805,"body":"fit the theme of a party where apparently quite another matter."},{"startTime":2459.425,"endTime":2463.845,"body":"So the Bloomsbury Group reached a high point of fame in the 1920s."},{"startTime":2464.835,"endTime":2469.536,"body":"Success is always alluring, but this was not the only reason why a group of"},{"startTime":2469.536,"endTime":2473.925,"body":"40 somethings suddenly appealed so strongly to young men and women in their twenties."},{"startTime":2474.535,"endTime":2477.365,"body":"There was something else, something more subtle at play."},{"startTime":2477.905,"endTime":2483.581,"body":"The growing numbers of admirers who gathered like bees round a honeypot were not just"},{"startTime":2483.581,"endTime":2487.365,"body":"seeking celebrity, they were seeking affection as queer young people."},{"startTime":2487.435,"endTime":2491.123,"body":"They were looking for a place where they could be themselves amidst adults who would"},{"startTime":2491.123,"endTime":2492.845,"body":"accept them for who they really were."},{"startTime":2493.535,"endTime":2499.225,"body":"Bloomsbury writers and artists seemed to have defied conventional morality and lived to tell the"},{"startTime":2499.225,"endTime":2499.605,"body":"tale."},{"startTime":2500.215,"endTime":2507.547,"body":"Faith, fidelity, heterosexuality and patriotism had all been rejected, but without noticeable penalty ahead of"},{"startTime":2507.547,"endTime":2508.525,"body":"their time."},{"startTime":2508.875,"endTime":2512.95,"body":"They had established an open way of living that would not be embraced for another"},{"startTime":2512.95,"endTime":2513.765,"body":"a hundred years."},{"startTime":2514.795,"endTime":2515.765,"body":"Okay, thank"},{"startTime":2515.765,"endTime":2515.885,"body":"You."}]}