Clive Bell painted by Roger Fry
Here are some of the most famous and influential members of the Bloomsbury Group and a link to some websites where you can have a look at their work. You can find a brief biography of each member on the link above or this one: http://therem.net/bloom.htm.
Clive Bell painted by Roger Fry |
Clive Bell (1881-1964): art critic |
 Vanessa Bell |
Vanessa (Stephen) Bell (1879-1961) : painter, wife of Clive Bell, sister of Virginia Woolf |
 E.M. Forster |
Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970): writer |
 Roger Fry |
Roger Fry (1866-1934) : art critic |
 Duncan Grant |
Duncan Grant (1885-1978) : painter |
 John M. Keynes |
John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946): economist |
 Lytton Strachey |
Lytton Strachey (1880-1932): historian |
 Leonard Woolf |
Leonard Woolf (1880-1969) : writer, publisher and civil servant |
 Virginia Woolf |
Virginia (Stephen) Woolf (1882-1941): writer and publisher, wife of Leonard Woolf |
 The cover of The Art of love by Hong Ying and inspired by Julian Bell's life |
This article from the Taipei Times is a review of the book K: The
Art
of Love by the Chinese writer Hong Ying. The story is about the trip of
Julian Bell, Vanessa Bell’s son and Virginia Woolf’s nephew, in China,
in 1935. There, he had many love affairs with Chinese women and related
them to his mother, eminent member of the Bloomsbury Group which was
very opened about sexual matters. Everyone of his conquests was named
after a letter of the alphabet, and “K” was therefore his 11th sexual
encounter. It was finally found more than 50 years later that this
mysterious woman was actually Ling Shuhua, a famous writer of short
stories and the most eminent woman in the association of modernist
writers in 1930s China called the New Moon Society. In her book, Hong
Ying tried to reconstruct a story based on this love affair.
Cet article du Taipei Times donne une critique du livre de la jeune écrivain chinoise Hong Ying, K : The Art of Love (K : L’Art de l’Amour). Ce roman raconte le voyage du fils de Vanessa Bell, Julian Bell, en Chine, au cours de l’année 1935 où il donna des cours à l’université. Lors de ce séjour, Julian Bell multiplia les conquêtes amoureuses dont Ling Shuhua, la fameuse “K” du titre du roman, célèbre écrivain chinoise du début siècle; et c’est cette rencontre particulière que nous conte Hong Ying dans son livre.
 The poster of the movie Carrington by Christopher Hampton |
Cet article a été publié à l'occasion de la sortie du film “Carrington” qui retrace l’histoire d’amour platonique qui unit le peintre Dora Carrington et l'écrivain Lytton Strachey. Ces deux artistes faisaient tous deux partie du Bloomsbury Group, un célèbre groupe d'artistes anglais du début du siècle connu pour l'originalité des œuvres de ses membres et la liberté de leurs comportements sociaux. Cet article profite de cette opportunité pour rappeler toute l'originalité des travaux d'avant-garde qui furent élaborés au sein de ce groupe et notamment par les deux personnages du film.
 The Hours, the movie by Stephan Daldry with Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf. |
Based on the critically acclaimed book "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham ("The Hours" was the original working title of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway"), the story follows three women living in three different eras whose lives are connected through time by Woolf's novel, "Mrs. Dalloway."
The tale begins with Virginia Woolf (Nicole Kidman) fighting a severe case of depression/mental illness while beginning work on her novel, which will ultimately become "Mrs. Dalloway." The second element of the story picks up with Laura Brown (Julianne Moore) living in Los Angeles shortly after World War II. Laura struggles with the idea that her life has no use other than taking care of her young son and doting husband (John C. Reilly). As she reads "Mrs. Dalloway," she empathizes with its main character. The novel prompts her toward a devastating decision that will forever change her family's destiny.
The third and final story takes place in modern day New York City. Clarissa Vaughan's (Meryl Streep) life has in its own way, paralleled that of Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. She's devoted herself to caring for her best friend and former lover, Richard (Ed Harris), a brilliant poet who is dying of AIDS. Everything she does revolves around giving herself to his care. Clarissa's portion of the tale focuses on the planning and preparation of a party to celebrate an award Richard's set to receive. While planning the party, Clarissa is jolted into the awareness that her own life, her own happiness, and her own needs, have taken a back seat to taking care of Richard.
Adaptée du roman de Michael Cunningham The Hours, l’histoire suit le parcours de trois femmes vivant à trois différentes époques et dont les vies sont connectées à travers le temps par l’intermédiaire du roman de Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway.
Ainsi, on retrouve Virginia Woolf dans la banlieue de Londres, au
début des années vingt, qui lutte contre la folie qui la
guette. Elle entame l'écriture de son grand roman, Mrs Dalloway.
Plus de vingt ans après, à Los Angeles, Laura Brown lit
cet ouvrage : une expérience si forte qu'elle songe à
changer radicalement de vie.
A New York, aujourd'hui, Clarissa Vaughn, version moderne de Mrs
Dalloway, soutient Richard, un ami poète atteint du sida.
Comment ces histoires vont-elles se rejoindre, comment ces trois femmes
vont-elles former une seule et même chaîne ? La
littérature est si puissante qu'un chef-d'oeuvre peut,
par-delà les époques, modifier irrévocablement
l'existence de celles qui le côtoient.