Bright Young People: The Lost Generation of London’s Jazz Age

Before the media circus of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and our modern obsession with celebrity, there were the Bright Young People, a voraciously pleasure-seeking band of bohemian party-givers and blue-blooded socialites who romped through the gossip columns of 1920s London. Evelyn Waugh immortalized their slang, their pranks, and their tragedies in his novels, and over the next half century, many—from Cecil Beaton to Nancy Mitford and John Betjeman—would become household names.

But beneath the veneer of hedonism and practical jokes was a tormented generation, brought up in the shadow of war. Sparkling talent was too often brought low by alcoholism and addiction. Drawing on the virtuosic and often wrenching writings of the Bright Young People themselves, the biographer and novelist D. J. Taylor has produced an enthralling account of an age of fleeting brilliance.

“[An] ultimately elegiac narrative with a surprising amount of intellectual and emotional sympathy.” —The New York Times

“Engaging . . . Taylor’s skillful reconstruction of the whole hazy time feels like a lasting party favor.” —NPR

“Incisive . . . [and] richly detailed.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A poignant study of the elusive relationship between art and the social world from whence it springs.” —The New York Observer

“[A] splendid social history . . . By placing generational tensions and tenderness center-stage, Taylor gives his book a beating emotional heart.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Entertaining and incisive.” —The Boston Globe

“Fascinating.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Compelling and ultimately touching.” —The Guardian