PositiveTimes Literary Supplement (UK)Colourful ... She is well placed to offer a new angle on the oft-told story of the Bloomsbury Group and their circle ... Strachey’s account has a theatrical feel to it, helped by the list of \'Dramatis Personae\' included at the beginning. Given its lively descriptions of outrageous parties and the inclusion of Cecil Beaton’s photographs of the Bright Young Things, reading this book feels a little like having an enjoyable rummage through a dressing-up box. But the pale powdered faces, haughty expressions and white-stockinged poses of the men and women captured in Beaton’s photos take on a new poignancy when viewed alongside the serious message that lurks at the heart of Strachey’s book ... If there is a weakness in the book, it is that with such a sizeable cast of characters, the action tends to jump back and forth from one to another; the chapters gallop at considerable pace through a dizzying wealth of information. But overall the book is enjoyably intimate and assured in tone, and Young Bloomsbury packs far more of an emotional punch than its title might suggest.
