Charleston: A Bloomsbury House & Garden

by Quentin Bell, Virginia Nicholson

Set in the heart of the Sussex Downs, Charleston Farmhouse is the most important remaining example of Bloomsbury decorative style, created by the painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. Quentin Bell, the younger son of Clive and Vanessa Bell, and his daughter Virghinia Nicholson, tell the story of this unique house, linking it with some of the leading cultural figures who were invited there, including Vanessa's sister Virginia Woolf, the writer Lytton Strachey, the economist Maynard Keynes and the art critic Roger Fry. The house and garden are portrayed through Alen MacWeeney's atmostpheric photographs; pictures from Vanessa Bell's family album convey the flavour of the household in its heyday.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Biography, Literature, Art History, Art Design

176 pages, Paperback

First published October 9, 1997

About the author

Quentin Claudian Stephen Bell was an English art historian and author.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very enjoyable look into the lives of some of the Bloomsbury artists. The book is written by Vanessa Bell's granddaughter with many recollections of her father, Vanessa's son, Quentin Bell. Despite the unconventional romantic arrangements of the group, this family seemed like quite a loving, fun, and happy place to grow up. The text was interesting and the photography of the house, gardens and artwork is wonderful and shows a good range of Bloomsbury work. This was equally as interesting for the artwork, the family story and for those interested in houses gardens and homes.

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading CHARLESTON is a glorious experience, especially for those familiar with the Bloomsbury Group’s literary place in history. This beautiful book highlights Charleston Farmhouse, the home of Clive and Vanessa Bell, and is the best extant example of Bloomsbury decorative style. Their younger son Quentin and his daughter Virginia Nicholson share Charleston Farmhouse’s story through elegant photographs, including shots from the Bell’s own family album. 5/5

Grateful to the Quarto Publishing Group - Frances Lincoln and NetGalley for the early copy, in exchange for my true review.

#Charleston #NetGalley

[Keith Chawgo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about a house set in the beautiful countryside of Sussex Down with a historical significance both in style and resonance of a past gone by. This book is an interesting read but it is more focussed on the historical and style equivalent of the Bloomsbury decorative style.

This is mainly a coffee table book with lush photographs surrounded by text that gives a description and brief history. There are pages of text but this is really a book to place on your coffee table and thumb through, read a little and delight in to a history of a building that emotes historical significance. The book is well designed and layout and the text is not dry nor is it boring. The author has done considerable research and from the way it is put together, they have a considerable amount of love and adoration for their home and building.

This must have been a huge undertaking and it is very impressive with the design. This book may not be for everyone but for the style conscious and history hounds out there, this may well be worth a read.

[Helen White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book. Stunning photos of all the details of Charleston house and black and white photos of all the Bloomsbury group involved. Also a great insight into the daily lives of some of the group and how the house developed.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a lot of my books, this one was sitting on the shelf for some time, waiting to be read. There are some wonderful photographs in it, so it had not been completely ignored, but it took my recent visit to Charleston to get me to actually read it through. I have to say firstly that to anyone interested in the Bloomsbury Group, Charleston is everything you might want it to be. It is a beautiful house, filled to the brim with wonderful artworks by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and decorated throughout by them in their unique and inspiring style.

As for this book, it is a great reminder of my visit, but more than just a visitor's guide, as it has a text made up of memories of the house and people who inhabited it, by Quentin Bell, (Vanessa's son), and a more researched viewpoint from Virginia Nicholson (Quentin's daughter), who also brings her own memories of holidays spent at the farmhouse with her father and grandparents.

The usual Bloomsbury characters make regular appearances - Maynard Keynes, Lytton Strachey, Frances Partridge, Bunny Garnett etc., and there are plenty of photographs of them from Vanessa Bell's album to accompany the modern colour photographs of Alen MacWeeney. This is a great book about a remarkable house, and I just want to get out my paintbrushes and cover my walls in mesmerizing colours and patterns - if I only had the talent!

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This quotation isn't from this book, but from a piece Virginia Nicholson wrote recently for Harper's Bazaar (in celebration of a big Vanessa Bell retrospective this spring), and I think it encapsulates the feel of what Vanessa Bell (and also Duncan Grant) created at Charleston, which is so beautifully pictured in this book:

"Adorned with decorated furniture and murals, colourful textiles, ceramics and canvases, Charleston is in itself a work of art; in some senses, perhaps Vanessa's greatest. And it was under her roof that I absorbed the message that Art was something everybody could do: that it didn't just belong in ornate picture frames, but could jump out onto chairs, lamps and teapots."

--Virginia Nicholson (Vanessa Bell's granddaughter)

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

CHARLESTON showcases Charleston Farmhouse — the most significant example of Bloomsbury decorative style. Quentin Bell, the younger son of creators Clive and Vanessa Bell, and his daughter Virginia Nicholson tell the story of this spectacular home, depicted through stunning photographs and pictures from the Bell family album.

Thanks to the author, Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#Charleston #NetGalley

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A most magical place--it's like stepping into a painting.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Calling all those who love the Stephen sisters, Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf, along with their spouses and many Bloomsbury friends, all prominent artists, writers and thinkers. The group included Roger Fry, Maynard Keynes and Lytton Strachey, among others.
Fans of Bloomsbury life will enjoy a trip to Charleston, a unique home, which you can visit in this book. Vanessa Bell lived at Charleston, while Virginia and Leonard Woolf had a house nearby. Vanessa's child Quentin Bell spent a great deal of time there when he was young as did his brother and sister.
Quentin and Quentin's daughter, Virginia Nicholson, contribute their memories of Charleston to this lavishly illustrated book. There are photographs of the house, reproductions of art work and so much more in this volume. It is organized by room so you can spend time wherever you like and in the order that suits you.
This book is highly recommended. It has a beautiful layout, gorgeous visuals and many enjoyable reminiscences. Thanks for my visit NetGalley and the publisher!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful book features the Charleston House and Gardens in Sussex. The house belonged to Vanessa Bell, the sister of Virginia Woolf . The book was written by Quentin Bell the nephew of Vanessa And Virginia Nicholson, Quentin's Daughter.

The book is filled with pictures of each room, paintings, a blueprint of the house and garden. But the best art is reading Quentin's true life accounts of life in the house. He has stories about happenings in each room of the house. The house also features the Bloomsbury decorative style.

The book was beautiful to flip through and very interesting to read. I would love to visit this house some day. The house is open to tours.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have wanted to read Quentin Bell and Virginia Nicholson's Charleston: A Bloomsbury House and Garden for such a long time. Nicholson completed the writing of it after her father, Quentin Bell, passed away. The commentary tells both of Charleston's inhabitants and its guests. The artwork, floor plans, and accompanying photographs are lovely, and a real sense of the house's character is given. There is so much attention to detail here. I found it fascinating, and would love to see the quirky house in person one day. The garden particularly is breathtaking.

[Marjonneke Van Den Dorpel-Guiljam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heerlijk boek met prachtige foto’s over en van Charleston, het huis van Vanessa Bell en bewoond door diverse kunstenaars en schrijvers van de Bloomsbury Group. De verhalen zijn geschreven door haar zoon Quinten Bell en zijn dochter Virginia Nicholson en alle anekdotes zorgen dat het huis gaat leven. Nu nog meer zin om erheen te gaan!

[Mattea Gernentz]

Oh, to live in the 1920s and befriend Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell and put on theatricals in the garden. This is my dream home / the cottagecore blueprint. 🥺

[Caitlyn Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to the house but I need to read more to understand the Bloomsbury group more.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful book, written by Quentin Bell and his daughter Virginia Nicholson (respectively the nephew and great niece of Virginia Woolf), is the perfect picture--written, illustrated and photographic--of life at Charleston, the home of Quentin's mother and Woolf's sister, Vanessa Bell, as well as respite to other famous members of the Bloomsbury group. Each room of the house is described both in content and with stories from Quentin about events that unfolded in those rooms, so the reader gets a real sense of what life there would have been like. Books that were there in the 1920s still remain on the shelves, as do Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell's artwork on doors, mantles, and various pieces of furniture. This is a book to lose yourself in. It will appeal to those who are interested in: Bloomsbury, early 20th century life in Britain, particularly between the two world wars, life of the intelligentsia/Bohemian classes, and those who know nothing about any of the above but like books with gorgeous photography of cozy houses and gardens. It is a delight.

[Leonie]

The book features beautiful pictures of Charleston house and garden, family photographs of Vanessa Bell and her circle and text by Vanessa's son Quentin Bell. Highly recommended for Bloomsbury afficionados who can never get too much information about this period of English literary and artistic history.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloomsbury Group always fascinating to read about. Here is Vanessa Bell's (Virginia Wolf's sister) home with her lovely decor, exquisite paintings, and the various stories of her life, as well as some of the history of "the Bloomsbury Group" who came at went at Vanessa's country home, "Charleston."

[Nicola Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeously produced book about Vanessa Bell's paradise house with text by her son Quentin and granddaughter Virginia Nicholson. From now on, I am scouring vintage shops for furniture I like and reminds me of anything at all that I've seen in this book. And, obviously, I want to visit the house in person some day soon. Perfect gift for any budding artist or Bloomsbury fan.

[Miranda Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully crafted book. Words and gorgeous photography perfectly blended and a fantastic accompaniment to one of my favourite places to visit over and over again.

[Angela Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a Bloomsbury fanatic and love this book!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful interiors.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of a house and the famous people who lived there and decorated it in their own personal style during and after WW I. Beautiful.

[Mills College Library]

700.922 B4349 2004

[Nancy Noble · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of mine recently moved to near Charleston, and in anticipation of our future visit, she sent me this book for my birthday. I loved reading through it, and the photographs immersed me into this beautiful world of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and their extended family and friends. What made this book especially meaningful is that it was written by Vanessa Bell's son and granddaughter, who give a personal and intimate view of life at Charleston. I knew a little bit about the various players, but this book really filled in the blanks. I'm eager to see the real place, but for now, the book gives me a glimpse into their lives.

[Josepha Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the second edition revised in 2018 on a visit to Charleston. It is essential reading for any one interested in the Bloomsbury group. It is a wonderful momento for a visitor to Charleston. It is copiously illustrated with coloured photographs of each room in the house. It describes each room in the house in turn as though one was on a tour of the house. The text is full of memories of life in the house by Quentin Bell, the younger son of Vanessa Bell, and by Virginia Nicholson, the granddaughter of Vanessa Bell. The text describes the paintings and ceramics and textiles that fill the house. Charleston is a unique place and this book does justice to it.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful. This could be seen as a guide book, but is more a memoir of the house created by Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and members of the Bloomsbury Group, and their lives there. Quentin Bell's and Virginia Nicholson's memories of the house and the families and friends to be found there show how house and people combined together to create a unique combination of time and place and flowering of art and literature. The beautiful photographs complete a lovely book.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 2018 revision of Charleston, the Sussex holiday home of the Bloomsbury set, is sumptuously illustrated; it's almost like being there. Each chapter covers one room in this visual feast of a house, with excerpts from diary entries by Quentin Bell and reminiscences of Virginia Nicolson pertinent to that room. The paintings, the textiles, the pots, the imaginative decorative schemes, that lovely walled garden designed by Roger Fry.

[Suzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous book and generous stories of people who shared the home, like Keynes, a hero of mine.
I love the art, the colors, the bath story. The w c was apparently in another room from the bath.

I visited years ago and this is a great reminder. Elegant.

[Chris Organ · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than a guide book . Written by Quentin Bell a longtime resident of Charleston and home to some of the Bloomsbury Set and finished by his daughter Virginia Nicholson after his death. I enjoyed reading this as it gave context to a guided tour of the house. Useful

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the well-aligned companioning of photographs of the house with stories about the people who live there, and decorated it. The Bloomsbury group served as an inspiring example of how to live a life dedicated to Art.