Charleston

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.

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.

Everyone who is interested in the artists and writers of the Bloomsbury Group will enjoy this book with its beautiful pictures of Charleston, the paintings and decorations of Vanessa Bell, Clive Bell and Duncan Grant and the memories and stories of Quentin Bell and Virginia Nicholson. This is not just a book about a house but a book written with love by the authors. A substantial but attractive English country house with a walled garden and orchards, this was a holiday home for Virginia, who has fond memories of the smell of new cake and the dahlias in the garden. It was a place of 'messy ceativity' which had no telephone, radio or central heating. Tea was eaten by the fireside and children went to bed by candlelight.



I especially enjoyed the anecdote about T.S. Eliot being invited to a dinner party. Vanessa apparently became confused and mistakenly ordered a bird for each guest! The great poet was delighted with the 'covey'.



I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.



EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9780711239319
PRICE $24.99 (USD)

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

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!

People who are interested in Biographies / Autobiographies and Memoirs will want to read this book! This book was very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I give this book 5 stars. Provided to me through NetGalley. Thank You!

A lovely history of a house and a era of turmoil. through the years of Bloomsbury artists. Started by Quentin Bell and finished by his daughter from tales on his deathbed. It describes the house, the artist input to the house from painting and sculptures, to the way of everyday life of the famous, and some not so famous, who used the house as a base of the Bloomsbury group.
The photos are interesting and the artwork is beautiful, but most of all captures a moment in time which can never be replicated.

This book summarizes many of the ways that Charleston was a major influence to the Bloomsbury Art treasury. I had never heard of the Bloomsbury Art Treasury, but found this book intriguing, as I love to read about obscure things that I wouldn't normally know about.

I love this book! I want to travel back in time and visit or live in Charleston Farmhouse, count the Bloomsbury Group among my friends, create or decorate everything in sight, linger in the gardens, and talk about fascinating things with the exceptional people who spent time there. This wonderful book is so evocative of time, place and people that it leads one to dream.

The artists Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell (Virginia Woolf’s sister) moved to Charleston in the Sussex Downs in 1916, during WWI, and their life there is the focus of this gorgeous book. There is the sense of an almost childlike exuberance in their original design and decoration of every possible surface in the house, including walls, textiles, furniture, ceramics, rugs, even lamps, and in the gardens the creation of ponds, fountains, pathways, private refuges, mosaics, sculpture, and color everywhere. Photographer Gavin Kingcome has supplied many stunning, intimate photographs, while Clive and Vanessa Bell’s younger son Quentin Bell, and his daughter Virginia Nicholson, who spent so much of their lives there, bring it to life with photos and stories of everyone who lived and visited there. Their memories are of intellectual, interpersonal and artistic pursuits coupled with much laughter and deep sadness, too. Many of the anecdotes reveal unexpected, funny or personal details which add to, or even change, one’s sense of who the individuals of the Bloomsbury Group really were

I highly recommend this book, even to those with no acquaintance with the Bloomsbury Group. It is a joy to experience. I am not artistic, but I told a friend the spirit of free expression I get from it makes me think I could be. I plan to own this book, so I can escape to Charleston and spend time with its residents over and over again.

Thanks to NetGalley and White Lion Publishing for a Digital ARC of this book, of which I give an honest review.

A beautiful book. Lots of interesting snippets of information about Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, their friends and family written by Vanessa's son and grand-daughter. Even better, we are treated to glorious colour photos of various rooms and pieces of art work indidd the Charleston farmhouse which has been lovingly preserved and restored.. This book is an absolute joy, a wonderful addition to any collection of works by and about the Bloomsbury set, or indeed a visual feast for anyone who is at all interested in art and design.
I was given a look at an pre-release digital copy via Netgalley (in exchange for an honest, unbiased review), but have since purchased a print copy in order to get a better look at the wonderful photographs.

I loved this book. Charleston was the home to Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell. Fortunately the home was preserved and is beautifully presented here. The photographs are gorgeous. The text is written by their son who lived there and brings the rooms to life. Anyone who is a Bloomsbury fan will enjoy this book.