I am alone for the next 5 days as Jesse left tonight for Newcastle, and I’m already being a sook not 5 hours in. I tend to talk out loud quite a bit which I’m only realising now as there is noone to answer back to my overtly obvious and mindless observations/questions/sweeping statements! Copious amounts of tea, my Gloria Swanson autobiography, baking like a mad woman and an army of old faithful films are my plan to keep me occupied and slightly sane. I settled in to my first night alone in a long time with none other than Bright Young Things.

Bright Young Things is Stephen Fry’s screen adaptation (and I stress “adaptation” since the endings are very different) from Evelyn Waugh’s 1930 novel Vile Bodies. It takes place during 1930s London and revolves around the decadent, cocaine-fueled lives of the young social elite. It’s party party party fun fun fun all the time.

Stephen Fry stayed true to the disjointed style of the Evelyn Waugh’s novel by making the film just as structurally fragmented, which, if you haven’t read the book, might prove to be a formidable task to follow. But there is a story in there somewhere and it centres mainly around a young aspiring writer Adam (Stephen Campbell Moore) and his attempts to secure enough money to marry his longtime girlfriend Nina (Emily Mortimer). It’s kind of a romantic comedy but then again, it’s really not. In the meantime, there’s a lot of partying, cocaine snorting, and fun outings to the racetracks with their absolutely hilarious and totally scene stealing group of friends, namely Miles (Michael Sheen) and Agatha (Fenella Woolgar).

Everytime I watch this film I fall in love with Agatha Runcible all over again and develop an insatiable desire to dye my bob blonde and wear jewel encrusted vests and tuxedos. She is the most fabulously endearing character, delivering every line with a ‘darling’ hooked on the end. Played by a brilliant Fenella Woolgar, in her film debut, Agatha is the character I always look for in each scene. Total girl swoon!

Emily Mortimer is great in it also, with some beautiful 30′s outfits. But the interiors are really what get me in this film, it’s so visually lush!

Put it on your ‘to watch’ list if you are yet to be acquainted with the Bright Young Things. I of course have been researching once more images of the real life Bright Young Things of the 20′s since the credits started rolling (almost 2 hours ago…). As depicted in the film, Bright Young Things was the nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of bohemian young aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London.They threw elaborate fancy dress parties, went on elaborate treasure hunts through nighttime London, and drank heavily and experimented with drugs—all of which was enthusiastically covered by the journalists.

The regular names associated with the group are ones such as Cecil Beaton, Edith Sitwell, Stephen Tennant, Babara Ker-Seymour and Evelyn Waugh himself to name a few. In my internet stumbles I came across the beautiful Brenda Dean Paul, who I had not heard of before.

“Brenda Dean Paul  ‘The society drug addict’ was a well-known actress and bright young thing. Brenda reportedly never went to bed “before four or five in the morning” and attended countless parties. However by the early 1930s and the Bright Young Things were looked down upon as frivolous and decadent and were forced to face the grim situation developing in Europe, and even themselves became bored with the parties that fast began lacking originality and ceased living  their decadent lifestyle. However by this time Brenda had become dependent on Morphine after a miscarriage and also took large amounts of cocaine and heroin. As Brenda’s behavior became increasingly bizarre, she started using false names (Penelope Page, Isolla Hampton, Penelope Paul, J. Beard) “because I am treated as a cross between an imbecile and a crook if I use my own name.”

Partying with artists, tottering about London on high heels, clutching a lapdog, Brenda was notorious. Although she claimed to have worked as a waitress in a club a confidential maid to a lady and later a store saleswoman Brenda’s real professional was drug addict.”

sourced via tumblr

The most tragically fabulous babe!

And now I truly need to stop researching 20′s socialites and get some shut eye!

Don’t forget if you’re in Melbourne to enter the draw to win a double pass to the Love Vintage Summer Show, details in the previous post.

Much love, darlings.

xx