Bright Young Things

Jan 18, 2025 10:37 PM

Author:Alison Maloney

Bright Young Things

Bright Young Things is a thoroughly entertaining non-fiction account of 'the real Downton Abbey', which brings to life the historical backdrop of the series in an informative, fun and engaging book.

As one viewer told The New York Times: 'I'm just enjoying the show so much, I thought I needed to get a book about it. And I was watching [the historical scenes] and thinking, I don't know enough about this. So maybe I can learn something in the process.'

So step into a time of hot jazz and even hotter all-night dance halls, as Alison Maloney shares the gossip about life in the Roaring Twenties. Read all about it: high society’s scandalous exploits, fresh new fashions, the Charleston dance craze, costume parties, talking movies and, of course, the feisty flapper.

With chapters such as Makin' Whoopee, Cocktail Hour and Upstairs, Downstairs, Bright Young Things takes a sweeping look at the changing society of the Jazz Age, as life below stairs vanished forever, loose morals ran riot, and new inventions made it seem anything was possible. Peppered with first-person accounts that convey the spirit of the era in the words of those who lived it, Bright Young Things is a scintillating celebration of a truly iconic decade.

Reviews

Vividly written

—— Pennant Magazine (Journal of the Forces Pension Society)

Superb... A wholly absorbing and powerful narrative full of good sense, properly weighed facts and clear understanding

—— Peter Hitchens , Daily Mail

Abdullah's voice is reasoned and often humorous, didactic rather than dictatorial ... he is a spokesman for his country

—— Walll Street Journal

Romer carries the reader along effortlessly on a lengthy, complex yet immensely satisfying journey

—— Joyce Tyldesley , BBC History

Intriguing, iconoclastic ... An artist's sensibility is evident ... memorable and original

—— Toby Wilkinson , Times Literary Supplement

Enthralling from the first word to the last

—— The Atlantic Monthly

Moving and extremely well-documented

—— Oxford Mail

Excellent... One often feels as if one is actually present at the scenes she describes. There can be no higher praise... Inconvenient People is as interesting a work of social history as you are ever likely to read.

—— Anthony Daniels , Spectator

Fascinating and chilling, Inconvenient People reads like a series of Victorian novels in brief - only all the tales are true

—— Bel Mooney , Daily Mail

This superlative study opens the door on the cruelty of the quacks who locked up lost souls

—— Edward Pearce , Independent

Several riveting cases Sarah Wise has unearthed for this fine social history of contested lunacy in the 19th century... Wise has given us a fascinating book that teems with rich archival research. The pictorial sources are an added boon and make for a wonderfully illustrated addition to the history of the 19th century

—— Lisa Appignanesi , Daily Telegraph

Rich, gripping and moving mix of social history, psychiatry and storytelling

—— Your Family Tree

A dark and disturbing investigation...trenchant and disturbing book

—— John Carey , Sunday Times

There is so much to interest and entertain in this book, which is enhanced by over eighty informative illustrations

—— Gillian Tindall , Literary Review

A wonderfully engaging book

—— Jad Adams , Who Do You Think You Are Magazine

Fascinating book (4 stars)

—— Michael Kerrigan , Scotsman

Wise reopens 12 uncontested lunacy cases from the 1800s, meticulously exploring the details of each and recreating the stories with a page-turning eye for a great narrative

—— Independent

Sarah Wise knows how to grab the reader’s attention with phrases that would have done Bulwer-Lytton proud. But the book’s readability does not disguise its scholarship. This is a valuable contribution to our understanding of nineteenth-century

—— Charlotte Moore , Book Oxygen

I thrilled to Sarah Wise’s Inconvenient People, an enthralling study of those who fell foul of Victorian mad-doctors and greedy relatives

—— Philip Hoare , Sunday Telegraph

It makes for a harrowing read, but much of it is also hilarious, and as gripping as the most lurid Victorian melodramatic novel. Yet again, one closes a book with the impression that beneath the polished mahogany surfaces and shimmering silks of Victorian interiors lurked Hell itself

—— A. N. Wilson , Mail on Sunday

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