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Carrington: A Life
Here is an absorbing biography of the English artist Dora Carrington, who called herself simply "Carrington". A talented painter, living a bohemian life, Carrington was torn by conflicts as an artist and a woman. A mystery to those who knew her, she achieved notoriety by killing herself after the death of noted writer Lytton Strachey, the man she was hopelessly i...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
September 1st 1995
by W. W. Norton & Company
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Gerzina provides an insightful portrait of the Bloomsbury artist Dora Carrington (who went by only her last name for most of her life) who was in love with and lived with the writer Lytton Strachey (and killed herself after his death). It's full of quotations from Carrington's lively, idiosyncratic letters and of her illustrations, drawings, and paintings. Gerzina's story is well-researched and well-told, bringing Carrington to life as a vivid personality in her own right, rather than the Strach...more
If you read English literature of the early 20th century you eventually kind of get sucked in to the Bloomsbury group, first by Virginia Woolf, then by Lytton Strachey, they act like a very polite whirlpool which serves you tea and cakes at 4 o'clock. And eventually you come upon the remarkable character of Dora Carrington and then you're at the heart of all the entanglements. Back in the 1920s and 30s, in upper class England, these Bloomsbury oddballs really tried hard to disrupt the tyrannical...more
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Very well written and thoroughly researched, this biography of Carrington goes into detail about her life and loves. It's a striking portrait of a woman who wasn't comfortable in her skin but nonetheless found happiness by creating a new kind of family. (The modern term is "urban tribe".) She had a decades long love affair with a gay man, the writer Lytton Strachey, with whom she lived for 17 years, occasionally in the company of her husband or lovers, and occasionally in the compan...more
Unimpressed by Gerzina as a biographer - judgemental and not beautifully written. But the fascination of Carrington's life is there.
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Hazel
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Those interested in the Bloomsbury artists
Shelves:
never-finished
I'm just skimming this, so far. I stumbled across Gerzina's name here on Goodreads and a little investigation took me to this biography of the underappreciated painter. I remember seeing the film starring Emma Thompson, and was curious about the real story.
Tanya Faberson
rated it
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in Bloomsbury or the work and life of Dora Carrington
I loved this book. I've been a fan of Carrington's artwork for many years, and I've read through some of her published letters and diary. It's a fascinating biography of a very interesting woman. I found a lot of it very personally meaningful.
There is a great film of this artist based on this book also, starring Emma Thompson as Carrington. Depressing at the end but fascinating.
Bliss
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Stephanie Hollingsworth
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Valentina
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Laura
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Recommends it for:
Chrissie
Recommended to Laura by:
Kate Mc.
Shelves:
memoir-biography
Fredrika
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Stephen
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