Bright Young Things

Young, upper-class and on the search for pleasure in 1920s London. (A similar phenomenon existed in other European capitals, particularly Berlin and Paris.) Their thrills involved parties, cocaine, cars as well as elaborate practical jokes and treasure hunts, e.g. obtaining the Archbishop of Canterbury's glasses. Glamorous and dazzling, they were the ideal candidates for the high society gossip columns of the mass-market tabloids. Among the (in)famous Bright Young Things were Teresa Cuthbertson and the Mitford Sisters.

In Vile Bodies (1930), Evelyn Waugh has a satirical look at this set of people, who - in their wish to appear cool and unflappable - are incapable of getting "intense" even about love and personal relationships. In 2003, the novel was turned into a film entitled Bright Young Things.

Sources

• "Teresa Cuthbertson, the Last of the Bright Young Things." The National 19 June 2010. <http://www.thenational.ae/news/teresa-cuthbertson-the-last-of-the-bright-young-things>.
• Waugh, Alexander. "The Bright Young Things Were as Ridiculous as the Rest of Us." The Telegraph 3 Oct 2003. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3597133/The-Bright-Young-Things-were-as-ridiculous-as-the-rest-of-us.html>.