The Fitzrovians: A portrait of Bohemian Society, 1900-55

"The Fitzrovians", a study of one of the most important literary and artistic groupings in the 20th century, aims to capture the characters and the creative maelstrom that was Soho in its heyday. Within a decade of the sensational Oscar Wilde trial of 1895, a new generation of flamboyant artists and writers, such as Augustus John, Walter Sickert and W.B.Yeats appeared on the scene, flouting propriety in their own style. Together with their friends, they established a network of studios, clubs and restaurants and throughout the 1920s they attracted the attention of members of society such as the hostess Nancy Cunard. The movement reached its peak in the years before World War II when figures such as Julian Maclaren-Ross, Dylan Thomas and Nina Hamnett were the focus of the literary and artistic world, which centred on a dozen or so pubs in what became known as Fitzrovia. Hugh David is a regular columnist in "History Today" and contributes to "The Times Educational Supplement" and the London "Evening Standard".