Julian Bell
Encyclopedia
Julian Heward Bell was an English poet, and the son of Clive
and Vanessa Bell
(who was the elder sister of Virginia Woolf
). The writer Quentin Bell
was his younger brother, and the writer and painter Angelica Garnett
is his half-sister. His relationship with his mother is explored in Susan Sellers
' novel Vanessa and Virginia.
He was brought up mainly at Charleston, Sussex. He was educated at Leighton Park School
and King's College, Cambridge
, where he joined the Cambridge Apostles
. He was a friend of some of the Cambridge Five
, and sometimes claimed as Anthony Blunt
's lover. (As such, he appears in the BBC dramatisation Cambridge Spies
.) After graduating he worked towards a college fellowship, without success.
In 1935 he went to China
, to a position teaching English at Wuhan University
. He wrote letters describing his relationship with a married lover, K.; the identity of this woman became a sensitive issue when the Chinese-British novelist Hong Ying
published a fictionalised account, K: The Art of Love
in 1999. After a 2002 ruling by a Chinese court that the book was 'defamation of the dead', the author rewrote the book, which was published in 2003 under the title The English Lover.
In 1937 Bell took part in the Spanish Civil War
, as an ambulance
driver on the Republican side. He was killed in the battle at Brunete
, aged 29.
Quentin Bell's son, Julian's nephew, is also named Julian Bell. He is the author of Mirror of the World: A New History of Art (2007).
Clive Bell
Arthur Clive Heward Bell was an English Art critic, associated with formalism and the Bloomsbury Group.- Origins :Clive Bell was born in East Shefford, Berkshire, in 1881...
and Vanessa Bell
Vanessa Bell
Vanessa Bell was an English painter and interior designer, a member of the Bloomsbury group, and the sister of Virginia Woolf.- Biography and art :...
(who was the elder sister of Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
). The writer Quentin Bell
Quentin Bell
Quentin Claudian Stephen Bell was an English art historian and author.Bell was the son of Clive Bell and Vanessa Bell , and the nephew of Virginia Woolf . He was educated in London and at the Quaker Leighton Park School.Principally an artist, as a potter, he was drawn to academia...
was his younger brother, and the writer and painter Angelica Garnett
Angelica Garnett
Angelica Vanessa Garnett is a British writer and painter.-Early life:She was the illegitimate daughter of the painters Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, sister of Virginia Woolf, and was a member of the Bloomsbury Group...
is his half-sister. His relationship with his mother is explored in Susan Sellers
Susan Sellers
Susan Sellers is a British author, translator, editor and novelist. She is Professor of English and Related Literature at the University of St Andrews, and co-General Editor of the Cambridge University Press edition of the writings of Virginia Woolf...
' novel Vanessa and Virginia.
He was brought up mainly at Charleston, Sussex. He was educated at Leighton Park School
Leighton Park School
Leighton Park School is a co-educational Quaker independent school for both day and boarding pupils. It is situated in the large town of Reading in Berkshire, in South East England...
and King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, where he joined the Cambridge Apostles
Cambridge Apostles
The Cambridge Apostles, also known as the Cambridge Conversazione Society, is an intellectual secret society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who went on to become the first Bishop of Gibraltar....
. He was a friend of some of the Cambridge Five
Cambridge Five
The Cambridge Five was a ring of spies, recruited in part by Russian talent spotter Arnold Deutsch in the United Kingdom, who passed information to the Soviet Union during World War II and at least into the early 1950s...
, and sometimes claimed as Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
's lover. (As such, he appears in the BBC dramatisation Cambridge Spies
Cambridge Spies
Cambridge Spies is a 2003 four-part BBC television drama concerning the lives of the best-known quartet of the Cambridge Five Soviet spies from 1934 to the 1951 defection of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean to the Soviet Union...
.) After graduating he worked towards a college fellowship, without success.
In 1935 he went to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, to a position teaching English at Wuhan University
Wuhan University
Wuhan University is a university located in Wuchang, Hubei, China. It is directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. It is regarded as one of the top ten universities in China, and its history dates back to 1893, making it one of China's...
. He wrote letters describing his relationship with a married lover, K.; the identity of this woman became a sensitive issue when the Chinese-British novelist Hong Ying
Hong Ying
Hong Ying was born in Chongqing on September 21, 1962, towards the end of the Great Leap Forward. She began to write at eighteen, leaving home shortly afterwards to spend the next ten years moving around China, exploring her voice as a writer via poems and short stories.After brief periods of...
published a fictionalised account, K: The Art of Love
K: The Art of Love
K: The Art of Love is a 1999 novel by Hong Ying which was published in 2001 in Taiwan. It is about a fictionalised account between Julian Bell and his married Chinese lover K. The book was banned in China after the daughter of Ling Shuhua sued the author for using her mother's name as K. After a...
in 1999. After a 2002 ruling by a Chinese court that the book was 'defamation of the dead', the author rewrote the book, which was published in 2003 under the title The English Lover.
In 1937 Bell took part in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, as an ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
driver on the Republican side. He was killed in the battle at Brunete
Brunete
Brunete is a town outside Madrid, Spain. There was a major battle fought there during the Spanish Civil War. The battle, while a stalemate, was seen as a tactical victory for the Spanish Nationalist Forces. Francisco Franco is known to have gone hunting there during his rule.It is located...
, aged 29.
Quentin Bell's son, Julian's nephew, is also named Julian Bell. He is the author of Mirror of the World: A New History of Art (2007).
Works
- Winter Movement (1930) poems
- We Did Not Fight: 1914-18 Experiences of War Resisters (1935) editor
- Work for the Winter (1936) poems
- Essays, Poems and Letters (1938) edited by Quentin Bell