Children of the sun

by Martin Burgess Green

Examines a generation of British men who, in the aftermath of World War I, revolted against their fathers, believing traditional concepts of masculinity led to war, and attempted to redefine manhood. They became known as aesthetes or dandies. Major figures in this movement included Harold, Lord Acton and Brian Howard, followed by Evelyn Waugh, Cyril Connolly, Randolph Churchill, Cecil Beaton, W.H. Auden, and Christopher Isherwood. D.H. Lawrence was regarded as an "antidandy," while George Orwell and F.R. Leavis led the opposition to the aesthetic movement.