Michael Hone

The History of Orgies Michael Hone

As I was preparing material for my book The Bloomsbury Set I came upon the life of one of the Bloomsbury children, Burgo Partridge, and his book A History of Orgies. I had already put aside a great deal of material on the subject of orgies, and inspired by both the title of his book, and the book itself, I realized that there was now far more material on the subject than in 1958 when the book came out, 60 years ago. The story of Burgo began with his mother, Francis Marshall, who loved Lytton Strachey, a homosexual in love with Ralf Partridge. Partridge was bisexual enough to fall in love with Francis and ask her to marry him, which she accepted in the hope of having an easier access to Strachey! This worked, as Strachey not only accompanied the couple on their honeymoon to Venice, but he paid for it, as well as their first home where he was a constant visitor. Strachey's early death brought Frances and Ralph closer together, forming a marriage stronger than most, of whom Burgo was the issue. I was born far later than Burgo but thanks to my research I was with the family while Burgo grew to manhood, a kind of uncle, who shed tears when I learned that Burgo was carried away by a heart attack in 1960 at age 26. As for this volume, my intention is to bring Burgo's book up to date, to add far more material, with far more detail, all thanks to recent research. Ancient Greece and Rome will, of course, have their place, as will the courts of France and England, Germany and Russia, the Belle Époque with Cocteau and Proust, Americana represented by the triumvirate Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and Gore Vidal, and our own day and those still among us, Alain Delon and film director Xavier Dolan.