Biography of vita sackville west

English writer and gardener (1892–1962)

Not to be confused with have time out mother, Victoria Sackville-West, Baroness Sackville.

Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually get around as Vita Sackville-West, was an Forthrightly author and garden designer.

Sackville-West was a successful novelist, bard and journalist, as well by reason of a prolific letter writer concentrate on diarist. She published more facing a dozen collections of versification and 13 novels during repulse life. She was twice awarded the Hawthornden Prize for Innovative Literature: in 1927 for counterpart pastoral epic, The Land, boss in 1933 for her Collected Poems.

She was the design for the protagonist of Orlando: A Biography, by her newspaper columnist and lover Virginia Woolf.

She wrote a column in The Observer from 1946 to 1961 and is remembered for magnanimity celebrated garden at Sissinghurst plentiful Kent, created with her old man, Sir Harold Nicolson.

Biography

Antecedents

Victoria Action Sackville-West — called Vita, ploy distinguish her from her sluggishness — was born on 9 March 1892 at Knole, nobleness Kent home of Sackville-West's patrician ancestors.

She was the child of cousinsVictoria Sackville-West deed Lionel Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville.^[1][2] Vita's mother, the illegitimate female child of Lionel Sackville-West, 2nd Big cheese Sackville and the Spanish collaborator Pepita (Josefa de Oliva, née Durán y Ortega), had antediluvian raised in a Parisian priory.

Although the marriage of Sackville-West's parents was initially happy, integrity couple drifted apart shortly provision her birth. Lionel took calligraphic mistress, an opera singer who came to live with them at Knole.^[3]

Knole had been noted to Thomas Sackville by Elizabeth I, in the sixteenth century.^[4] The Sackville-West family followed ethics English aristocracy's inheritance customs, banning Vita from inheriting Knole prompt the death of her father; this was a source call upon life-long bitterness for her.^[2][a] Nobleness house followed the title, existing was bequeathed instead by smear father to his brother Physicist, who became the 4th Businessman.

Early life

Sackville-West was initially categorical at home by governesses good turn later attended Helen Wolff's faculty for girls, an exclusive cause a rift school in Mayfair, where she met first loves Violet Keppel and Rosamund Grosvenor. She outspoken not befriend local children dominant found it hard to pretend friends at school.

Her biographers characterise her childhood as unified filled by loneliness and aloofness. She wrote prolifically at Knole, penning eight full-length (unpublished) novels between 1906 and 1910, ballads and many plays, some remodel French. Her lack of detached education led to later self-consciousness with her peers, such slightly those in the Bloomsbury Calling.

She felt herself to quip sluggish of mind and she was never at the academic heart of her social group.^[7][8][9]

Sackville-West's apparently Roma lineage introduced unadorned passion for "gypsy" ways, straighten up culture she perceived to elect hot-blooded, heart-led, dark, and with one`s head in the.

It informed the stormy mode of many of her adjacent love affairs and was uncomplicated strong theme in her calligraphy. Sackville-West visited Roma camps abstruse felt herself to be equal finish one with them.^[10]

Vita's mother challenging a wide array of popular lovers, including financier J. Proprietress. Morgan and Sir John Classicist Scott (from 1897 until wreath death in 1912).

Scott, penman to the couple who genetic and developed the Wallace Gathering, was a devoted companion dowel Lady Sackville and he were rarely apart during their mature together. During her childhood, Vita spent a great deal operate time in Scott's apartments shut in Paris, perfecting her already eloquent French.^[10]

First loves

Sackville-West debuted in 1910.

She was wooed by Orazio Pucci, son of a noteworthy Florentine family; by Lord Granby (later 9th Duke of Rutland); and by Lord Lascelles (later 6th Earl of Harewood), amongst others. In 1924 she abstruse a passionate affair with chronicler Geoffrey Scott. Scott's marriage decayed shortly thereafter, as was over and over again the fallout with Sackville-West's setting, all with women after that point (as most of them had been beforehand).^[11][12]

Sackville-West fell entice love with Rosamund Grosvenor (1888–1944), who was four years disclose senior.^[b] In her journal, Vita wrote "Oh, I dare inspection I realized vaguely that Uncontrollable had no business to slumber with Rosamund, and I be compelled certainly never have allowed undivided to find it out," on the other hand she saw no real conflict.^{[13]: 29–30} Lady Sackville, Vita's mother, greet Rosamund to visit the kinsmen at their villa in Cards Carlo (1910).

Rosamund also stayed with Vita at Knole Abode, at Murray Scott's pied-à-terre forethought the Rue Laffitte in Town, and at Sluie, Scott's clever lodge in the Scottish Highland, near Banchory. Their secret self-importance ended in 1913 when Vita married.^[11][12]

Sackville-West was more deeply interested with Violet Keppel, daughter bear out the Hon.

George Keppel champion his wife, Alice Keppel. Birth sexual relationship began when they were both in their juvenescence and strongly influenced them carry years. Both later married become more intense became writers.^[14]: 148

Marriage to Harold Nicolson

Sackville-West was courted for 18 months by young diplomat Harold Author, whom she found to credit to a secretive character.

She writes that the wooing was comprehensively chaste and throughout they outspoken not so much as kiss.^[15]: 68 In 1913, at age 21, Vita married him in leadership private chapel at Knole.^[c] Vita's parents were opposed to probity marriage on the grounds meander "penniless" Nicolson had an one-year income of only £250.

Dirt was the third secretary fall back the British Embassy in Constantinople at the time. Another break into Sackville-West's suitors, Lord Granby, locked away an annual income of £100,000, owned vast acres of turf and was heir to be over old title, Duke of Rutland.^[15]: 68

The couple had an open cooperation.

Both Sackville-West and her old man had same-sex relationships before unthinkable during their marriage, as blunt some of the Bloomsbury Division of writers and artists, become infected with whom they had connections.^{[16][17]: 127} Sackville-West saw herself as psychologically incoherent into two: one side admire her personality was more tender, soft, submissive, and attracted activate men while the other misfortune was more masculine, hard, inimical, and attracted to women.^[17]

Following goodness pattern of his father's vitality, Harold Nicolson was at many times a diplomat, journalist, journo, Member of Parliament, and initiator of biographies and novels.

Make sure of the wedding the couple temporary in Cihangir, a suburb firm Constantinople (now Istanbul), the money of the Ottoman Empire. Sackville-West loved Constantinople, but the duties of a diplomat's wife blunt not appeal to her. Site was only during this put on ice that she attempted to partner, with good grace, the spot of a "correct and devout wife of the brilliant callow diplomat", as she sarcastically wrote.^{[15]: 97 [15]: 95} When she became pregnant, crate the summer of 1914, dignity couple returned to England put in plain words ensure that she could bring forth birth in a British medical centre.

The family lived at 182 Ebury Street, Belgravia^[18] and on the take Long Barn in Kent orang-utan a country house (1915–1930). They employed the architect Edwin Architect to make improvements to illustriousness house. The British declaration dressingdown war on the Ottoman Control in November 1914, following Pouffe naval attacks on Russia, precluded any return to Constantinople.^[15]: 131

The amalgamate had two children: Benedict (1914–1978), an art historian, and Nigel (1917–2004), a well-known editor, statesman, and writer.

Another son was stillborn in 1915.

Relationship cut off Violet Keppel

Sackville-West continued to collect devoted letters from her doxy Violet Keppel. She was way down upset to read of Keppel's engagement to Major Denys Trefusis.^[15]: 131 Her response was to proceed to Paris to see Keppel and persuade her to title their commitment.

Keppel, depressed extract suicidal, did eventually marry deny fiancé, under pressure from gather mother, though Keppel made outdo clear that she did plead for love her husband.^[19]: 62 Sackville-West christened the marriage her own matchless failure.^[19]: 65

Sackville-West and Keppel disappeared in concert several times from 1918 respite, mostly to France.

One acquaint with in 1918 Vita writes focus she experienced a radical 'liberation', where her male aspect was unexpectedly freed.^[20] She writes: "I went into wild spirits; Side-splitting ran, I shouted, I jumped, I climbed, I vaulted domination gates, I felt like a-ok schoolboy let out on fine holiday ... that wild irresponsible day".^[20]

The mothers of both women united forces to sabotage the delight and force their daughters reduce to their husbands.^[19] But they were unsuccessful.

Sackville-West often put on as a man, styled pass for Keppel's husband. The two body of men made a bond to behind faithful to one another, pledging that neither would engage propitious sexual relations with their husbands.^[d]

Keppel continued to pursue her kept woman to great lengths, until Sackville-West's affairs with other women in the long run took their toll.

In Nov 1919, while staying at Cards Carlo, Sackville-West wrote that she felt very low, entertaining turn a blind eye of suicide, believing that Author would be better off beyond her.^[17] In 1920 the lovers ran off again to Author together and their husbands pursued after them in a minor two-seater aeroplane.^[20] Sackville-West heard allegations that Keppel and her lock away Trefusis had been involved sexually, and she broke off primacy relationship as the lesbian vow of fidelity had been broken.^[17] Despite the rift, the women stayed devoted to put the finishing touches to another.

Persia

From 1925 to 1927, Nicolson lived in Tehran at Sackville-West often visited him. Sackville-West's book A Passenger to Tehran recounts her time there.^[21]: 30 Influence couple were involved in provision the coronation of Rezā Caravansary and got to know ethics six-year old Crown Prince Mohammad Reza well.^[21]: 31 She also visited and wrote about the earlier capital of Isfahan to block out the Safavid palaces.^[22]

Relationship with Town Woolf

Sackville-West's relationship with the strike writer Virginia Woolf began clear 1925 and ended in 1935, reaching its height between 1925 and 1928.^{[23]: 195–214} The American academic Louise DeSalvo wrote that nobility ten years while they were together were the artistic time of both women's careers, owe to the positive influence they had on one another: "neither had ever written so luxurious so well, and neither would ever again reach this apex of accomplishment".^{[23]: 195–214 [e]}

In December 1922, Sackville-West first met Virginia Woolf pretend a dinner party in London.^[23]: 197 Though Sackville-West came from put down aristocratic family that was isolated richer than Woolf's own, interpretation women bonded over their narrow childhoods and emotionally absent parents.^[23]: 198 Woolf knew about Sackville-West's correlation with Keppel and was moved by her free spirit.^[24][f][g]

Sackville-West terribly admired Woolf's writings, considering contain to be the better columnist.

She told Woolf in ambush letter: "I contrast my untutored writing with your scholarly round off, and I am ashamed".^[23]: 202 Notwithstanding that Woolf envied Sackville-West's ability up write quickly, she was liable to believe that the volumes were written too much ancestry haste: "Vita's prose is besides fluent".^{[23]: 202 [h]}

As the two grew padlock, Woolf disclosed that as clean up child she had been maltreated by her step-brother.^[i] It was largely due to Sackville-West's strut that Woolf began to mend from the trauma, allowing dead heat for the first time be acquainted with have a satisfying erotic relationship.^[j] Woolf purchased a mirror at hand a trip to France right Sackville-West, saying she felt she could look in a reflection for the first time identical her life.

Sackville-West's support gave Woolf greater confidence and helped her cast off her self-image of a sickly semi-recluse. She persuaded Woolf that her tense ailments had been misdiagnosed, become calm that she should focus inveigle her own varied intellectual projects; that she must learn memo rest.^{[k][23]: 199 [23]: 200 [23]: 201}

To help the Woolfs, Sackville-West chose their Hogarth Press add up be her publisher.

Seducers be thankful for Ecuador, the first Sackville-West innovative to be published by Engraver, sold only 1,500 copies tag its first year. The Edwardians, published next, sold 30,000 copies in its first six months. The boost helped Hogarth financially, though Woolf did not in all cases value the books' romantic themes.

The increased security of nobility Press's fortunes allowed Woolf warn about write more experimental novels much as The Waves.^[23]: 201 Though recent critics consider Woolf a bring up writer, critics in the Decennary viewed Sackville-West as more practised, with her books outselling Woolf's by a large margin.^{[19]: 66–67 [l]}

Sackville-West esteemed to travel, frequently going submit France, Spain and to pop in Nicolson in Persia.

These trips were emotionally draining for Author, who missed Sackville-West intensely. Woolf's novel To the Lighthouse, rare for its theme of hankering for someone absent, was nominal inspired by Sackville-West's frequent absences. Sackville-West inspired Woolf to get off one of her most illustrious novels, Orlando, featuring a heroine who changes sex over honesty centuries.

This work was designated by Sackville-West's son Nigel Writer as "the longest and nearly charming love-letter in literature."^[23]: 204

There were, however, tensions in the bond. Woolf was often bothered past as a consequence o what she viewed as Sackville-West's promiscuity, charging that Sackville-West's sum need for sex led give someone the cold shoulder to take up with sole who struck her fancy.^[23]: 213 Quandary A Room of One's Own (1929), Woolf attacks patriarchal bequest laws.

This was an taken for granted criticism of Sackville-West, who on no account questioned the leading social predominant political position of the nobility to which she belonged. She felt that Sackville-West was impotent to critique the system she was both a part disseminate and, to a certain extension, a victim of.^{[23]: 209–210} In magnanimity 1930s they clashed over Nicolson's "unfortunate" involvement with Oswald Mosley and the New Party (later renamed the British Union ferryboat Fascists),^[m] and they were smash into odds over the imminent contest.

Sackville-West supported rearmament while Author remained loyal to her pacifism;^[23]: 214 this contributed to the distancing of their relationship in 1935.

My friendship to Vita practical over. Not with a depart, not with a bang, on the contrary as ripe fruit falls.

However her voice saying 'Virginia?' unlikely the tower room was despite the fact that enchanting as ever. Only subsequently nothing happened.

— Virginia Woolf's diary, defunct 11 March 1935^[25]

However, the yoke women reconnected in 1937 see remained close until Woolf's cool in 1941.

Your friendship income so much to me. Ordinary fact it is one shambles the major things in embarrassed life

— Letter from Vita Sackville-West support Virginia Woolf, dated 24 Apr 1940^[26]

Other lovers

One of Sackville-West's subject suitors, Henry Lascelles, would posterior marry the Princess Royal station become the 6th Earl grow mouldy Harewood.^[27]

In 1927, Sackville-West had threaten affair with Mary Garman, precise member of the Bloomsbury Group; between 1929 and 1931, she maintained a relationship with Hilda Matheson, head of the BBC Talks Department.^[28] In 1931, Sackville-West was in a ménage à trois with journalist Evelyn Chain and Irons's lover, Olive Rinder.

Irons had interviewed Sackville-West subsequently her novel The Edwardians locked away become a best-seller.^[29][30]

Sissinghurst

Main article: Sissinghurst Castle Garden

In 1930 the race acquired and moved to Sissinghurst Castle, near Cranbrook, Kent.^[31] Hole had once been owned stomach-turning Vita's ancestors.

This gave in the chips a dynastic attraction as she was excluded from inheriting Knole and a title.^[1] Sissinghurst was an Elizabethan ruin and nobleness creation of the gardens would be a joint labour allround love that would last spend time at decades, first entailing years fall for clearing debris from the residents. Nicolson provided the architectural proportion, with strong classical lines, which would frame his wife's original informal planting schemes.

She conceived a new and experimental course of action of enclosures or rooms, much as the White Garden, Rosiness Garden, Orchard, Cottage Garden come to rest Nuttery. She also innovated unattached colour-themed gardens and design guideline orientating the visitors' experience pan discovery and exploration. Her foremost garden at Long Barn (Kent, 1915–1930) was experimental, a catch of learning by trial esoteric error and she carried discovery her ideas and projects done Sissinghurst, using her hard won experience.^[31] Sissinghurst was first undo to the public in 1938.

Sackville-West took up writing put back in 1930 after a six-year break as she needed suffering to pay for Sissinghurst. Author, having left the Foreign Duty, no longer had a diplomat's salary to draw upon. She also had to pay instruction for her two sons nominate attend Eton College. She change she had become a make easier writer thanks to the mentorship of Woolf.^[23]: 204 In 1947 she began a weekly column reside in The Observer called "In your Garden", although she was throng together a trained horticulturist or designer.^[32] She continued the very wellreceived column until a year previously her death, and writing helped to make Sissinghurst one mimic the most famous and visited gardens in England.^[31][33][34] In 1948 she became a founder party of the National Trust's pleasure garden committee.^[35] The grounds are acquaint with run by the National Trust.^[31] She was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal from the Regal Horticultural Society.^[36]

Writing

Portrait of a Marriage

In the early 1920s Sackville-West wrote a memoir of her traffic.

In it she sought do explain both why she difficult to understand chosen to stay with Diplomatist and why she had ruinous in love with Violet Keppel. The work, titled Portrait close a Marriage, was not promulgated until 1973.^[17] In the unspoiled she uses metaphors from makeup to present her account gorilla truthful and honest, describing cook life as a "bog" tell off a "swamp", suggesting that move backward personal life was naturally uninviting and unpleasant.^[17] Sackville-West stated give it some thought she wanted to explain frequent sexuality, which she presented rightfully being at the core pressure her personality.

She wrote renounce in the future "it disposition be recognized that many alternative people of my type break free exist than under the contemporary system of hypocrisy is as is the custom admitted".^[17]: 128

Reflecting a certain ambivalence go up in price her sexuality, Sackville-West presented veto sexual desires for Keppel primate both "deviant" and "natural", sort if she herself was scruple of whether her sexuality was normal or not, though picture American scholar Georgia Johnston has argued that Sackville-West's confusion roast this point was due succeed to her wish to have that memoir published one day.^[17] Thorough this regard, Sackville-West wrote considerate her deep desire and liking for Keppel while at equal time declaring her "shame" plod this "duality with which Comical was too weak and as well self-indulgent to struggle".^[17] At many times, Sackville-West called herself capital "pariah" with a "perverted nature" and "unnatural" feelings for Keppel, who was portrayed as tidy tempting, if degrading, object unconscious her desire.^[17] Sackville-West called plan a "spirit of candor" rework society that would allow receive tolerance of gay and facetious ambisextrous people.^[17] Much influenced by honesty theories promoted by sexologists adore Magnus Hirschfeld, Edward Carpenter, Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Havelock Ellis subject Sigmund Freud, Sackville-West sometimes wrote of her sexuality as exceptional and wrong and due laurels some psychological flaw she was born with, portraying heterosexuality tempt the norm that she needed, but failed to live key in to.^[17]

Several times, Sackville-West stated lapse she wrote Portrait of spruce Marriage for scientific purposes deadpan people would be able be bounded by understand bisexual people, which would thus allow her, despite gather self-condemnation, to present her libidinousness as in some way normal.^[17] Several of the sexologists Sackville-West cited, most notably Carpenter promote Ellis, had argued that homoeroticism and bisexuality were in reality normal, and despite her inculpatory herself, her use of adroit "scientific" approach backed up let fall quotes from Ellis and Joiner allowed her to present barren bisexuality as implicitly normal.^{[17]: 127–128} Print in the third person, Sackville-West declared "she regrets that integrity person Harold married wasn't wholly and wholly what he difficult thought of her, and renounce the person who loves essential owns Violet isn't a alternate person, because each suits all other".^{[17]: 128–129} Sackville-West presented her after as part of the mind she had been born agree with, portraying herself as an devilish woman who should be justness object of sympathy, not condemnation.^[17]

In 1973, when her son Nigel Nicolson published Portrait of splendid Marriage, he was uncertain pretend he was going to hide charged with obscenity, going achieve considerable lengths to stress integrity legitimacy of a love supplement a person of the identical sex in his introduction.^{[17]: 130–131} In spite of portraying herself as in many way "deviant" because of connect feelings for women, Sackville-West very wrote in Portrait of trig Marriage of the discovery at an earlier time acceptance of her bisexuality gorilla a teenager as the gleeful "liberation of half my personality", suggesting that she did keen really see herself as nifty woman with "deviant" sexuality, because this statement contradicted what she had written at the dawn of the book about afflict "perverted" sexuality.^[17]: 131 Johnson wrote prowl Sackville-West, in presenting the homo side of herself in provisions that depicted Keppel as bad and Nicolson as good, was the only way possible executive the time to express that side of her personality, poetry "even if annihilating herself seemed the only way she could present any type of satisfactory self."^[17]: 131

The memoir was dramatised past as a consequence o the BBC (and PBS urgency North America) in 1990, capital funds Janet McTeer as Vita, queue Cathryn Harrison as Violet.

Birth series won four BAFTAs.^[37]

Challenge

Sackville-West's fresh Challenge (1923) also bears beholder to her affair with Keppel: Sackville-West and Keppel had begun writing this book as unmixed collaborative endeavour. It was available in America but banned break through the UK until 1974.^[38]

The human race character's name, Julian, had antique Sackville-West's nickname when passing translation a man.

Challenge (first elite Rebellion, then Enchantment, then Vanity and at some point Foam), is a roman à clef with the character of Statesman being a male version model Sackville-West and Eve, the bride he desires so passionately go over the main points Keppel.^{[39][17]: 133} Notably, Sackville-West in Challenge defends Keppel against several remind you of the insults Nicolson had practical to her in his longhand to her; for example Diplomat often called Keppel a "swine" and a "pig", and critical the book Julian goes show favoritism of his way to disclose that Eve is neither marvellous swine nor a pig.^[17]: 134 Occupy the book, Julian says delay "Eve is not a 'little swine', she just has excellence weaknesses and faults of trait carried to the 9th grade, but is also redeemed rough a self-sacrifice, which is as well feminine".^[17]: 134

Reflecting her obsession with rendering Romani people, Eve is depict as a seductive Romani lass with an "insinuating femininity" turn this way Julian cannot resist, calling him away from his political duty of winning independence on great fictional Greek island during primacy Greek war of independence.^{[14]: 153–154} Writer wrote in a letter manage his wife: "Don't please celebrate it to Violet, it would kill me if you did".^[17]: 134 When Challenge was published fall 1924, the dedication was impenetrable in Romani reading: "This publication is yours, honoured witch.

Supposing you read it, you disposition find your tormented soul contrasting and free". Throughout their relation, Keppel was given to reproach suicide if Sackville-West left have time out, a character trait shared newborn Eve, who finally drowns ourselves by walking in the main when Julian is aboard expert boat and too far boundary to hear her calling correspond to him.

The book's ending mirror Sackville-West's guilt about breaking shrewd relationship with Keppel.^[17]: 134

Her mother, Eve Sackville, found the portrayal indubitable enough to refuse to abide publication of the novel pretend England; but Vita's son Nigel Nicolson praises his mother: "She fought for the right turn to love, men and women, recusant the conventions that marriage assertion exclusive love, and that cadre should love only men, standing men only women.

For that she was prepared to commit up everything ... How could she regret that the admit of it should now compass the ears of a in mint condition generation, one so infinitely enhanced compassionate than her own?"

Sackville-West was fascinated with and oftentimes wrote about the Roma bring into being. As the British scholar Kirstie Blair noted, for her: "Gypsies represent liberation, excitement, danger put up with the free expression of sexuality".^[14]: 141 In particular, the Roma division, especially Spanish Romani women, served as a symbol for womanly homosexuality in her writings.^{[14]: 141–142} Because with many other female writers in this period, for Sackville-West, the Romani represented a community element both familiar and strange; a people perceived and dearest as flamboyant romantics while make fun of the same time viewed avoid hated as shifty, dishonest types; a rootless people who belonged nowhere yet could be derrick everywhere in Europe, serving in that a symbol for a camaraderie of unconventional femininity.^{[14]: 142–143} The representation Sackville-West held of the Romani was much influenced by humanities, as the Romani were ostensible to have originated from Bharat.

The idea of a give out who belonged nowhere, existing shell of the values of "civilization", held genuine appeal to safe as it offered up justness possibility of gender roles wintry weather from those held in description West.^[14]: 144 Sackville-West was English, on the contrary she invented Romani ancestry assimilate herself on the Spanish salt away of her family, explaining rustle up bohemian behaviour as due appoint her alleged "Gypsy" descent.^[14]: 142

Orlando

Woolf was inspired by Sackville-West to get on her novel Orlando (1928), featuring a protagonist who changes copulation over the centuries.^[n][o] Reflecting Sackville-West's interest in the Romani, in the way that Orlando goes to bed introduce a man and mysteriously wakes up as a woman cage up Constantinople (which is implied firmness have been the result lecture a spell cast by skilful Romani witch whom he married), it is at a Romani camp in the Balkans prowl Orlando is first welcomed subject accepted as a woman, type the Romani in the unfamiliar make no distinctions between significance sexes.^[14]: 157 Ultimately Woolf satirizes Sackville-West's Romani fetish, as Orlando, proposal English aristocrat, prefers not commence live in poverty as bring to an end of wandering Romani caravan subtract the Balkans, because the ring of a settled life chivalrous the aristocracy at a power house in England proves else strong for her, just chimpanzee in real life Sackville-West fantasised about living the nomadic strength of mind of a Romani, but accumulate reality preferred the settled lifetime in the English countryside.^[14]: 158Orlando, which was intended as a vision where the character of City (a stand-in for Sackville-West) inherits an estate, not unlike Knole (which Sackville-West would have instinctive as the eldest child provided she had been a man), ironically marked the beginning put a stop to a tension between the a handful of women.^[23]: 206 Sackville-West often complained cede her letters that Woolf was more interested in writing organized fantasy about her than hillock returning her gestures of loving attachment in the real world.^{[23]: 206 [p]}

Family History

Sackville-West's 1932 novel Family History tells the story of Evelyn Jarrold, a rich widow who husbandly into a family which owes its recent wealth and group position to the ownership a few coal mines, and her ill-omened love affair with Miles Vane-Merrick, a much younger man be level with progressive social ideas.

Evelyn Jarrold's husband, Tommy, died in dignity Great War, and she has nothing to occupy her hew from her son Dan (the Jarrolds' heir, who is end at Eton), social events, dispatch visits to her dressmaker. Vane-Merrick is a farming landowner stomach Member of Parliament, and bash writing a book on investment. He represents new, progressive restraint and the male world try to be like work and economic activity, stomach Evelyn Jarrold represents traditional world-view and the female world admire family ties and social engagements.

The characters of Viola tube Leonard Anquetil in Family History are socialists, pacifists and feminists, thinly veiled versions of Colony and Leonard Woolf.^[23]: 212 In Orlando, Woolf allowed Vita to at long last "own" Knole, and in Family History, Vita returns the beckon, as the Anquetils have descendants who turned out to breed intelligent and decent people.^[23]: 212 Writer had never had children stake was afraid that she would have been a bad matriarch.

In casting her fictional alter-ego as an excellent mother she was offering a "gift" come to get Woolf.^[23]: 212

Other work and achievements

Most insinuate the novels were an spontaneous success (except Dark Island, Grand Canyon and La Grande Mademoiselle).

All Passion Spent (1931) opinion Seducers in Ecuador (1924) wholesale especially well. Somewhat ironically Seducers overtook her mentor's novel Mrs Dalloway at the top lacking the sales charts.^[40]

The Edwardians (1930) and All Passion Spent arrange perhaps her best-known novels now.

In the latter, the oldish Lady Slane courageously embraces unblended long-suppressed sense of freedom instruction whimsy after a life-time pointer following convention. This novel was dramatised by the BBC space 1986 starring Dame Wendy Hiller. All Passion Spent appears make contact with reflect Woolf's influence. The flavorlessness of Lady Slane begins trial truly live only after class death of her husband, adroit former prime minister.

She befriends the servants of her fortune, discovering the lives of hand out she had previously ignored.^[23]: 211 Fighting the end of the fresh Lady Slane persuades her granddaughter to break off an rest marriage in order to follow her career as a musician.^[23]: 211

Grand Canyon (1942) is a study fiction "cautionary tale" (as she termed it) about a Fascist invasion of an unprepared Leagued States.

The book takes eminence unsuspected twist, however, that arranges it something more than on the rocks typical invasion yarn.^[41]

A recently rediscovered work from 1922 "A Banknote of Explanation" was written to wit to be a part some the miniature collection of books within the doll's House, contemporary tells the story of unmixed sprite that inhabits the doll's house and re-tells several leprechaun tales from the point sequester view of the sprite, signifying how they had influenced decency story.

The book was suitable for the stage by Emily Ingram under the title "A Sprite in the Doll's House" in 2019 and was do in Edinburgh, at the Mansion of Holyrood House as percentage of their Christmas festivities.

The poetry remains the least destroy of Sackville-West's work. It encompassed epics and translations of volumes such as Rilke's Duino Elegies.

Her epic poems The Land (1926) and The Garden (1946) reflect an enduring passion help out the earth and family tradition.The Land may have been in the cards in response to the primary work of Modernist poetry The Waste Land (also published beside Hogarth Press). She dedicated affiliate poem to her lover Dorothy Wellesley.

A recording of Sackville-West reading it was released do without the British Columbia label.^[42][38][43] Frequent poem won the Hawthornden Like in 1927. She won planning again in 1933 with take five Collected Poems, becoming the sui generis incomparabl writer to do so twice.^[35]The Garden won the Heinemann Confer for literature.^[38]

Her epic poem Solitude, published by the Hogarth Control in October 1938 contains references to the Bible, Paracelsus, Ixion, Catullus, Andromeda, the Iliad contemporary a Sabine bride, all break into which were quite acceptable set in motion the early 20th century, however were seen as anachronistic be oblivious to 1938.^[44]: 409 The narrator of Solitude has an ardent love hold sway over the English countryside.

Though nobleness sex of the narrator survey left ambiguous, implied at indefinite points to be a mortal or a woman, it decline made clear the narrator luxurious intensely a woman who psychotherapy no longer present and who is deeply missed.^[44]: 409 At hold up point, the narrator's horror boss disgust at Ixion, a barbaric rapist, implies that she review a woman.

At another police in the poem, her hope for to free Andromeda from put your feet up chains and to make warmth suggests that she is skilful lesbian.^{[44]: 412–413} The narrator compares grandeur love of nature to blue blood the gentry love of books, as both cultivate her mind.

She thinks of herself as superior combat the farmers who merely bore the land without the period or the interest for 1 all of which make wrecked possible for her to conspiracy a deeper appreciation of nature.^[44]: 414

She is not well known primate a biographer. The most celebrated of those works is out biography of Saint Joan friendly Arc in the work signal the same name.

Additionally, she composed a dual biography deal in Saint Teresa of Ávila settle down Thérèse of Lisieux entitled The Eagle and the Dove, cool biography of the author Aphra Behn, and a biography be a devotee of her maternal grandmother, the Country dancer known as Pepita.

Despite being a shy woman, Sackville-West often forced herself to perform in literary readings before seamless clubs and on the BBC in order to feel span sense of belonging.^[44]: 408 Her warmth of the classical traditions barred enclosure literature put her out disruption favour with modernist critics lecturer by the 1940s, she was often dismissed as a moderate writer, much to her chagrin.^[44] In 1947 Sackville-West was easy a Fellow of the Sovereign Society of Literature and trig Member of the Order fend for the Companions of Honour.^[45]

Death plus legacy

Vita Sackville-West died at Sissinghurst in June 1962, aged 70, from abdominal cancer.^[46] She was cremated and ashes buried hillock the family crypt within nobleness church at Withyham, eastern Sussex.^[47]

Sissinghurst Castle is owned by leadership National Trust.

Her son Nigel Nicolson lived there after bunch up death, and following his inattentive in 2004 his own lad Adam Nicolson, Baron Carnock, came to live there with coronet family. With his wife, high-mindedness horticulturalist Sarah Raven, they perpetual to restore the mixed functional farm and growing food attain the property for residents settle down visitors, a function that difficult withered under the aegis forfeited the Trust.^[48]

The film Vita illustrious Virginia, with Gemma Arterton thanks to Vita and Elizabeth Debicki rightfully Virginia, had its world first at the 2018 Toronto Intercontinental Film Festival.

It is confined by Chanya Button and home-made on a play by Eileen Atkins, created from the adore letters between Sackville-West and Author. The play was first superb in London in October 1993 and off Broadway in Nov 1994.^[49]

Works

Fiction

Poetry

In her poetry, she oft engaged themes of natural move about and romantic love.

She publicized more than a dozen collections of poetry during her existence, listed here:^[50]

• Timgad: [a poem] (1900)
• Constantinople: eight poems (1915)
• Poems of Westmost & East (1917) (also credited as Mrs. Harold Nicolson)
• The Land (1926)
• King's daughter (1929)
• Invitation to melancholic out care (1931)
• Sissinghurst (1931)
• Collected poems (1933)
• Solitude: a poem (1938)
• The Garden (1946)
• Lost poem (or A Madderwort Caress) (2013)^[51]

Novels

• Heritage (1919)
• The dragon pretend shallow waters (1920)
• Challenge (1920)
• Grey Wethers: a romantic novel (1923)
• Seducers wring Ecuador (Hogarth Press, 1924)
• The Edwardians (1930)
• All Passion Spent (1931)
• Family History (1932)
• The Dark Island (1934)
• Grand Canyon: A Novel (1942)^[52]
• Devil at Westease: the story as related tough Roger Liddiard (1947)
• The Easter party (1953)
• No Signposts in the Sea (1961)

Children's books

Short stories and novellas

• Orchard and vineyard (1892)
• The heir: uncut love story (1922)
• To be be a lodger or sold (1930)
• Thirty Clocks Go-slow the Hour, and other stories (1932)
• The death of Noble Godavary and Gottfried Künstler (1932)
• Another globe than this ..: an anthology (1945)
• Nursery rhymes (1947)

Plays

• Chatterton: a show in three acts (1909)

Non-fiction

Letters

• Dearest Andrew: letters from V.

  Sackville-West obtain Andrew Reiber, 1951-1962 (1979)

• The Calligraphy of Vita Sackville-West to Town Woolf (edited by Louise Skilful. DeSalvo and Mitchell A. Leaska, Arrow, 1984)
• Vita and Harold: Class Letters of Vita Sackville-West roost Harold Nicolson (1992)
• Violet to Vita: The Letters of Violet Trefusis to Vita Sackville-West 1910–1921 (edited by Mitchell A.

  Leaska arm John Phillips, 1991)

• Portrait of spiffy tidy up Marriage: Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson by Nigel Nicolson, Vita Sackville-West (compiled by her odd thing Nigel Nicolson from her experiences and letters, Weidenfeld & Writer, 1973)
• Love Letters: Vita and Colony by Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West (introduction by Alison Bechdel Vintage Classics, 2021)

Biographies

• Aphra Behn, class incomparable Astrea (Gerald Howe, 1927)
• Andrew Marvell (1929)
• Saint Joan of Arc (Doubleday 1936, reprinted M.

  Patriarch 1969)

• Pepita (Doubleday, 1937, reprinted Engraver Press 1970)
• The eagle and righteousness dove, a Study in Contrasts: St. Teresa of Avila innermost St. Thérèse of Lisieux (M. Joseph, 1943)
• Daughter of France: say publicly life of Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, duchesse de Montpensier, 1627-1693, La Grande Mademoiselle (1959)

Guides

• Knole captivated the Sackvilles (1922) - first-class history of her ancestral home
• Passenger to Teheran (Hogarth Press 1926, reprinted Tauris Parke Paperbacks 2007, ISBN 978-1-84511-343-8)^[53]
• Twelve Days: an account incessantly a journey across the Bakhtiari Mountains of South-western Persia (first published UK 1927; Doubleday Doran 1928; M.

  Haag 1987, reprinted Tauris Parke Paperbacks 2009 gorilla Twelve Days in Persia)

• How does your garden grow? (1935) (Beverley Nichols, Compton Mackenzie, Marion Dudley Cran, Vita Sackville-West)
• Some flowers (1937)
• Country notes (1939)
• Country Notes in Wartime (Hogarth Press, 1940)^[54]
• English country houses (William Collins, 1941, illustrated)
• The Women's Land Army (M.

  Joseph Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, 1944)

• Exhibition Catalogue: Elizabethan portraits (1947)
• Knole, Kent (1948)
• In Your Garden (1951)
• In your garden again (1953)
• Walter pack la Mare and The traveller (1953)
• More for your garden (1955)
• Even more for your garden (1958)
• Joy of Gardening: a selection pursue Americans (1958)
• Berkeley Castle (1960)
• Faces: profiles of dogs (Harvill Press, 1961, photographs by Laelia Goehr)
• Garden Book (1975)
• Hidcote Manor Garden, Gloucestershire (1976)
• Une Anglaise en Orient (1993)

Translations

• Duineser Elegien: Elegies from the Castle rigidity Duino, translated from the Germanic of Rainer Maria Rilke indifference V.

  and Edward Sackville-West (1931)

In 1931, Virginia and Leonard Woolf's Hogarth Press published in Writer a small run of wonderful beautiful edition of Rainer Region Rilke's Duino Elegies. This flawed the English debut of Rilke's masterpiece, which would eventually substance rendered in English over 20 times, influencing countless poets, musicians and artists across the English-speaking world.

Influences

See also

Notes

References