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Vita Sackville-West
The Honorable Lady Nicolson
Born March 9, 1892(1892-03-09)
Knole House, Kent, England
Died June 2, 1962 (aged 70)
Occupation novelist, poet
Nationality English
Writing period 1917 - 1960

Victoria Mary Sackville-West, The Hon Lady Nicolson, CH (March 9, 1892 – June 2, 1962), best known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English poet, novelist and gardener. Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Knole is a Stately home situated close to Sevenoaks in north-west Kent, surrounded by a 1000 acre deer park KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia. Year 1892 ( MDCCCXCII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Her long narrative poem, The Land, won the Hawthornden Prize in 1927. The Hawthornden Prize is a British Literary award. It was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender, a contemporary patron of the letters and named after Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. She won it again, becoming the only writer to do so, in 1933 with her Collected Poems. She helped create her own gardens in Sissinghurst, Kent which provide the backdrop to Sissinghurst Castle. A garden is a planned space usually outdoors set aside for the display cultivation and enjoyment of Plants and other forms of Nature. Sissinghurst is a small village in the county of Kent in England. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format The garden at Sissinghurst Castle in the Weald of Kent, near Cranbrook, Goudhurst and Tenterden, is owned and maintained by the National She was famous for her exuberant aristocratic life, her strong marriage, and her passionate affairs with women like novelist Virginia Woolf. (Adeline Virginia Woolf (née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941 was an English Novelist and Essayist, regarded as one of the foremost

Contents

Early life

Sackville-West was born at Knole House in Kent, and her first love affair was with this ancient and huge house; because she was a woman, she could not inherit it, and this affected the rest of her life. Knole is a Stately home situated close to Sevenoaks in north-west Kent, surrounded by a 1000 acre deer park KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format She was the daughter of Lionel Edward Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville and his wife Victoria Sackville-West. Victoria Josefa Dolores Catalina Sackville-West Baroness Sackville (1862&ndash1936 was the wife of her cousin Lionel Edward Sackville-West 3rd Baron Sackville Christened "Victoria Mary Sackville-West", she was known as "Vita" throughout her life. She was a descendant of Thomas Sackville, contributor to Gorboduc and Mirror for Magistrates. Sir Thomas Sackville 1st Earl of Dorset (1536 &ndash April 19, 1608) was an English Statesman and poet son of Richard Sackville Gorboduc, also titled Ferrex and Porrex, was an English play from 1561. Mirror for Magistrates is a collection of English poems from the Tudor period by various authors which retell the lives and the tragic ends of various historical figures Her portrait was painted by Philip de Laszlo in 1910. Philip Alexius de László ( 30 April 1869 Budapest - 22 November 1937 London was a Hungarian painter known particularly for his portraits

Personal life, marriage and bisexuality

Vita Sackville-West was a complex woman with deep and passionate attachments. The strongest and most enduring one throughout her life was to her husband, although she also had many lesbian relationships. A lesbian is a Woman who is romantically or sexually attracted only to other women

Her marriage

In 1913, Sackville-West married Harold Nicolson, at different times a diplomat, journalist, broadcaster, Member of Parliament, author of biographies and novels, and, crucially, a fellow bisexual in what would now be called an open marriage. Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Sir Harold George Nicolson KCVO CMG ( November 21 1886 &ndash May 1 1968) was an English Diplomat A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Bisexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of both sexes or to a bisexual orientation Open marriage typically refers to a Marriage in which the partners agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded as Both she and her husband had several consecutive same-sex relations outside their marriage, as was common among the Bloomsbury Group of writers and artists with which they had some association. Homosexuality refers to sexual behavior with or attraction to people of the same sex or to a Homosexual orientation. The Bloomsbury Group was an English collectivity of loving friends and relatives who lived in or near London during the first half of the twentieth century These were no impediment to a true closeness between Sackville-West and Nicolson, as is seen from their nearly daily correspondence (published after their deaths by their son Nigel), and from an interview they gave for BBC radio after World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including They were truly devoted to each other, and Nicolson gave up his diplomatic career partly so that he could live with Sackville-West in England, uninterrupted by long solitary postings to missions abroad.

The couple had two children, Nigel, also a politician and writer, and Benedict, an art historian. Nigel Nicolson OBE ( 19 January 1917 &ndash 23 September 2004) was a British writer publisher and politician (Lionel Benedict Nicolson, MVO ( 6 August 1914 &ndash1978 was a British Art historian and author In the 1930s, the family acquired and moved to Sissinghurst Castle, near Cranbrook, in the rural depths of Kent, the county known as the garden of England. The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. The garden at Sissinghurst Castle in the Weald of Kent, near Cranbrook, Goudhurst and Tenterden, is owned and maintained by the National Cranbrook is an old market town in the Tunbridge Wells borough of Kent in South East England. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format There they created the renowned gardens that are now run by the National Trust. The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organization in England, Wales

Relationship with Violet Trefusis

The same-sex relationship that had the deepest and most lasting effect on Sackville-West's personal life was that with novelist Violet Trefusis, daughter to courtesan Alice Keppel. Violet Trefusis née Keppel ( June 6, 1894 &ndash March 1 1972) was an English Writer and Socialite A courtesan in mid-16th century usage referred to a mistress or trained artisan of dance and singing especially one associated with wealthy powerful or upper-class Alice Frederica Keppel, Née Edmonstone ( 29 April, 1868 &ndash 11 September, 1947) was a British Socialite They met when Sackville-West was age twelve and Trefusis ten, and attended school together for a number of years. A relationship started while both were in their teens. Both married, but by the time both of Sackville-West's sons were no longer toddlers, she and Trefusis had eloped several times from 1918 on, mostly to France, where Sackville-West would dress as a young man when they went out. Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The affair eventually ended badly, with Trefusis pursuing Sackville-West to great lengths, until Sackville-West's affairs with other women finally took their toll, but Trefusis refused to give up.

Also, the two women had made a bond to remain exclusive to one another, meaning that although both women were married, neither could engage in sexual relations with her own husband. Sackville-West received allegations that Trefusis had been involved sexually with her own husband, indicating she had broken their bond, prompting her to end the affair. By all accounts, Sackville-West was by that time looking for a reason, and used that as justification. Despite the poor ending, the two women were devoted to one another, and deeply in love, and continued occasional liaisons for a number of years afterward, but never rekindled the affair.

Vita's novel Challenge also bears witness to this affair: Sackville-West and Trefusis had started writing this book as a collaborative endeavour, the male character's name, Julian, being Sackville-West's nickname while passing as a man. Her mother, Lady Sackville, found the portrayal obvious enough to insist the novel not be published in England; her son Nigel (1973, p. 194), however, praises her: "She fought for the right to love, men and women, rejecting the conventions that marriage demands exclusive love, and that women should love only men, and men only women. For this she was prepared to give up everything… How could she regret that the knowledge of it should now reach the ears of a new generation, one so infinitely more compassionate than her own?"

Affair with Virginia Woolf

The affair for which Sackville-West is most remembered was with the prominent writer Virginia Woolf in the late 1920s. (Adeline Virginia Woolf (née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941 was an English Novelist and Essayist, regarded as one of the foremost The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada Woolf wrote one of her most famous novels, Orlando, described by Sackville-West's son Nigel Nicolson as "the longest and most charming love-letter in literature", as a result of this affair. Orlando is an influential novel by Virginia Woolf, first published on 11 October 1928. Nigel Nicolson OBE ( 19 January 1917 &ndash 23 September 2004) was a British writer publisher and politician Unusually, Orlando's moment of conception was documented: Woolf writes in her diary on October 5th 1927: "And instantly the usual exciting devices enter my mind: a biography beginning in the year 1500 and continuing to the present day, called Orlando: Vita; only with a change about from one sex to the other" (posthumous excerpt from her diary by husband Leonard Woolf). Leonard Sidney Woolf ( November 25, 1880 &ndash August 14, 1969) was a noted British political theorist author publisher and civil servant

Other affairs

In 1931 Sackville-West became involved in an affair with journalist Evelyn Irons, who had interviewed her after The Edwardians became a bestseller. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Evelyn Irons ( June 17, 1900 – April 3, 2000) was a Scottish Journalist, the first woman War correspondent to [1]

She was also involved with her sister-in-law Gwen St. Aubyn, Mary Garman and others not listed here. The Garman sisters were the seven daughters of Walter Chancellor Garman an eccentric Edwardian doctor and his wife Margaret Frances Magill who led notoriously high profile

Well known writings

The Edwardians (1930) and All Passion Spent (1931) are perhaps her best known novels today. In the latter, the elderly Lady Slane courageously embraces a long suppressed sense of freedom and whimsy after a lifetime of convention. This novel was faithfully dramatized by the BBC in 1986 starring Dame Wendy Hiller. Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller DBE ( 15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was a distinguished English Film and stage

Sackville-West's science-fantasy Grand Canyon (1942) is a "cautionary tale" (as she termed it) about a Nazi invasion of an unprepared United States. The book takes an unsuspected twist, however, that makes it something more than a typical invasion yarn. Invasion literature (or the invasion novel) was a historical Literary genre most notable between 1871 and the First World War (1914

In 1946 Sackville-West was made a Companion of Honour for her services to literature. The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. The following year she began a weekly column in The Observer called "In your Garden". The Observer is a British Newspaper published on Sundays In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The In 1948 she became a founder member of the National Trust's garden committee.

Legacy

Blue plaque in Ebury Street, London
Blue plaque in Ebury Street, London

Sissinghurst Castle is now owned by the National Trust. The garden at Sissinghurst Castle in the Weald of Kent, near Cranbrook, Goudhurst and Tenterden, is owned and maintained by the National The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organization in England, Wales Its gardens are the most visited in England.

There is a brown "blue plaque" commemorating her and Harold Nicolson on their house in Ebury Street, London SW1. In the United Kingdom, a blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event

Quotes

Selected bibliography

Front dustjacket of "The Land", designed by George Plank.
Front dustjacket of "The Land", designed by George Plank.

Poetry

Novels

Translations

Biographies/Other works

Further reading

External links

References

  1. ^ Brenner, Felix. "Obituary: Evelyn Irons", The Independent (London), April 25, 2000. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Retrieved on 2007-02-05. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France.  
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