Vita Sackville-West: Difference between revisions
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== Private Life == | == Private Life == | ||
In 1913, Sackville-West married [[ | In 1913, Sackville-West married [[Harold Nicolson]], a diplomat later turned novelist, with whom she shares two sons, Benedict and Nigel Nicolson. They had an open marriage and both of them had affairs with same-sex lovers. Their son Nigel wrote about his parent's relationship based on Sackville-West's journals and letters in ''[[Portrait of a Marriage]]'' (1973) <ref>Nicolson, Nigel. ''Portrait of a Marriage'', Atheneum, 1973.</ref>. | ||
Most notable among the lovers of Sackville-West was the author [[Virginia Woolf]]. The two first met in December 1922 at a dinner party organized by [[Clive Bell]], Woolf's brother-in-law. An affair spanning several years ensued, well documented due to the many letters the pair exchanged with each other and other close parties. Sackville-West even served as the inspiration for [[Virginia Woolf]]'s novel [[Orlando]], a story that spans centuries and follows the titular and ambiguously gendered character named Orlando. She, too, experimented with her gender expression throughout her life. | Most notable among the lovers of Sackville-West was the author [[Virginia Woolf]]. The two first met in December 1922 at a dinner party organized by [[Clive Bell]], Woolf's brother-in-law. An affair spanning several years ensued, well documented due to the many letters the pair exchanged with each other and other close parties. Sackville-West even served as the inspiration for [[Virginia Woolf]]'s novel [[Orlando]], a story that spans centuries and follows the titular and ambiguously gendered character named Orlando. She, too, experimented with her gender expression throughout her life. | ||
Revision as of 09:41, 31 July 2024
The Honourable Victoria Mary Sackville-West, Lady Nicolson, CH (9 March 1892 - 2 June 1962), best known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, and garden designer.
Early Life and Education
Vita grew up in the Kentish countryside at Knole, the Sackville-West's family estate. Her mother was Victoria Sackville-West, Baroness Sackville, and her father was Lionel Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville. She was first home-schooled by governesses and was later enrolled at the very exclusive Helen Wolff's School for Girls in Mayfair, London.
Career
Sackville-West was an accomplished writer and received many accolades throughout her lifetime. One of them includes the Hawthornden Prize for Poetry for her narrative poem The Land, published in 1926. In the poem, she pays homage to the beauty of the English countryside. She was associated with legendary Bloomsbury Group and was one of the bestselling authors of Hogarth Press, the publishing house owned by Virginia and Leonard Woolf.
As a garden designer, she also published several books on gardening. She was also a prolific diarist and an accomplished journalist.
In 1948, she was made a Companion of Honour.
Private Life
In 1913, Sackville-West married Harold Nicolson, a diplomat later turned novelist, with whom she shares two sons, Benedict and Nigel Nicolson. They had an open marriage and both of them had affairs with same-sex lovers. Their son Nigel wrote about his parent's relationship based on Sackville-West's journals and letters in Portrait of a Marriage (1973) [1].
Most notable among the lovers of Sackville-West was the author Virginia Woolf. The two first met in December 1922 at a dinner party organized by Clive Bell, Woolf's brother-in-law. An affair spanning several years ensued, well documented due to the many letters the pair exchanged with each other and other close parties. Sackville-West even served as the inspiration for Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando, a story that spans centuries and follows the titular and ambiguously gendered character named Orlando. She, too, experimented with her gender expression throughout her life.
Besides Woolf, Violet Trefusis (neé Keppel), whom she met as a teenager, also played a crucial role in her life as the two also shared a sexual and romantic bond.
Death, Legacy, and Popular Culture
Sackville-West died on 2 June 1962, aged 70, at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent after a long battle with abdominal cancer. Her works and cultural contributions have made a lasting impression on both the literary canon and popular culture. The biographical romantic drama film Vita & Virginia (2018) [2] by Chanya Button is among one of the more recent references to the iconic duo in contemporary pop culture.
Selected Works
- The Heir: A Love Story Knole and the Sackvilles (1922)
- Challenge (1923)
- Seducers in Ecuador (1924)
- The Land (1926)
- The Edwardians (1930)
- All Passion Spent (1931)
Sources
- Glendinning, Victoria. Vita: The Life of Vita Sackville-West, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1983.
- Kaivola, Karen. "Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville-West, and the Question of Sexual Identity." Woolf Studies Annual, vol. 4, 1998, pp. 18-40, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24906336. Accessed 30 Jun. 2024.
- "Sackville‐West, ‘Vita’." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. Eds. Birch, Dinah, and Katy Hooper. Oxford UP, 2013, Oxford Reference. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199608218.001.0001/acref-9780199608218-e-6655. Accessed 30 Jun. 2024.
- Sproles, Karyn Z. Desiring Women: The Partnership of Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, University of Toronto Press, 2006.
- "Vita Sackville-West." Encyclopedia Britannica, last edited 3 Jun. 2024, Britannica. www.britannica.com/biography/V-Sackville-West. Accessed 30 Jun. 2024.
References
- ↑ Nicolson, Nigel. Portrait of a Marriage, Atheneum, 1973.
- ↑ Vita & Virginia. Directed by Chanya Button, performances by Gemma Arterton, Elizabeth Debicki, Rupert Penry-Jones, Peter Ferdinando, Thunderbird Releasing, 2018.