The page numbers in this index relate to the printed version of this book; they do not match the pages of your ebook. You can use your ebook reader’s search tool to find a specific word or passage.
Action 215, 218, 237
Alexandra, Queen (formerly Princess of Wales) 28, 283
Anglo-Persian Oil 182
A. P. Watt and Son 168
Argyll, Duke of 158
Arnim, Elizabeth von, The Enchanted April 244
Ashcombe, Henry Cubitt, 2nd Lord 142
Attlee, Clement 282
Atwood, Clare 56
Bagnold, Enid 167
Baker, Sir John 204
Baker, Sir Richard 204
Barber, Elizabeth 277
Battiscombe family 30–1, 33, 120
Battiscombe, Ralph 31, 71
BBC 116, 190, 191–2, 193, 196, 218, 266, 275
Beale, Donald 197
Beaton, Cecil 279
Beaverbrook, William Maxwell Aitken, Lord 194, 236
Behn, Aphra 36, 118, 143, 145, 181, 219, 291
Oroonoko 38
Bell, Clive 165, 184, 216
Bell, Gertrude 176
Bell, Quentin 193
Bell, Vanessa 193, 216
Belloc Lowndes, Marie 137, 138, 147
Bennett, Arnold 278
Bennett, Frank M. 99
Bennett, Miss ‘Bentie’ (governess) 70, 71
Benson, E. F. 41
Berlin 181, 184, 186, 193, 219
Berners, Gerald 130
Bloomsbury Group 162, 163, 185
Booth, Wilfred ‘Wuffy’ (Harold’s valet) 94, 95
Boswell, James 157
Bridges, Robert 191, 278
Brighton (Sussex) 131, 160, 173, 174
British Council 274, 282, 286, 291
Brook Farm (Kent) 105
Brown, Mrs (Vita’s nurse) 20
Buller, Sir Redvers 31, 57, 71, 112
Bunyard, Edward Ashton, Old Garden Roses 250
Burlington Magazine 275
The Bystander 100
Cadman, Sir John 182
Cairo 21
Camden, Lady (Joan) 4, 103
Campbell, Joan 158
Campbell, Kenneth Hallyburton
attempts to rape Vita 72–3
as godfather to Ben Nicolson 111
Campbell, Mary
paints a picture of Long Barn 180, 185
struggles financially and emotionally 180–1
has affair with Vita 182–6, 188–9
borrows cottage from Vita and Harold 183, 188, 206
breakdown of her marriage 183–4
Vita writes a sonnet to 198
Campbell, Rosalinda Oppenheim 72–3
Campbell, Roy
description of 180
financial and emotional struggles 180–1
view of marriage 180
relationship with Vita 182, 185
borrows cottage from Vita and Harold 183, 206
breakdown of his marriage 183–4
violence of 184
drops plan to divorce Mary 185
recovers from appendicitis 188
trial separation from Mary 188–9
The Georgiad 185, 230
The Flaming Terrapin 180
‘We are Like Worlds’ 180
Carnock, Lady see Nicolson, Mary Katherine Hamilton
Charles II 39
Charrière, Madame de 152
Château Malet (near Monte Carlo) 78–9
Chatterton, Thomas 56–7, 58, 79, 112
Churchill, Winston 110, 262–3
Clandeboye (Bangor, County Down) 68
Clark-Kerr, Muriel 102
Clifford, Lady Anne 34, 74–5, 139, 171, 210
Cobden-Sanderson (publisher) 246
Coker Court (Yeovil, Somerset) 93, 272
Colefax, Sybil 154
Collins, Wilkie, The Woman in White 48
Colston Leigh Bureau 224
Committee for the Preservation of Rural Kent 291
Connolly, Cyril, The Unquiet Grave 45
Conservative Party 259, 275
Constantine I of Greece, Duke of Sparta 28
Constantinople 61, 82, 87, 94–7, 105
Coombe, Lady Jane 49
Copper, Jack (handyman-chauffeur at Sissinghurst) 274
Country Life 141, 266
Coward, Noël 184
Cranbrook Poetry Society 291
Cubitt, Roland 142
Cunard, Victor 130
Curtiss, Mina 227
Curzon, George, 1st Marquess 172
Cyrus the Great 176
Daily Express 194
Daily Mail 230
Daily Sketch 88
Daily Telegraph 221
Dane, Clemence 147
Regiment of Women 147
Dansey, Pat 232
as chaperone and friend of Violet 137, 158–9
in love with Vita 157, 158–62, 175
description of 158
threatens suicide 162
Davenport, Basil 240
De Gaulle, Charles 263
de la Mare, Walter 277, 278
Derby, Lord 15
Desborough, Ethel Grenfell, Lady 62–3
Dhji-han-Ghir 96, 105
Dieulafoy, Jane 178
Doran, George H. 225
Doubleday & Co. 281
Doubleday, Doran & Co. 223, 225, 250
Dover Castle 39
Doyle, A. Conan, The Speckled Band 60
Drinkwater, John 178–9
Drogheda, Countess of 91
Drogheda, Earl of 91
Drummond, Bunny 268, 292
Drummond, Katherine 267–8
Dryden, John 39, 149
Dufferin and Ava, Frederick Hamilton-Templeton-Blackwood, 1st Marquess 67–8
Dufferin and Ava, Hariot Georgina Rowan-Hamilton, Marchioness 67
Dumas, Alexandre 37
The Count of Monte Cristo 48
Duntreath Castle (Scotland) 100–1, 121
Durán, Josefa ‘Pepita’ (‘Countess West’) 3, 4, 9, 40, 73, 107
Duveen, Sir Joseph 47
Edmonstone family 100
Edward VII (formerly Prince of Wales) 28, 46, 116, 129
Eliot, T. S. 165, 278
Elizabeth I 204
Elizabeth II (formerly Princess Elizabeth) 267, 277, 283–4
Elizabeth, Queen, the Queen Mother 267, 277, 283, 284
Ellis, Havelock, Studies in the Psychology of Sex 212
Emily (Vita’s maid) 57, 94, 95, 101
The English Review 87
Eugenie, Empress 78
Evans, Sir Samuel 7
Evening Standard 168, 194, 196, 213, 236, 254
Faber & Faber 193
Ferrier, Dr 50
Firbank, Ronald, The Flower Beneath the Fool 150–1
First World War 63, 98, 107–8
Fitzhardinge, Charles Berkeley, 3rd Baron 158
Free French 263, 267
Galsworthy, John 147, 278
Garman, Mary 180
Garnett, David 182
Garvin, J. L. 2
Genoa 20
Genoux, Louise 207
George V 199, 289
George VI 118
Georgian Poetry (1922) 171
Germain, Lady Betty 16
Gilbert (W. S.) & Sullivan (Arthur), The Mikado 42
Gorboduc (play, 1561) 204
Granby, John Manners, Lord 63, 64, 68, 81
Grant, Duncan 193, 196
Graphic 218
Grenfell, Julian 62–3, 64
Grosvenor, Rosamund 48
relationship with Vita 44–5, 60, 63, 75, 79–80
takes part in Masque 59
at château Malet 78
accompanies Vita to Italy 82–3, 87
becomes engaged to a naval officer 88
congratulates Vita on her wedding 89
as bridesmaid to Vita 91
correspondence with Vita 94, 95
left jewellery in Vita’s will 101–2
takes part in a Persian play at Knole 102
death of 267
Gwyn, Nell 39
Hall, Radclyffe 188
Harris, Robert 191
Hart-Davis, Deirdre 193
Hatch, Lady Constance ‘Connie’ 4, 7, 101
Hatfield House (Hertfordshire) 81–2
Hathaway, Anne 29
Hay, Ivan 75, 231
Hedgecoe, John 279
Heinemann 178, 179
Heneage, Dorothy 93, 101, 271, 272
Henrietta Anne, Duchess of Orléans 39
Hertford, 4th Marquess of 4
Hesiod, Works and Days 142
Hogarth Press 165, 167, 168, 175, 217, 240, 245, 250, 261–2, 264
Hoppé, E. O. 150
Hoppner, Edward 200
Horace 149
Horder, Sir Thomas 186
Horne, George ‘Moody’ (butler at Sissinghurst) 236
Horner, Edward 62, 63, 64
Houdon, Jean Antoine 5
Hunt, Leigh 255
Hutchinson, Mary 184
Huxley, Aldous 278
Indonesia 294, 295
Irons, Evelyn 183
rejects Vita’s love 229, 234–5
descriptions of 230–2
relationship with Vita 230–5
stays at Sissinghurst 231
visits Provence with Vita 232–3
falls in love with Joy McSweeney 234, 239
Isham, Colonel Ralph 157
James Boswell Papers 157
James Tait Black Memorial Prize 152
Jekyll, Gertrude 105
Joan of Arc 31, 36, 209
John Lane (publishers) 108
Johnson, Lionel 110
Jones, Sir Roderick 167
Keats, John 210
‘Ode to a Nightingale’ 191
Kenilworth Castle 29
Keppel, Mrs Alice 200
as mistress of Edward VII 46, 116
gives Vita a wedding present from Violet 89
stays at Knole 89
family home at Duntreath Castle 100
lavish lifestyle 103
relationship with Violet 125
reaction to Violet’s affair with Vita 128, 142
gives Violet an allowance 129
arranges for Denys to fly to Amiens 135–6
approves of Pat Dansey as Violet’s chaperone 137, 158
villa near Florence 273
Keppel, Sonia 142
Keppel, Violet see Trefusis, Violet
Kermanshah 176
Khalil Gibran, The Prophet 146, 207
Kipling, Rudyard 278
comment on Victoria 2
Kitchener, Herbert, 1st Earl 2, 94
Knebworth (Hertfordshire) 113
Kneller, Godfrey 230, 291
Knole (Kent) 3
cost of running 5–6
as subject of inheritance dispute 9–10
description of 12, 15, 34
Green Court 12, 13, 268
Colonnade Room 20, 89, 90
improvements to 20
effect on Vita 26–7, 29, 32, 43–4, 81, 87, 92–3, 284–6
Chapel 32, 89, 91, 200, 268, 283
female ownership of 33
King’s Room 33
Mirror Pond 36
Poet’s Parlour 37–8, 39, 278
Great Hall 39
The Masque of Shakespeare staged at 55, 59–60, 65, 70, 76–7
redecorations at 83–4, 85
Vita’s wedding at 91–3
furniture and artefacts sent to Constantinople 96
Persian play performed at 102, 209
during the First World War 107
Geoffrey Scott’s visit to 153–4
uncomfortable lunch party at 153
Victoria leaves for the last time 173–4
contents sold 200–1
damaged by a bomb 268
Kreutzberger, Sibylle (gardener at Sissinghurst) 294
La Grande Mademoiselle 206, 209, 294
Labour Party 275
Lacretelle, Pierre de 86
Lady with a Red Hat (Strang’s portrait of Vita) 123–4
The Lady’s Pictorial 90–1
Lamont, Edith 292
Lamont, Thomas 200
Lascelles, Sir Alan ‘Tommy’ 284, 289
Lascelles, Henry, 6th Earl of Harewood 63, 64, 68, 81, 89, 231
László, Philip de 77–8, 123
Lawley, Irene 52, 59, 102
Le Figaro 275
Lees-Milne, Alvilde 291–3
Lees-Milne, James 276, 286, 292
Leverhulme, William Lever, Lord 120
Lewis, Cecil Day 278
Life and Letters 218
Lincoln 134
The Listener 142, 192, 218
London
Adelphi Theatre 60
Alhambra Theatre 7
Berkeley Hotel 153
Buckingham Palace 261
Grosvenor Gallery 124
Hertford House (Wallace Collection, Manchester Square) 4
London Library (St James’s Square) 199, 275
Lyric Theatre 108
PEN Club 147, 154
Ritz Hotel 20, 110, 273
Royal Albert Hall 69
Savoy Chapel 267
Spealls (South Audley Street) 53–4
Thomas of Bond Street (silversmiths) 28
Westminster Abbey 42
Wigmore Hall 277
London Mercury 167
Long Barn (Kent)
bought by Vita 103
descriptions of 103–4, 111
Big Room 105, 180, 207, 209
changes and additions 105–6
field, farm and land added 105, 132, 198
Violet stays at 119
Vita’s work in the garden 120, 132, 133
Vita’s return to after her affair with Violet 140
Dottie stays at 147, 148
Geoffrey Scott’s visit to 154–5, 156
Virginia stays at 169–70
dogs moved to Sissinghurst 182
Hilda Matheson stays at 192, 193
swimming pool at 194
fragmented living space at 206
Big Room recreated at Sissinghurst 207
sold to her mother 214
damaged by a bomb 268
Louet, Mademoiselle, ‘Bonny’ 20–1
Louis XIII 47
Lubbock, Percy 157
Lutyens, Edwin 131, 175, 248
Lytton, Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl 113
Macaulay, Rose 1
MacCarthy, Desmond 191
MacDonald, Ramsay 259
Macmillan, Miss ‘Mac’ (Vita’s secretary) 207, 259, 274
MacNeice, Louis 277, 278
McSweeney, Joy 234, 239
Manor House (East Coker, Somerset) 271–2
Margaret, Princess 267, 277
Marie Antoinette, Queen 5
Marvell, Andrew 233
Mary I 204
Mary, Queen of Scots 283
Massereene, Jean Barbara Ainsworth, Viscountess 108
Matheson, Hilda
affair with Vita 190–6, 254
forced to resign from the BBC 196, 218
Vita dedicates a book to 196
as secretary-cum-manager at Sissinghurst 215
friendship with Dottie 233
conceives the ‘Britain at War’ and ‘Britain in Pictures’ series 265
responsible for media propaganda during the war 266
death of 267
Maurois, Andre 278
Mayne, Ethel Colburn, The Life of Lady Byron 194
Meynell & Pemberton (solicitors) 49, 202–3
Michael Joseph (publishers) 269, 289
Miss Woolff’s school (London) 41–2, 44, 48, 56
Monk’s House (Rodmell, Sussex) 168, 181, 216
Monte Carlo 21, 129–30, 133
Moore, George 103, 110
Moore, Viscount 91
Morgan, John Pierpont 2
Morning Post 107
Morrell, Lady Ottoline 157
Mortimer, Raymond 170, 203, 227
Moscow 28
Mosley, Sir Oswald 215, 236–7
Murray, Sir George 1
Nadré, Mademoiselle, ‘Goggy’ (governess to Ben and Nigel) 153
Napoleon Bonaparte 38
National Gardens Scheme 208
National Government 259
National Labour Party 259
National Trust 275, 284, 296
New Party 215, 218, 236–7
New Statesman 201, 221, 256, 257, 265
The New York Times 6
Nicholas II 28, 91
Nichols, Beverley 278
Nicolson, Sir Arthur, Baron Carnock (1849–1928) 67, 68, 210
Nicolson, Gwen 91, 101
Nicolson, Harold (1886–1968)
descriptions of 60–1, 65, 66–7, 289–90
family background 67–9
relationship with Vita 32, 76, 86–7, 114, 117, 123–4, 125, 126, 146, 213–14, 237, 238–9, 257–8, 262, 284–6, 293
given selective description of Vita’s childhood 33, 74
with Vita at Knole 60–1, 65, 87
on-and-off courtship of Vita 63, 64–6, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86–8
marries Vita 63, 89–98
attitude towards his numerous affairs 66–7
as homosexual 67
diplomatic service 68, 82, 156–7, 170–1, 176–8, 181, 182, 184, 186
unofficial engagement to Lady Eileen Wellesley 69–70
at château Malet 78
in Constantinople 82, 83, 87, 94–7
sends Vita a wooden figure of St Barbara 85–6
accompanies Vita and her parents to the Scott trial 88
delighted at Vita’s pregnancy 98
exempted from fighting and transferred to War Department 98
gives a field at Long Barn to Vita for her birthday 104–5
contracts a venereal disease at Knebworth 113–14
reactions to Vita’s numerous ‘muddles’ 115–16, 118–19, 122, 123, 132–4, 142, 149, 154, 155, 161, 181, 184, 185–6, 233
spends Christmas without Vita 130
comment on Rothenstein’s portrait of Vita 150
posted to Tehran 156–7, 170–1, 176–8, 182
learns of Vita’s friendship with Virginia Woolf 163, 166–7, 169
comment on Vita’s writing 172
travels with Vita in Persia 176–7
praises The Land 178
posted to Berlin 181, 184, 186
offered a job by Lord Beaverbrook 194–5, 213
agrees to the purchase of Sissinghurst 201–5
importance of Sissinghurst to 205, 254, 284
radio broadcast 213
regrets the sale of Long Barn 214
edits Action 215, 218
financial position 215, 216–17, 227, 237–8, 239, 254, 294
leaves the Evening Standard and becomes unemployed 215
American tour 223–7
unhappy at mistaken change of career 229, 236
dislikes The Dark Island 241
joins Vita and Gwen St Aubyn in Portofino 245
scatters Victoria’s ashes at sea 248
political beliefs and career 257, 258–9, 262–3, 275
concerned at Vita’s wish for solitude 261–2, 270, 288
instructs Vita to have the car ready in case of German invasion 264
aware of Vita’s drinking and her ‘muzzy moods’ 270
friendship with Violet 272, 273
loses both his seat in the election and his rooms at King’s Bench Walk 274
remains in London after the war 274–5
contributes to various journals and magazines 275, 278–9
visits Chelsea Flower Show 278
delighted at Vita being awarded Companion of Honour 282, 284
agrees to write biography of George V 289
given a knighthood 289–90
comment on Sissinghurst 290
health of 293
goes on several cruises with Vita 294, 295
death of 296
works by
Another World Than This (with Vita) 273
The Archduke 217
Byron: The Last Journey 237
Public Faces 223
Sweet Waters 172
Nicolson, Lionel Benedict, ‘Detto’ or ‘Ben’ (1914–78)
birth of 98, 103
childhood 108–9, 206
health of 109
relationship with his parents 117
effect of Vita’s affair with Violet on 119
Christmas without Vita 130
given a pony for his birthday 140
in Brittany 153
discovers Geoffrey Scott changing for dinner at Long Barn 155
education 174, 215, 217, 229
life at Sissinghurst 208
fictionalised in Family Portrait 217
suffers nervous breakdown 229
helps to design dust jacket for The Dark Island 241
helps in the garden at Sissinghurst 247
inherits money from Victoria 248
learns of his parents’ sexual proclivities from Victoria 249
dislike of the modern world 255
wartime occupation 263, 269
meets Violet in Yeovil 272
recuperates at Sissinghurst 273
as Deputy Surveyor of the King’s Pictures 275
marriage of 290
Nicolson, Mary Katherine Hamilton, Lady Carnock 67, 203, 210
Nicolson, Nigel (1917–2004)
birth of 104
relationship with his parents 117
effect of Vita’s affair with Violet on 119
Christmas without Vita 130
in Brittany 153
discovers Geoffrey Scott changing for dinner at Long Barn 155
comment on Orlando 164
education 174, 215, 217
health of 183
first view of Sissinghurst 197
memories of Vita’s initials on equipment at Sissinghurst 205
childhood 206
life at Sissinghurst 208
comment on Vita’s writing 220
helps in the garden at Sissinghurst 247
inherits money from Victoria 248
learns of his parents’ sexual proclivities from Victoria 249
wartime army career 249, 269
returns to Sissinghurst after the war 273
elected Conservative MP for Bournemouth 275
marriage of 290
transfers Sissinghurst to the National Trust 296
Northumberland, Lord 158
Norton, Thomas 204
Observer 107, 179, 267, 279, 280, 282, 289, 291
Onlooker 39–40
Pall Mall Gazette 7
Paris 4, 49, 129, 131, 133, 137
Ritz Hotel 131, 132
Paris Peace Talks (1919) 131
Parr, Catherine 5
Parratt, Sir Walter 42
Patterson, Mrs (Vita’s nurse) 11, 12, 15–16
Pemberton, Mr (solicitor) 49
Pepita see Durán, Josefa ‘Pepita’ (‘Countess West’)
Percy, Lord Eustace 235
Pirie, Irene 113
Platt, Ronald (gardener at Sissinghurst) 294
Polignac, Winnaretta Singer, Princess Edmond de 291–2
Polperro (Cornwall) 122, 123, 124, 126, 192
Port Sunlight (Wirral) 120
Potocki, Count Joseph 48–9
Powys, Albert ‘A. R. P.’ 228
Pucci, Orazio 61, 78, 79, 81, 89
Pym, Violet 292
Quennell, Peter 260–1
Radio Paris 233
Radio Times 192
Ragley Hall (Warwickshire) 84–5
Récamier, Madame Juliette 42
Reed, Henry 277
Renby Grange (Tunbridge Wells) 266
Reville & Rossiter (Court dressmakers) 90
Reza Shah Pahlavi 175, 177–8
Rhind, Cecil 248
Ribblesdale, Thomas Lister, 4th Baron 110
Rilke, Rainer Maria, Duineser Elegien 218–19
Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai, Scheherazade 127, 160
Rinder, Olive 231, 233, 239
Roberts, Denys Kilham ‘DKR’ 276–7
The Centuries’ Poetry (editor) 277
Romania, Crown Princess Marie of 283
Rome 21, 109–10, 147, 151
Rostand, Edmond, Cyrano de Bergerac 37, 42
Rothenstein, Sir William 150
Royal Horticultural Society 282
Rubens, Olive
as Lionel’s mistress 4, 59, 173–4
sings an anthem at Vita’s wedding 91–2
features in Vita’s will 101
as godmother to Vita’s baby son 104
in Omar Khayyam tableau 108
nurses Lionel in his final illness 186
Rumbold, Richard, Little Victims 118
Rutland, Henry Manners, 8th Duke of 63, 68
Sackville, Cecily Baker 204, 205
Sackville, Charles, 6th Earl of Dorset (1638–1706) 39, 230, 291
‘Dorinda’s Sparkling Wit and Eyes’ 70
Sackville, (Lionel) Cranfield, 1st Duke of Dorset (1688–1765) 42, 57, 58, 79, 112
Sackville, Edward, 4th Earl of Dorset (1591–1652) 33, 38–9
Sackville, Herbrand, 9th Earl De La Warr ‘Buck’ (1900–76) 259
Sackville, Herbrand de (c.1040–79) 27
Sackville, John, 3rd Duke of Dorset (1745–99) 200
Sackville, Thomas, 1st Earl of Dorset (1536–1608) 67, 204, 283
Sackville-West, Amalia 9, 24, 277
Sackville-West, Bertrand George ‘Bertie’ (1872–1959) 95
Sackville-West, Charles, 4th Baron (1870–1962) 73, 186, 295
Sackville-West, Edward ‘Eddy’, 5th Baron (1901–65) 73–4, 182, 187, 219, 295
The Ruin 199–200
Sackville-West, Flora 9
Sackville-West, Henry 9, 104
Sackville-West, Lionel, 2nd Baron Sackville (1827–1908)
affair and illegitimate children 4, 73, 107
relationship with Vita 16, 18, 21
puts money into Vita’s post office account 17
descriptions of 21, 53
helps further Lionel’s career 27–8
portrait by de László 77
Sackville-West, Lionel Edward, 3rd Baron Sackville (1867–1928) 68
description of 50–1, 52–3, 70
marriage to Victoria 3–4
has numerous affairs 4, 59, 103
lifestyle aired in court 7–8
defends his inheritance 8–9
reaction to birth of Vita 13–14
introduces Victoria to English novelists 14
as honorary attaché in Rome 27–8
breakdown of his marriage 50–4, 73, 131, 172–4
comment on sex with Victoria 50, 73
disappointment in Vita 60
joins the West Kent Yeomanry 104
given yacht by Victoria 138
attempts to find tenants for Knole 141
death and funeral of 186–7
Sackville-West, Max 9
Sackville-West, Victoria (1862–1936)
descriptions of 2–3, 8, 13, 19, 189
education and family background 3
as beneficiary of Murray Scott’s will 2, 5–8
as chatelaine of Knole 3–4, 19–20, 24, 25
friendship with Murray Scott 3, 5–6, 48, 53, 54
marriage 4, 7–8, 15, 16–17, 20
defends her husband’s inheritance 8–9
birth of Vita 12–13
relationship with Vita 15, 16–18, 21, 22–4, 28, 29–30, 34, 40–1, 49–50, 60, 103, 107, 120, 130, 154, 172, 174, 181, 189–90
opens post office account for Vita 17
foreign travel 20–1
pet tortoise inset with diamonds 25
makes a will 49
breakdown of her marriage 50–4, 73, 172–4
opens a shop in South Audley street 53–4
restricts Vita’s correspondence with Harold Nicolson 83, 86
loans Vita the money to buy house in Ebury Street 104
suffers a nervous breakdown 104
gives Vita and Harold a Rolls-Royce 105
organises Ben Nicolson’s christening 111
buys townhouses in Brighton 131, 160, 173
prevents publication of Vita’s novel Challenge 136–7
gives Lionel a yacht 138
reaction to Vita’s affair with Geoffrey Scott 153
cancels loan on Ebury Street but clears Harold’s tax debt 155
moves to White Lodge near Roedean 174
reaction to death of Lionel 186–7
demands return of pearls from Vita 189–90
buys Long Barn 214
sends grocery hampers and items from Knole to Vita 229–30
death of 247–9
Book of Happy Reminiscences 174
Sackville-West, Victoria Mary ‘Vita’ (1892–1962)
birth and childhood 11–19, 20–35
character and descriptions of 28, 29–30, 43, 55–6, 63, 69, 73–4, 97, 144–5, 150–1, 226, 228, 239, 260–1, 270, 290–1
family background 2–10
education 41–2, 43
left necklaces and money by Murray Scott 5, 89, 189–90
told to tell the truth but not all the truth by her mother 7–8
inheritance as vexed issue 10, 73
relationship with her parents 15, 16–18, 21, 22–4, 28, 29–30, 34, 40–1, 49–50, 60, 70–1, 103, 154, 172, 174, 189–90
dolls belonging to 17–18
post office account opened for 17
foreign travel 20–1, 48–9, 52, 82–3, 87, 151, 194, 217, 221, 223–7, 232–3, 244–5, 273, 294–5
centrality of Knole to 25–7, 28, 29, 32, 43–4, 73–4, 78, 81, 87, 92–3, 186, 187, 265–6, 284–6
guide-work at Knole 28–9
learns cruelty from her mother 30–2
given a cricket bat by Seery 31
passion for secrecy 32, 53
relationship with Harold 32, 76, 86–7, 114, 117, 123–4, 125, 126, 146, 213–14, 237, 238–9, 257–8, 262, 284–6
enjoys dressing up 33
as a writer 33–4, 35–41, 42–3, 57–9, 75–6, 79, 93–4, 110, 113, 175–6, 179, 206, 208–9, 215–23, 235, 268–9, 276, 280–2, 286–8
sense of life as a performance 34–5, 57–8, 76–8, 112, 209, 210
attitude to love and sex 43–9, 144–6, 253–4, 293
early romantic and sexual encounters 43–9, 71–3
dual nature of 51–2, 57–9, 112, 115, 121, 124, 130, 139, 151, 161–2, 165, 171–2, 270
witnesses breakdown of her parents’ marriage 51–4
portraits of 56, 77–8
celebrates male version of herself in her fiction 57–9
maintains her independence and separateness 58–9, 74, 80–1, 284, 285, 287
female affairs 60, 64–5, 65–6, 79–80, 100, 101, 146–9, 158–62, 167, 175, 180–1, 182–6, 190–6, 219, 229, 230–5, 241–5, 291–3
meets and marries Harold Nicolson 60–1, 63, 88–98
on-and-off courtship with Harold Nicolson 61, 63, 64–6, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86–8
as a debutante 62
male suitors and affairs 62–3, 151–7, 161
social outlook and elite status 68–70, 84–5
sexuality of 73–6, 102–3, 122–3, 143–5, 151, 169
health of 78, 175, 195, 239, 263, 268, 269, 275–6, 280, 293–4
reaction to Seery’s death 81
is given a wooden figure of St Barbara by Harold Nicolson 85–6
pregnancy and birth of Lionel Benedict (Ben) 98, 103
effect of the Scott lawsuit on 99–100
wishes to scandalise London 100
makes her will 101–2
buys Long Barn 103–4
takes up gardening 105, 178, 181, 212, 213, 214–15, 216, 218, 228, 235, 238, 246–7, 250–1, 254–5, 263, 266–7, 273–4, 291
comments on baby Ben’s progress 108–9
takes part in wartime charitable entertainments 108
social life 110–11
learns that Harold has contracted a venereal disease 113–14
takes part in an automatic writing session 113
full-blown affair with Violet Keppel 114–42
plays ‘Julian’ to Violet’s ‘Eve’ 115, 122–3, 127, 129, 143–4, 165
adopts male attire 120–1, 261
acquires a variety of dogs 138, 140, 173, 176–7, 259, 287, 288
called the ‘Dark Man’ by Pat Dansey 158, 159, 161–2
relationship with Virginia Woolf 162–70, 187–8, 195, 198, 222–3, 225, 234
decorates her room in the Brighton house 173
joins Harold in Tehran 174–82, 236
influence of Persia on 176–82
brings back bulbs from Persia and sends some back to Harold 178
wins the Hawthornden and Heinemann Prizes 179, 181, 220, 276
has a Dream Book 186, 255
her mother demands return of pearls 189–90
renounces her allowance from her mother 190, 214
radio broadcasts 191–2, 218, 219, 221, 225, 266
starts to collect budgerigars 193, 194
finds London flat in King’s Bench Walk for Harold 195–6
Sissinghurst as her refuge and possession 198, 201, 205–18, 254–8, 276, 278
financial position 215, 216, 227, 237–8, 239, 248, 250, 289
horticultural journalism 218, 250, 264, 265–6, 278–80
popularity and reputation 219–23, 279, 281–2, 289–90
American tour 223–7, 228, 235
rejected by Evelyn Irons 229, 234–5
compartmentalises her life 235–6
inherits money and possessions from her mother 248
reaction to her mother’s death 248–50
wishes to live a life of solitude in the country 255–62
begins to drink 259, 268, 270
reactions to the miseries of war 263, 264–72
death of her friends 267, 268, 269
re-kindles her friendship with Violet 270–3
post-war life 273–6
effect of being rejected by the Poetry Committee 277–8, 288
awarded the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal 282–3
lecture tours for the British Council 282, 286, 291
enjoys the visit of the Queen Mother to Sissinghurst 283
awarded the Companion of Honour 284
death and funeral 295–6
works by
books
All Passion Spent 74, 210–11, 217, 229, 250, 275
Andrew Marvell 193, 225
Aphra Behn: The Incomparable Astrea 118, 143, 145, 219, 291
Behind the Mask 49, 51, 53, 64
Challenge 57, 58, 66, 70, 117, 122, 129, 132–3, 134, 136–7, 144, 219
The Dark Days of Thermidor 38
The Dark Island 23, 36, 43, 222, 240–1, 242, 245, 246, 270
Daughter of France 280–1, 294–5
The Death of Noble Godavary 28, 99, 187, 285
The Devil at Westease 281
The Dragon in Shallow Waters 48, 120, 134, 138–9, 171, 241
The Eagle and the Dove 35, 80, 246, 268–9, 276
The Easter Party 19, 55, 75–6, 144, 286–8, 289, 291
The Edwardians 11, 15, 25, 44, 48, 57, 84–5, 199–201, 210, 215–16, 217, 222, 225, 250
English Country Houses 265–6
Family History 51, 58, 61, 102, 116, 217, 223, 231, 232, 233, 293
Gottfried Künstler 36, 65, 127, 164, 193, 196
Grand Canyon 76, 155, 261–2, 263–4, 266, 268, 286
Grey Wethers 75, 94, 132, 171–2, 209
The Heir 57, 165, 171, 203–4
Heritage 52, 53, 54, 56, 106, 113, 131, 180, 225
The King’s Secret 39, 168, 230
Knole and the Sackvilles 165, 166, 171
Marian Strangways 64, 82, 93–4
No Signposts in the Sea 206, 295, 296
Passenger to Teheran 175–6, 178
Pepita 248–50, 277
Portrait of a Marriage 16–17, 129, 139–40
Richelieu 37
Saint Joan of Arc 246, 247
Seducers in Ecuador 58, 76, 164, 168, 169, 223
Some Flowers 250
The Tale of a Cavalier 38–9, 168
Twelve Days 176, 181
The Women’s Land Army 26, 257, 263, 276, 283
plays
Jarl Haddan (four-act drama) 92
Jean Baptiste Poquelin (one-act comedy) 37
Le Masque de Fer (five-act French drama) 37, 47, 56–7
Le roi d’Elbe (verse drama) 38
On the Road, an episode 109
poems
Another World Than This (anthology, compiled with Harold Nicolson) 273
‘Arcady in England’ 33
‘Bee-master’ 167
‘Bitterness’ 171
‘Black Tarn’ 160–1
‘Blast’ 268
Collected Poems 167, 201, 234, 264
‘Convalescence’ 96
‘The Dancing Elf’ 87, 90
‘Disillusion’ 95
‘Early Love’ 70
Elegies from the Castle of Duino 218–19
‘Eve’ 129
‘Eve in Tears’ 129
‘A Fallen Youth’ 107–8
‘Full Moon’ 148
‘The Garden’ 109
The Garden 179, 216, 220, 221, 246, 255, 256, 265, 267, 268, 276, 291
‘Heredity’ 9
‘In June 2nd, 1953’ 283–4
‘In Memoriam: Virginia Woolf’ 267
King’s Daughter 189, 195, 198
‘La Poupée’ 31
The Land 141–2, 153, 156, 167, 174, 175, 178–9, 191, 220, 230, 256, 265, 277, 282, 288, 296
‘Making Cider’ 167
‘MCMXIII’ 92
‘Night’ 81
‘Nomads’ 112
‘On seeing my first proof sheets’ 107
‘One Day’ 111
Orchard and Vineyard 120, 158, 159, 166, 171, 220, 225, 276, 285
‘The Owl’ 32
‘Peace in the Mountains’ 194
Poems of West and East 106–7, 108, 112, 113, 119, 225
‘Reddín’ 141, 148, 246
‘Resolution’ 96–7
Selected Poems 264–5
‘September 1939’ 265
‘Sissinghurst’ 203
Solitude 245–6, 254, 255, 256
‘Sometimes When Night …’ 143
‘Storm in the Mountains’ 194
‘To Any M.F.H.’ 137
‘To Knole’ 92–3
‘Valediction’ 234
‘Year’s End’ 179
stories
‘Elizabeth Higginbottom’ 223, 224
‘The Poet’ 58, 223, 224
‘The Poetry Reading’ 150, 151
Thirty Clocks Strike the Hour 223–4
St Aubyn, Gwen Nicolson 91, 101
bridesmaid at Vita’s wedding 241–2
convalesces at Sissinghurst after a motor accident 242–3, 244
description of 242–3
The Dark Island dedicated to 242
affair with Vita 243–5
converts to Catholicism 243, 245–6
Solitude dedicated to 255
stays at Sissinghurst 259
moves to Cornwall 267
The Family Book 243
Towards a Pattern 245
St Barbara 85–6, 175, 235, 264
St Loup de Naud 270, 271, 273, 292
St Teresa of Avila 35, 80–1, 209, 268–9
St Thérèse of Lisieux 268–9
Salisbury, Lord 27
Saturday Review 240
Scarborough, Cecilia Dunn-Gardner, Countess of 148
Schwerdt, Pam (gardener at Sissinghurst) 294
Scott, Alicia 6
Scott, Geoffrey
description of 151–2
affair with Vita 152, 153–7, 161, 167
marriage and divorce 152, 157
numerous affairs 152, 183
death of 198
as published author 278
The Architecture of Humanism 151
A Box of Paints: Poems 152, 157
The Portrait of Zélide 152, 153, 167
Scott, Lady Sybil Cutting 152, 153, 157
Scott, Mary 6
Scott, Sir John Murray ‘Seery’ (d.1912)
contestation of his will of 1–2, 5–8, 88, 99
friendship with Victoria Sackville-West 3, 5–6, 48, 53, 54, 69
description of 4
inheritance 4–5
relationship with Vita 5, 71–2, 77, 89
French servants 47
death of 81
re-imagined by Vita 223–4
Scott, Walter 37
Second Boer War 30–1, 44, 120
Second World War 263–4, 266, 271
Shakespeare Memorial National Theatre Fund 59
Shakespeare, William, The Merchant of Venice 55, 58
Shaw, George Bernard 278
Shaw-Stewart, Patrick 62, 63, 64
Shelley, Percy Bysshe, ‘Ode to the West Wind’ 191
Sherfield Court (Hampshire) 147, 149, 178
Sissinghurst Castle (Kent) 34
Vita’s writing desk at 41
fictionalised in Family History 58, 217
portrait of Vita in the Library 77
writing-room in the tower 81, 208, 209, 210, 211–13
Vita’s first view of 197–8
descriptions of 198, 202–3, 207
as Vita’s refuge and possession 198, 201, 205–18, 251, 285
bought by Vita and Harold 201–3
Castle Farmhouse 202, 207
royal connections 204–5
as joint venture for Harold and Vita 205
changes and restoration 207–8, 209, 211–13, 214
Library 207, 208, 209
Priest’s House 207–8, 228, 267
separate living areas 207–8
South Cottage 207, 213
staffing levels 207
visitors to 208
turret room 213
gardens at 212, 213, 214–15, 216, 218, 228, 235, 238, 246–7, 250–1, 254, 267, 273, 278, 279–80, 282, 284
Rose Garden 228
White Garden 228, 267
opened to paying visitors 251, 279, 289, 294
Sackville flag hoisted by Harold 251, 273
land added to 256–7
during the Second World War 263–4, 268, 269
articles on 266
visited by the Queen Mother 283, 284
Harold’s comment on 290
transferred to the National Trust 296
Sitwell, Edith 277, 278
Sitwell family 178
Sitwell, Osbert 103, 110
Sluie estate (Aberdeenshire) 71–2
Smallhythe (Kent) 56
Smith, F. E. 6
Smyth, Dame Ethyl 229
Snowdon, Anthony Armstrong-Jones, Lord 279
Society of Authors Poetry Committee 276–7, 282
Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings 228
Sophie, Princess of Prussia, Duchess of Sparta 28
the Souls 62
Spectator 215, 218, 220, 267, 275
Spender, Stephen 185
SS Varela 175
Staples, Mrs (cook at Sissinghurst) 208
Stopes, Marie, Married Love 130
Strachey, Lytton 278
Strang, William 123–4
Stratfield Saye (Hampshire) 147
Stratheden and Campbell, Hallyburton George Campbell, 3rd Baron 72
Struther, Jan, Mrs Miniver 265
Summer Fields school (Oxford) 174
Sumurun (yacht) 138
Swinburne, Algernon 108
Taylor, Valerie 184
Taylor, William (gardener at Sissinghurst) 263
Tehran 156–7, 170–1, 176–8, 182
Tennant, Stephen 212, 281
Tennyson-d’Eyncourt, Philippa 290
Terry, Ellen
lends Vita her Portia costume 55, 60
lives at Smallhythe 56
takes part in The Masque of Shakespeare at Knole 59
gives Vita a signed photograph of herself 90
Thackeray, William Makepeace
The Book of Snobs 14
The History of Henry Esmond 14
Vanity Fair 14
Thomas, Dylan 278
Thornton Manor (Wirral) 119–20
The Times 277
Times Book Club 215
Times Literary Supplement 276, 283
Tolstoy, Leo, Anna Karenina 136
Tonbridge County School for Girls (Kent) 220
Trefusis, Denys Robert
effect of Violet’s affair with Vita on 118, 119
correspondence with Violet 124–5
awarded the Military Cross 128
relationship with Violet 128, 131–2, 134
reaction to Violet and Vita’s relationship 131–2
destroys Vita’s letters to Violet 132
travels with Vita for showdown with Violet 134–5
travels with Harold to confront their wives 136
death of 270
Trefusis, Violet Keppel
relationship with Vita 32, 44, 45–8, 60, 64, 79, 88, 100–2, 112, 270–3
at Miss Woolff’s school 44
description of 47–8
gives Vita a ring 47
comment on duality 51
caught in a cloakroom with Patrick Shaw-Stewart 63
comment on Vita 75
at château Malet 78
attitude to Vita’s marriage 89
takes part in a Persian play at Knole 102
sham flirtations 103
as godmother to Ben Nicolson 111
full-blown affair with Vita 114–42
reaction to her mother’s affair with Edward VII 116
believes her life to have been a waste 117
flirtatious correspondence with Denys Trefusis 124–5
relationship with her mother 125
relationship with Denys 131–2, 136
friendship with Pat Dansey 137, 158–9
lives in a tower at St Loup de Naud 270, 273
rekindles her friendship with Vita and Harold 270–3
as published author 278
affair with Princess de Polignac 291–2
Broderie Anglaise 11, 45, 217
Van Dyck, Anthony 33, 39
Vass, Jack (gardener at Sissinghurst) 263, 273–4, 294
Vertova, Luisa 290
Victoria, Queen 18, 19
Vilmorin, Louise de, Madame de 273
Vogue 24, 84, 106, 178
Voigt, Margaret 219, 229, 278
Wallace, Lady Amélie-Julie-Charlotte Castelnau 4–5
Wallace, Sir Richard, 1st Baronet 4
Walpole, Hugh 122, 192, 278
Warren, Dorothy 157, 183
Watt, Alec 168
Waugh, Evelyn, Brideshead Revisited 25
Week-end Review 218
Weininger, Otto 76
Sex and Character 124
Wellesley, Dorothy Ashton ‘Dottie’
description of 146–7, 148
bickering and squabbling in Italy 147–8
marriage to Gerald Wellesley 147
affair with Vita 148–9, 175
at Knole 153
congratulates Vita on her poem ‘Bee-master’ 167
accompanies Vita to India and Egypt 174
Vita dedicates The Land to 178, 296
witnesses the Campbells’ breakup 184
disgruntled at Vita’s affair with Hilda Matheson 192
first view of Sissinghurst 197
friendship with Hilda 233
as an alcoholic 267
as published author 278
Poems 147
Wellesley, Lady Eileen 70, 146
Wellesley, Gerald, 7th Duke of Wellington
brief engagement to Violet 103
lends Vita and Violet some money 129
marries Dottie 146–7
bickering and squabbling in Italy 147–8
friendship with Nicolson 147
continued love for Dottie after their separation 149
White Lodge (Sussex) 174
William the Conqueror 27
Withyham (Kent) 67, 186–7
Women’s Club of America 226
Women’s Land Army Benevolent Fund 263
Woolf, Leonard
notices Vita’s habit of striding 151
as proprietor of the Hogarth Press 165
friendship with Vita 167
visits Vita in Berlin 193
comment on All Passion Spent 217
comment on Vita’s writing ability 221
comment on The Dark Island 241
comment on Sissinghurst 254
turns down Grand Canyon 261–2
Woolf, Virginia
comment on 2nd Baron Sackville 34
comments on Vita 69, 163, 165–6, 184, 203, 222, 260
comment on Long Barn 106
relationship with Vita 162–70, 184–5, 187–8, 198, 234, 283
comment on Nicolson 163
correspondence with Vita 163–4, 278
influence of Vita on 164
invites Vita to contribute to the Hogarth Press 167
health of 169
visits Long Barn 169–70
reaction to Vita departing for Tehran 174–5
comment on death of Lionel Sackville-West 187
comment on Hilda Matheson 193
visits Berlin 193
publishes Vita’s Collected Poems 201
comment on sales of Vita’s books 217–18
comment on Pepita 249
as published author 278
death of 267
Between the Acts 164
Orlando 43, 93, 121, 164–5, 169, 187–8, 193, 199, 200, 216, 219, 285, 291
To the Lighthouse 175, 233
Woolff, Helen 41–2
Worth, Charles Frederick 49
Wyatt, Sir Thomas 296
Yeats, W. B. 278