I moderate a Goodreads group where we do a quarterly “author-in-residence,” which entails choosing two authors and then the participating members can read any book (or any number of books) by that author. One of the members chose Vita Sackville-West for the first quarter of 2022. Our other author is James Baldwin. My plan is to hold off on my Baldwin books until February, to coincide with Black History Month. So, I went ahead & requested and have now received the books I plan to read for the Vita Sackville-West portion.
I haven’t read anything by Vita Sackville-West previously, and my knowledge of her basically comes from her extremely unconventional life, and her membership in the Bloomsbury Group. I’m planning to read The Edwardians, since it is also on my Classics Club 2.0 list, and if I have the energy, the very slender All Passion Spent. I also checked out what I’m hoping will be an interesting non-fiction book, A House Full of Daughters, written by her granddaughter, Juliet Nicholson, who writes non-fiction. In 2018, I read her The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm, which was published in 2006, and I enjoyed it.
Ah, lovely Vita! I grew up near to Knole and Sissinghurst and have stood in her writing room in the tower at Sissinghurst a good few times. I would recommend Adam Nicolson’s (her grandson) Sissinghurst as well, although you may not be able to get it, and Nigel’s bio of Vita and Harold, although that’s then a LOT to read, I know. All Passion Spent is a real favourite of mine. Oh, how about Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, which is based loosely on Vita? I’ll look forward to reading about you exploring her, anyway.
I read Orlando last year – very pretty words, very weird book! I did enjoy it, but I didn’t quite get it.
I have three months to explore Vita, along my James Baldwin deep-dive, so it’s not completely beyond the realm of possibility that I might pick up a biography. I love reading about the Bloomsbury Group!
I didn’t know Juliet Nicholson was her granddaughter! I also own The Perfect Summer, I’ve been meaning to read it forever!
I have only read The Edwardians which I like but found rather slow-going. I also own All Passion Spent so I hope that I have better luck with it.
I really liked The Perfect Summer.
Can you imagine being Vita Sackville-West’s granddaughter? Talk about pressure, lol!