Published by Primary Source Microfilm
From Sissinghurst Castle, Kent; The Huntington Library, California; and other libraries
Previous title: Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson Manuscripts
At Sissinghurst Castle there lies a wealth of unpublished material -- entire plays and novels, early drafts of published works and many poems and fragments of verse that Vita Sackville-West held back partly because of their intimate context.
This collection, providing access to these hidden works for the first time, represents a breakthrough for scholars. It reveals fresh insights that have the potential to transform the study of this potent cultural figure.
Sackville-West was a prolific writer, widely read during her lifetime and critically acclaimed. More than 200 of her unpublished poems, plays, novels and short stories are included, as well as a collection of her husband's diaries, plays and wartime letters.
Her work reflects many of her complex relationships with both men and women, the most famous being with Virginia Woolf who celebrated her as "Orlando", the eponymous hero/heroine of her novel.
Among the many items of interest included in the collection are:
- A collection of juvenilia--poems and stories dealing with her school days, much of which is written in French
- Unpublished novels including City of Lily (1910), Behind the Mask (1910) and The Dark Days of Thermidor
- A collection of impassioned verse written to Mary Campbell (wife of poet Roy Campbell) between 1926 and 1930
- Original working manuscripts of many of her novels including Heritage and The Dragon in Shallow Water
- Working notes for The Edwardian and All Passion Spent
- Manuscripts of her famous nonfiction works Passenger to Tehran and her biography of Aphra Behn
- Gardening notes made while planning the splendid Sissinghurst Gardens
In addition, the collection contains a substantial amount of correspondence, including 24 letters from her husband, Harold Nicholson, to Clive Bell and a complete set of weekly letters written by Nicholson to his sons during the war. The collection also offers Nicholson's unpublished early diaries, describing his experiences in Greece while researching his book on Lord Byron as well as working notes for his books on Alfred Lord Tennyson and King George V.
A guide listing all poems by first line (many drafts are untitled), date if known or reference to first publication date is provided. A brief description is given of the novels, plays and stories, and the guide is indexed.
15 reels
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