V. Sacksville-West: A critical biography

by Michael Stevens

Octavo, 1973, PP.135

136 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy reading about a literary figure of whom I had previously known little to nothing. In the case of Vita Sackville-West, all I knew was she had been an extremely close friend of Virginia Woolf and one of the models for the central charater in Mrs. Woolf's intriguing novel, "Orlando".
I had no idea Vita Sackville-West was a serious, prolific author, having written numerous books: novels, poetry, and biography. This book provided a good general introduction to both the person and the work of Vita Sackville-West. It is the kind of book that generates the spark of interest that makes one want to find and read Sackville-West's work.

[Miss Lemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vita a complicated person. The author takes pains to describe how her upbringing by eccentric parents and odd grandparents made her what she was. Not especially happy life but an interesting study in psychology. Only the first 1/3 of the book is worth getting through - lots of excerpts from Vita plus family and friends diaries but the rest is a painful drive through the style and content of her poetry and novels. Excruciating to make a study of every nuance of her words....so I stopped. But the three stars are for the early bits - worth reading those.