Book description
‘He found himself in such a position that he no longer dared to
remove his spectacles at all; he could not face a return to the
daylight mood; realism was no longer for him.’
First published in 1924 and 1922 respectively, these exquisitely
written novellas confirm Vita Sackville-West’s gifts as both stylist and
observer of her very particular world.
Seducers in Ecuador
, an amusing and ironic tale of the nature of truth and fantasy, is the
story of Arthur Lomax, every bit the English gentleman in his white
ducks and solar topee, enjoying the pleasures of an Egyptian cruise. But
with the addition of a pair of blue spectacles to the outfit, Lomax’s
entire world changes - to alarming, deadly effect.
Peregrine Chase, the subject of The Heir,
is on first acquaintance a less colourful figure, the manager of a
Wolverhampton insurance company. But when he inherits a moated Tudor
house called Blackboys his resistance to change dissolves in the face of
its beauty. Under the spell of house and garden, Peregrine’s life - and
heart - are transformed.
The Hon. Lady Nicolson, Vita Sackville-West, was an English poet,
novelist and gardener. She was famous for her exuberant aristocratic
life, her strong marriage to Harold Nicolson, her passionate
relationships with women and her gardens at Sissinghurst Castle, Kent.
Sackville-West's long narrative poem, The Land, won the Hawthornden
Prize in 1927, and her Collected Poems won the prize again in 1933. Her
best-known novels are The Edwardians (1930) and All Passion Spent
(1931). Both titles were reissued alongside her earlier novel, Challenge
(1923), by Virago in Spring 2011.
In 1946 Sackville-West was made a Companion of Honour for her services
to literature. The following year she began a weekly column in the
Observer called In your Garden. In 1948 she became a founder member of
the National Trust's garden committee.
Sissinghurst Castle is now owned by the National Trust and the garden
Vita Sackville-West created there is open to the public. It is one of
the most visited gardens in England.
