Behind the Mask: The Life of Vita Sackville-West

by Matthew Dennison

A dazzling new biography of Vita Sackville-West, the 20th century aristocrat, literary celebrity, devoted wife, famous lover of Virginia Woolf, recluse, and iconoclast who defied categorization.In this stunning new biography of Vita Sackville-West, Matthew Dennison's Behind the Mask traces the triumph and contradictions of Vita's extraordinary life. His narrative charts a fascinating course from Vita's lonely childhood at Knole, through her affectionate but ‘open' marriage to Harold Nicolson (during which both husband and wife energetically pursued homosexual affairs, Vita most famously with Virginia Woolf), and through Vita's literary successes and disappointments, to the famous gardens the couple created at Sissinghurst. The book tells how, from her privileged world of the aristocracy, Sackville-West brought her penchant for costume, play-acting and rebellion to the artistic vanguard of modern Britain. Dennison is the acclaimed author of many books including a biography of Queen Victoria. Here, in the first biography to be written of Vita for thirty years, he reveals the whole story and gets behind ‘the beautiful mask' of Vita's public achievements to reveal an often troubled persona which heroically resisted compromise on every level. Drawing on wideranging sources and the extensive letters that sustained her marriage, this is a compelling story of love, loss and jealousy, of high-life and low points, of binding affection and illicit passion – a portrait of an extraordinary, 20th-century life.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, Queer, LGBT, British Literature

401 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 9, 2014

About the author

Matthew Dennison is the author of five critically acclaimed works of non-fiction, including Behind the Mask: The Life of Vita Sackville-West, a Book of the Year in The Times, Spectator, Independent and Observer. He is a contributor to Country Life and lives in the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Vita's genealogy and early life interesting. However, I would have rather read more about her writing and gardening at Sisinghurst than a blow by blow description of every sexual conquest she ever made. OK, the fact that she and Virginia Woolf were lovers was juicy, but there was hardly any mention of their time together, or how Woolf influenced her work.
Vita Sackville-West was a fascinating person and led such an interesting life that I think this book would have worked better as a historical novel. The author could have added all the sex he wanted and I wouldn't have been offended by it.
She was flamboyant, yet a very private person and I felt I was prying too much into Vita and her family's personal life while reading parts of this book.

[Tania · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now, I do realise that Vita Sackville-West had a pretty interesting love life to say the least, however, I think she also had a pretty interesting writing career and garden; I would have liked the book to be at least as much about these as her sexual exploits; in fact, more about them. I think I need to find another biography which explores these aspects of her life. I also found the writing rather dull.

[Lizzy]

Dilemma: do I pay £22.50 for the hardcover of Matthew Dennison's new biography of Vita, or wait until next August for the paperback? Bearing in mind I don't buy hardcovers if I can help it. But then it is Vita-related. And can I really torture myself by waiting 13 months?

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a win from Goodreads Giveaway. It is a very interesting story about a woman who was just a little bit before her time. She set her on path and lived the way she wanted. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good biography.

[Douglas Adamson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The preface of Behind the Mask quotes Vita Sackville-West as someone who loved: 'books and flowers and poetry and travel and trees and dragons and the winds and the sea and generous hearts and spacious ideals and little children.' The author also added that she was said to love, 'literature, and peace, and a secluded life.' What was missing in this description of herself was that Vita was a selfish lesbian whose whims and affairs knew no bounds. Today she would be known as 'Bi' as she had two sons with her husband Harold Nicholson, who also happened to be gay. Strange as their relationship was, it lasted a lifetime.
She certainly was a self-obsessed dreamer who embarked upon dangerous liaisons with abandon; it was as if being a rich aristocrat, poet and world traveler excused her of the normal social conventions of the day. She did as she pleased, however hurtful, leaving others to pick up the pieces. Matthew Dennison's detailed portrait of this landmark figure of the Bloomsbury set draws heavily on her poetry and books from which he extracts many biographical analogies that illuminate the real Vita. One cannot fathom from the narrative whether she was any good as a writer of either poetry or prose or if her connections with the good and the great of the period coupled with her striking looks afforded Vita an exaggerated status - she had an affair with Virginia Woolf among other notaries of the period.
I was left wondering if this portrait of a spoiled, rich woman who could indulge her passions for literature, travel and her sexual proclivities was someone we should really be bothered about? One thing is for certain her legacy of the magnificent Sissinghurst gardens are a tribute to her vision and creativity, although puzzlingly, they receive scant attention in this biography.

[Bronwyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book through Goodreads in exchange for a review.

This book was fine. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really like it either. The book is broken up into long parts, each named after one of Vita’s works or a work she inspired. Some of the part titles worked better than others for me. Mostly I think they were picked because they sounded good for that segment, not because that segment really had anything to do with that work.

The book starts with a court case involving Vita’s mother, which happened when Vita was around 20. After that we go back to the beginning of Vita’s life and from there it’s mostly a linear biography. The beginning of the book felt weird to me, like the author was trying to write like one of the early 20th-c. authors he would mention later on. It was all a bit confusing for the first segment or so. After that the book got much more readable. At this point though, the author got too hung up in Vita’s relationships. I understand that relationships make up a large part of someone’s life, but it seemed like the relationships took up the majority of the focus of the book. Vita’s works were mentioned really only when they were influenced by the relationships. Surely there was more to her life than all these affairs?

I got bogged down with reading this again towards the end (the middle was definitely the most readable to me), though I couldn’t tell you why at this point. I’m just glad to have finished it. In the future I would like to read a more standard biography of Vita, as I feel like I still don’t know much about her at all.

[Alena · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't often seek out reviews while reading something, but this puzzled me so i went and looked and found this, which says things far better than I ever could: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014...

Another thing that bothered me was the use of a multitude of quotes which stopped the reading flow immensely. I often have that problem, though. Seamless integration of quotes is a rare skill.

What this book did get me to do was get out my paperback of letters from Vita to Virginia Woolf. I'm enjoying that all over again.

[Hermien · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a slow start but an informative read in the end.

[Hannah H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read alongside a book of her letters to Virginia Woolf. Wild stuff.

[Jane Routley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A marvellous read.
I've had this in my bookshelf for ages and in an attempt to star weeding my bookshelfs I finally read it. Thing is I seems to have got over my life long fascination with Bio's of the Bloomsbury group and now just find them a bit self indulgent. The ambivalence about Vita is especially strong. And yet it was a terrific biography and Dennison assessed Vita as a writer not just as a famous 1920's lesbian and that is a great step forward. Lots of lovely scandal but Vita's insensitive priviledge, and especially her love life upset me, for some reason. It all seemed to be just heightened emotion for emotions sake rather than real love for another.
The treament of shellshocked Denis Trefussis by her and her lover Violet I found somehow very upsetting to read about.
But she did design a surpassingly beautiful garden at Sissinghurst.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been very intrigued by the life and loves of Vita Sackville West. Ever since finding a book of love letters sent to her by Violet Trefusis in a second hand book store in Gloucester in the early 90s. I have wondered what her allure was, she seemed to bewitch all those whom she met, both male and female. Looking at the wonderful pictures included in the book, she certainly wasn’t really a stunner in a traditional sense but certainly did have an androgynous quality to her. You can see how Virginia Woolf imagined her as ‘Orlando’ the male and female hero or heroine of that wonderful book. And wow what a love letter to receive, not only to Vita but also to her ancestral home. A lot has been made of how saddened Vita was to lose her beloved Knowle, due to male succession. This book gets to the core of why she was hit so hard. The house in fact became a childhood friend to her, she would lose herself for hours within its rooms and the costumes and paintings of her ancestors were her playmates and inspirations for her literature later in life.

I didn’t know anything really about her parents prior to reading the book. Her mother was her father’s cousin but from Italy and a very fiery controlling individual, who controlled or at least tried to control Vita, yet seemed to take her daughter’s love life in her stride. However, she did prefer it when her daughter had marital affairs with men rather than women, throw into the pot the fact that Vita’s husband was himself bisexual and you certainly have an interesting book! The fact they went on the radio to discuss the joys of marriage is hilarious!

Vita doesn’t come across as a very likeable lady; in fact she wrecks the lives of those she meets throughout her own live. Mathew really delves into what made her thus, how the impact of her parents’ relationship and personalities permeated into her own life.

I really enjoyed Mathew’s book, it was a joy to read not just due to the fascinating subject matter but also as it was so very well written and even if you know nothing of the subject matter you would thoroughly enjoy the book! I highly recommend it, and will be seeking out his other works in the future.
Get your copy here

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What begins as an interesting look at the author,turns into a tell-all about her sexual conquests. Although her surroundings are beautiful, and I love the era in which she lived, I quickly tired of reading about her sex life, cheating, and poor parenting skills.

[Shuggy L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book talks about Vita's life as a member of the British aristocracy in pre-war Edwardian society.

Focuses on her interest in authorship and the inspiration for her story lines which originated in her romantic relationships with both men and women.

Also, recounts her property acquisitions and gardening and, less encouragingly, her narrow social and class perspectives.

Vita was courted by wealthy men, including Lord Granby, before her marriage to a diplomat, Harold Nicholson. Harold was also a writer.

Female friends included fellow writers Virginia Woolf and Violet Trefusis. Vita inspired Virginia Woolf's book Orlando.

Vita also inspired Virginia Woolf's book, To The Lighthouse, particularly in passages where there is a longing for someone who is absent.

Vita (1892-1962) grew up at Knole, a large country house inherited by her father, Lionel Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville (1867-1928).

Vita has a lovely childhood there, if somewhat lonely. Sadly though, the physical house plays a outsized role in Vita's life.

Such that her attachment to patriarchal property and birth rights leads to both contradictions (she can't inherit) and a lack of altruistic feelings.

As such, she lacks the vision to see a more progressive future of equal opportunity:

"She does not question the leading social and political position of the aristocracy to which she belonged." Wikipedia.

Similarly, a maternal uncle's claim on the house had led to a lawsuit, publicity and ill-feeling among family members.

Again, the outcome was not good for him. He was called Ernest Henri Jean Baptiste Sackville-West (Victoria's brother).

Vita and Harold Nicholson (1886-1968) had two children, Benedict (1914-1978), art historian, and Nigel (1917-2004), writer. Another son had been stillborn in 1915.

The couple eventually agreed to an open marriage; they were both agreeable to being unfaithful to each other.

Although this arrangement is somewhat disruptive to family life. Children would end up on holiday with caregivers.

Partners would misunderstand each other and become emotionally attached without reciprocation.

"…obsession, physical rhapsody, letters, concealment, a holiday abroad, friendship after the damping of the flames…"

Additionally, smoking and sexual promiscuity eventually creates some significant health problems for the pair.

On the positive side, Vita and her husband both enjoyed gardening as a hobby and created a famous garden at their house called Sissinghurst Castle, Cranbook Kent.

Unsurprisingly, Vita was pleased about the house having been owned by ancestors in the past.

Their other properties were 182 Ebury Street, Belgravia, and Long Barn in Kent (1915-1930).

Long Barn had been renovated (Edwin Lutyens) and ideas from that garden were a forerunner for the couples gardening work at Sissinghurst Castle.

The mask of the title refers to the way Vita shuns conventional behavioral expectations of her time.

Notes
...
1.
Vita:"denied most emphatically that the loss of a woman’s career could be balanced by motherhood"

...
2.
George Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr, by Lady Elizabeth, daughter of John Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset had six sons.

In 1843, after the death of George's kinsman (Charles), Sackville estates had passed to the West family through Elizabeth.

Estates included the house called Knole, in Kent.

"Knole had been given to Thomas Sackville by Elizabeth I, in the sixteenth century." Wikipedia.

1.
George's third son, Mortimer (1820-1888), became the Baron of Sackville in 1876.

2.
On Mortimer's death, the barony passed to George's fourth son, Lionel Sackville-West (1827-1908).

Lionel had fathered seven children with a married woman called Pepita (Spanish dancer) so Lionel's children were not eligible for the barony, one of whom is Victoria (1862-1936), Vita's mother.

3.
So the barony passed to a descendant of the sixth son of George (William Edward), first Lionel (1867-1928), Vita's father (who married his cousin, Victoria (1862-1936), Vita's mother above.

4.
Then the barony passed to Lionel's brother, Charles (1870-1962), also a son of William Edward:

“Knoles passed to Vita’s Uncle Charlie (1870-1962) and his American wife, Anne, whom Vita loathed.”

5.
Subsequently the barony passed to Edward Charles (1901-1965), son of the Uncle Charles (1870-1962) above. He was a music critic and lived at Long Crichel House.

6.
Then the barony passed to Lionel Bertrand (1913-2004), son of Bertrand Sackville West = Eva. Lionel Bertrand (1913-2004) was the nephew of Edward Charles.

7.
Robert Bertrand b. 1958, son of Hugh Rosslyn Inigo Sackville-West and Bridget Eleanor Cunliffe.

He is married to Margot MacAndrew. He is the Lionel Bertrand's nephew.

Currently, Robert Bertrand is the guardian of Knole House.

Robert Bertrand's children are: Freya b. 1998, Arthur b. 2000 (heir), Edie b. 2002
...

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind the Mask: The Life of Vita Sackville-West by Matthew Dennison is a well-researched biography the English writer, poet, gardener, and traveller. Dennison is the author of five works of nonfiction. He read English at Christ Church, Oxford, as Douglas Jerrold Scholar, and afterwards the History of Decorative Arts at the University of Glasgow. He is a journalist and regular contributor to a range of publications, including Country Life, The Spectator and Telegraph Magazine; he contributed to ‘Queen Victoria’s Children’ and ‘Royal Cousins at War’ for BBC 2 and ‘The Queen’s Longest Reign’ for BBC1.

I kind of stumbled across Vita Sackville-West while reading Virginia Woolf's diaries and letters. Since then I have read Poems of East and West, Passenger to Teheran, and a few novels. Recently I ordered Portrait of a Marriage written by her son, Nigel Nicholson, which piqued my interest. Behind the Mask is the first biography (or biographical information) I have read that has not been written by a family member or lover, but it does use plenty of first-hand source material.

Vita was a lonely and grubby tomboy growing up and her first close relations were with girls. Her parents were distant and her mother actually ran out. Victoria, Vita's mother, did not enjoy childbirth and refused to have another child. Some of the pain lingered on when she saw her child. Vita fell in love with the Sackville estate which was bittersweet. As a woman, Vita knew she would not inherit the estate. She grew up knowing that the estate was a beautiful dying dream for her.

Vita had many same-sex relationships, but at the time, there was no lesbianism in the social constructs of Britain. Male homosexuality was known and also a crime. Interestingly Vita married Harold Nichols, a homosexual or at least a man with homosexual needs. The two did have a platonic love and were able to hide their affairs behind the marriage. When it came to relationships, Vita was a rock star. Women fell totally in love with her and she was the one who remained cooler. Virginia Woolf was the lone exception.

Behind the Mask also covers the two important aspects of Vita's life writing and later gardening. Vita wrote about what she knew, her life. Direct connections between her life and her writing are brought out in the book. Later in life, she took up gardening at her new estate, Sissinghurst Castle which is part of the National Trust.

Behind the Mask is a detailed look into the personal and professional life of Vita Sackville-West. Reading this book has opened up new connections to writers. Violet Trefusis, a lover of Vita's, wrote Broderie Anglaise and was the stunning Russian Princess Sasha in Woolf's Orlando. This biography helped clarify Orlando as well as Vita's own writing. Also, British writer Ronald Firband satirized Vita in his 1923 novella The Flower Beneath the Foot. Vita is Victoria Gellibore Frinton, the Honourable Mrs. Chillywater. Behind the Mask moves Vita Sackville-West from the footnotes of Virginia Woolf to the forefront. An interesting woman who lead an interesting life redefining marriage, love, and life in a conservative time.


(Read for my own benefit and not for review)

[Mike Cuthbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking a break from my usual diet of Nordic Noir, this was a startling change. Always curious about this quaint English woman and her escapades, I was still surprised by the extent of her libidinous exercises in the early part of this century. Sackville-West was a talented writer who wrote furiously and in an almost constant stream for many years. She took a break following the transfer of her beloved home, Knole, upon the death of her father, she recovered and continued writing and gardening to the end of her life. Her distraction was primarily caused by a lifetime resentment of the laws of primogeniture which did not allow for women to inherit their parents’ property. She wrote 13 novels and more than a dozen volumes of poetry, numerous columns on various topics for “The Observer,” and columns on her gardening, especially at her final home, Sissinghurst. The transition from writer to a gardener is perhaps the most puzzling of her many changes throughout her adventurous life. As a product of the highest upper class in British society, (her husband eventually was knighted) she lived the most peculiar sex life. Her husband, Harold Nicolson, was gay and they worked out a lifestyle that seems out of the American 60s and 70s: they were each free to indulge their sexual appetites with others and they both did. Vita’s most famous alliance was with author Virginia Woolf but there were so many others that reading this biography often seems like a Kinsey-ish case study of sexuality. Vita had one heterosexual adventure, the rest were with women, but it seems that at every party and engagement she and Harold went to, she would meet someone to fall in love with. Her affair with Woolf led to her using the Hogarth Press, owned by Woolf and her husband and her works for them helped them stay afloat as a publishing house. The two allegedly had sex only twice and Woolf proclaimed that Vita’s insatiable appetite for sex put her off, but Vita did not slack until late in her life. Sackville-West was perhaps most notable as the model for Woolf’s famous “Orlando,” a character in her novel of the same name who keeps changing sex. What is stunning to realize is that Vita was a much more popular writer than her mentor, Woolf, and outsold her by considerable numbers during the lifetime of both writers. The pictures of the Edwardian times of Sackville-West and her lovers are pictures of incredible wealth and expensive tastes and habits. It was not at all unusual for the Nicolsons to drop everything and head for Egypt or Africa or France—Harold was a diplomat for most of his working life—and their diet was always rich and the wine plentiful. Reading her life is often confusing, not the fault of the author but of Vita’s extraordinary appetites and emotions. It is almost sad to see her give up her sexual life for gardening, but perhaps it was inevitable. Striking physically for most of her life, the ebbtide of her libido followed the aging of her exterior, simply making her less desirable than she once was. I enjoyed reading this lively account of her life and marvel that she was able to write as much as she did for as long as she did, given all the affairs in which she most enthusiastically participated!

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vita is vivacious and wealthy, creatively inclined and stubborn; her life conveys it as such. Dennison shapes her character with such clarity that finishing the book and reading about her death was almost painful, especially in the decline leading up to it. Starting out, I was mostly interested in getting more context in the relationship between Vita and Violet after reading a collection of Violet's letters, but gained so much more than I expected. It's more than welcoming to read about a lesbian who was open enough with her relationships a hundred years ago that we still have detailed record of it today. Although Dennison's writing was blissfully free of any kind of homophobia, I still wonder if the book would've come out any differently through the eyes of a female author. Still, this is by far one of the most enjoyable NF books I've read.

[Elaine Kozak · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is very little white space in this book. The paragraphs are long and dense and clotted with quotations from Vita Sackville-West's books, an attempt by the author to have the writer reveal herself through the words of her characters as he grapples with the story of this complex woman. He also, rather tediously, circles around a small number of themes again and again in trying to explain her life.

Not much to admire in this over-privileged, sexually-incontinent, callous snob. Not having read any of her works I have no sense of the quality of her writing. Does it redeem her? She doesn't appear to have achieved the same stature as some of her contemporaries.

Apart from the subject, the book is a fascinating snapshot of a particular class during a particular time. Who knew such licentiousness was tolerated then? But I am no doubt just naive...

[Evie · Rating 1 out of 5]

After thirty years without a new biography on the subject of 'Orlando', one of the most famous bio(mytho)graphies ever written, I'm sure the literary world was clamouring for this rambling mess of underwrought psychological insights and plodding recitations of Vita Sackville-West's affairs. All of Dennison's points are either true of everybody (eg. the public vs the private mask) or already stated outright by Sackville-West in her diaries and letters (eg. her frustration at being unable to inherit Knole as a woman). Dennison's penchant for gutting random lines from her poetry and novels, and clunkily bolting them on to his points with all the grace of a GCSE English essay does not make this a literary biography.

Apparently written for an audience who care enough to read a biography about Sackville-West, but who emphatically do not care about Virginia Woolf or her suicide, Dennison's desire to reclaim Sackville-West from being reduced to prurient accounts of her sexuality amounts to nothing more than a distinct lack of empathy, or even base consideration, for the difficulties of any lesbian experience in the early 20th century. That Dennison makes her sex life boring does not make his focus on it any less voyeuristic. One might well ask whether the biographical details of anybody's life can ever be exhausted, but this book really did feel pointless.

[Justyna M · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is written very well but I feel it should be titled "Behind the Mask: The Sex Life of Vita..", the author's emphasis is all the time on Vita's sex affairs, the novels she writes, in the meantime, are mentioned in a few sentences in between another of her sexual contests; I would also love to find out more about her as a mother, even if it was, it seems, a very absent mother, and the impact on her sons of her being so absorbed, it seems from the biography, in her love affairs, that there was no time for her sons in her life-after a brief mention- oh yes, one of her sons had a nervous breakdown- whoops- straight back to a detailed description of her new, 23th at this stage, love contest.

[Iñaki Tofiño · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely, my kind of book: well researched and well written. Plenty of sources amalgamated to create a nice text which follows Vita's life using her works as anchor and illustration.
It might not be the best biography to approach Vita Sackville-West for the first time, but if you are familiar with the character it is worth reading.

[Sarah W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other than her affair with Virginia Woolf, I knew little about Vita Sackville-West, but I am intrigued by her life and how she lived in many ways out of step with her own era. I definitely need to pick up one of her books at some point and I appreciated learning more about this fascinating woman.

[Katrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new book on Vita Sackville-West, with a different focus than previous ones; quite interesting to get to know more facts, more insights into her life. But in the end it makes her more dislikeable ... which probably means it paints a rather realistic picture of her!

[Elsbeth Kwant]

It's nice to see another biography of Vita Sackville-West, 'last daughter of Knole', and extremely self-conscious about it. Her life and loves are unusual and strong. It is hard to experience her magnetism, without her presence. I must say I prefer Victoria Glendinnings biography.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account of Vita and her lovers,family,life and writing.

[penelope Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read,

[Margery Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

personally I would have liked more on the gardens and estates.

[Shona Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rate this 4 * for interest but actually I found this a really hard book to read.

[Nicola Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've just finished this book and am trying to form an opinion. It is hard to separate the book from its subject - if that makes sense. For instance at times this was an exhausting read. I brought it to bed the other night, intending to read for an hour at least, but when Vita embarked on yet another love affair on top of the other four dangling in the shadows, I couldn't summon the energy to keep going ... unlike her good self.

There was an awful lot about sex and relationships but then this topic did actually dominate her life for thirty years or so. But, still ...

I found myself wondering about other things, like how was her relationship with her father after her parents separated. How many hours a night did she sleep? (believe me, you will ask yourself this when you are knee-deep in emotional and sexual turmoil!) I also expected a bigger response to Virginia Woolf's suicide.

I didn't like her for most of the book but then found myself admiring her utter lack of ego as a writer. My God but she wrote a lot. I was in awe of her work ethic.

And I suppose that things are bound to slow down as she reaches late middle age and prefers gardening and seclusion to anything else. Her life meandered to a close and I didn't experience any regret about her death. Normally, when I am reading an enjoyable biography, I feel a little sad at the 'end' but it didn't happen with this book - perhaps that's because I felt she had mostly died pages and pages earlier. The story of her life runs out of steam and it's not fair to knock the book for this, as she did become a bit of a hermit once she settled into Sissinghurst.

I would have preferred a lot more photographs. It was frustrating to read of photographs in the text but not have them to look at.

I think I might find a second biography about her. I just felt that something was missing from this one.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won a copy of Behind the Mask: The Life of Vita Sackville-West from a firstreads giveaway. Before this book, I wasn't very familiar with Vita Sackvile-West, or her writing and poetry. That's not too surprising, since when I look her up in my library's catalog, there are a couple of biographies, some books about her garden at Sissinghurst, Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando, and a single copy of Vita's All Passion Spent--so not too much for a pretty prolific writer.

Vita's story is one of an English lady raised in a storied estate that she loved, but would never be allowed to inherit. Her privileged existence is punctuated by numerous novels and affairs. Most famously, Vita is infatuated and romantically linked with Virginia Woolf. However, and Behind the Mask seems to agree, that Woolf was head and shoulders above Vita as an author.

Even though this book is non-fiction, it reads as a bit of escapism. Vita's life of privilege and wealth (even when she is strapped for money, it is because she and her husband have purchased more land, or are paying expensive tuition for a child). Matthew Dennison's take on Vita's gender-bending both at masquerade parties in her youth, and in her proxies within her novels (and of course, as "Orlando" in Woolf's novel) is interesting and he pursues this motif throughout the entirety of his biography.

I think I would have been more interested if I knew a bit more about Vita Sackville-West going in. I was mostly interested because if her relationship with Virginia Woolf, because Woolf is one of my favorite authors. Still, if you're interested, this is a thoughtful and thorough approach to the life of Vita Sackville-West making great use of her diaries, correspondence, and novels.

[Gayle Slagle]

Behind the Mask, the Life of Vita Sackville-West by Matthew Dennison is an excellent biography of the 20th century author who lead a most interesting life. While married to fellow author and diplomat Harold Nicolson, and the mother of two sons, she engaged in numerous homosexual liaisons, including Virginia Woolf. She was a woman with charm and charisma who attracted numerous suitors of both sexes. The book is well researched and uses quotes from Vita's writings as well as the writings or those with whom she came in contact. I found the story of Harold and Vita very interesting; the fact that both had numerous homosexual affairs, but remained married and deeply in love until Vita's death makes it a true love story. Vita was a woman much ahead of her time in many ways; however she had to keep secret her many lesbian loves because of the constraints of the time period. Vita's life points out the many constraints that existed during her lifetime. The fact that she could not inherit her beloved childhood home because she was female, along with the fact that she basically had to hide her homosexuality makes the reader realize that even though society is not where it should be, we have come a long way. Dennison has done an outstanding job of painting a written portrait of a most intriguing woman.