Vita Sackville-West (March 9, 1892 - June 2, 1962) was an English writer and landscape gardener. She helped plan her own gardens in Sissinghurst, Kent which provide the backdrop to Sissinghurst Castle.
She was born Vita (Latin for life) Victoria Mary Sackville West at Knole House in Kent, the daughter of Lionel, the 3rd Lord Sackville. In 1913, she married Harold Nicolson, a diplomat, journalist, broadcaster, member of Parliament and author of biographies and novels. Both Vita and her husband were bisexual. Her own most famous affair was with Violet Trefusis. Lesser known during her lifetime was an affair with Virginia Woolf. Her long narrative poem, The Land, won the Hawthornden prize in 1927. She was the inspiration for the character of Orlando in the novel of the same name by Woolf.
Sissinghurst is now owned by the National Trust. It is the most visited garden in England.
Poetry
Novels Other works- Knole and the Sackvilles (1922)
