Violet Trefusis

A remarkable woman in her own right and a highly gifted writer, Violet Trefusis is especially remembered for her scandalous affair with Vita Sackville-West, first disclosed in Portrait of a Marriage. After their abortive flight from their husbands in 1920, Vita returned to England and her writing, and Violet became an expatriate, immersing herself in international society and the world of art. This intriguing biography traces her life from a romantic childhood-when her mother, Alice Keppel, was the mistress of King Edward VII-to her death in Florence in 1972. A supplement of correspondence between Violet and Vita Sackville-West provides further insights into their relationship. The letters from Violet reveal, as nowhere else in her writing, the depth of her feelings for Vita. Those from Vita, written years later, attest that their love for one another never really ended.

A remarkable woman in her own right and a highly gifted writer, Violet Trefusis is especially remembered for her scandalous affair with Vita Sackville-West, first disclosed in Portrait of a Marriage. After their abortive flight from their husbands in 1920, Vita returned to England and her writing, and Violet became an expatriate, immersing herself in international society and the world of art. This intriguing biography traces her life from a romantic childhood-when her mother, Alice Keppel, was the mistress of King Edward VII-to her death in Florence in 1972. A supplement of correspondence between Violet and Vita Sackville-West provides further insights into their relationship. The letters from Violet reveal, as nowhere else in her writing, the depth of her feelings for Vita. Those from Vita, written years later, attest that their love for one another never really ended.