Edward Sackville-West
Edward Sackville-West (1901-1965) was a British novelist and music critic, known for his connections to the literary and cultural circles of early 20th-century England. Born in London and raised in the family's ancestral home of Knole, Sackville-West displayed musical talent from an early age, eventually attending Eton College and later Christ Church, Oxford, where he mingled with prominent figures such as Virginia Woolf and Lady Ottoline Morrell. His literary work often explored themes of wealth and intellectualism, with notable novels including "Piano Quintet" and "Simpson: A Life," the latter praised for its sensitive character portrayal. A member of the Bloomsbury Group, he also translated works by Rainer Maria Rilke and received critical acclaim for his biography of Thomas de Quincey. Sackville-West was openly gay and is believed to have had relationships with figures like composer Benjamin Britten. In 1949, he converted to Roman Catholicism, and later inherited the title of Baron Sackville. His works continue to provide insight into the social dynamics of his time, reflecting both his personal experiences and the broader cultural milieu.
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Edward Sackville-West
- Born: November 13, 1901
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: July 4, 1965
- Place of death: Clogheen, Ireland
Biography
Edward Sackville-West was born on November 13, 1901, in London, the son of Major Charles John Sackville-West and Maud Cecilia Bell Sackville-West. His father, a member of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, was a professional soldier who had served in India and South Africa. Sackville-West spent much time in his childhood at the family’s ancestral home, Knole, in Sevenoaks, Kent, England. The house would later serve as a setting for some of his novels.
Sackville-West showed an early talent for music and could play classical works by ear before he could read. He attended South Lodge Preparatory School in Enfield, Middlesex, and then went on to Eton College, where he won the Eton music prize in 1918. He enrolled at Christ Church, Oxford University, and during his college years met Virginia Woolf, Lady Ottoline Morrell, and others who would soon be central to literary circles in London. He also met Jack McDougal, with whom biographers believe he had a homosexual relationship. This relationship provided material for a later novel, The Ruin: A Gothic Novel (1926). Sackville- West never married and evidence suggests that he was gay. He is believed to have had a relationship with composer Benjamin Britten.
Sackville-West worked primarily as a music critic, and in the 1940’s he reviewed gramophone recordings. He also wrote novels set in the wealthy, intellectual milieu in which he lived; his characters include professional musicians. His first published novel, Piano Quintet (1925), is divided into movements rather than chapters, drawing on a formal element of music. Simpson: A Life (1931), the Sackville-West novel that has spent the most years in print, is about a nanny completely devoted to her charges. The character was probably based on Sackville-West’s own childhood nanny. Critics praised the novel for its sensitive portrayal of the character.
Sackville-West was a minor figure in the Bloomsbury Group, a London-based group of avant-garde authors and artists. Along with his cousin Vita Sackville-West, he translated poems by Rainer Maria Rilke. Sackville-West appears as the character Uncle Davey in Nancy Mitford’s 1960 novel Don’t Tell Alfred. He also wrote about literature; in 1936 he was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for A Flame in Sunlight: The Life and Work of Thomas de Quincey. Sackville- West converted to Roman Catholicism in 1949.
In 1955, he bought Cooleville House in Clogheen, Ireland. In 1962, he became the fifth Baron Sackville upon his father’s death. He inherited Knole but spent little time there, as it had become a tourist attraction some years earlier, with only a section set aside for family use. Sackville-West died in Clogheen on July 4, 1965. He holds a place in literary history for the vision his novels offer of life in his social milieu in the first half of the twentieth century and for his associations with other cultural figures of the time.