'You cannot find peace by avoiding life' Virginia Woolf An intimate portrait of Virginia, the best-known and most influential Bloomsbury author of them all - 'All you need to know about the modernist, feminist icon' TIME OUT 'A gem' SUNDAY TIMES 'As a short introduction to Virginia Woolf this deceptively brief book could hardly be bettered and achieves high status instantly as a significant work of reference in its own right' THE TIMES Virginia Woolf was undoubtedly one of the literary giants of the twentieth century. She was a central figure in the Bloomsbury Group, and her writings were works of astonishing originality. Nigel Nicolson is the son of Vita Sackville-West, who was Virginia Woolf's most intimate friend, and for a short time her lover. He spent many days in her company and he has threaded his recollections of her throughout this unique narrative of her life.

The classic story of the relationship between Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson, and a unique portrait of the Bloomsbury Group. 'Vita and Harold have become part of our literature' OBSERVER The marriage of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson was one of the most controversial relationships of the 20th century. This selection of letters, many of which have never been published, skilfully woven together by their son, Nigel Nicolson, gives dramatic new insight into their fascinating lives. Set within a framework of their son's highly personal memories, the story of this most extraordinary of marriages comes full circle - from the announcement of their engagement in 1912, through the storm days of Vita's well-known affairs with Violet Trefusis and Virginia Woolf, during the years of long separation as Harold's profession as a diplomat took him abroad, and culminating in the days leading up to Vita's death in 1962.

One of the great 20th century political diaries 'A tremendous read' SPECTATOR 'One stops to marvel at the achievement. Honesty, decency, modesty, magnanimity, are stamped on every page, as evident as the wit' EVENING STANDARD Harold Nicolson was one of the three great political diarists of the 20th century (along with Chips Channon and Alan Clark). Nicolson was an MP (Conservative, 1935-45, who also flirted with Labour after WWII). He had previously been in the Foreign Office and attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, and material from his period is included in this new edition for the first time. Nicolson never achieved high office, but rarely a day went by when he didn't record what was going on at Westminster. He socialised widely, was married to the poet and author Vita Sackville-West, and together they created the famous garden at Sissinghurst. Both were bi-sexuals and had affairs outside their marriage. This new edition also draws on diary entries and letters previously considered too sensitive for inclusion. The diversity of Harold Nicolson's interests and the irony in his writing make his diary a highly entertaining record of his life and times, as well as a document of great historical value.

These years were dominated by one woman and one book. The woman was Ethel Smyth; the book was The Waves. This volume's "unerringly human and confessional tone makes Woolf, at last, a real person" (San Francisco Chronicle). Edited by Nigel Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann; Introduction by Nigel Nicolson; Index; photographs.

Aristocrat, novelist, essayist, traveler, and lover of Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville-West lived a fascinating and daring life on the periphery of the Bloomsbury circle. She wrote in an astounding variety of genres, including travel narrative, historical and literary studies, poetry, fiction, and essays, and is probably best known or her novels, The Edwardians and All Passion Spent, and incomparable writings about English country houses and gardens. Here, for the first time, is an anthology that represents the full expanse of her interests and styles. Over half of the works, including intimate diaries and a dream notebook, have never been published. Edited by a foremost expert on the Bloomsbury circle, Vita Sackville-West: Selected Writings provides the best and most accessible introduction to this unique writer.

The final volume of Virginia Woolf's remarkable letters. Edited by Nigel Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann.

The penultimate volume of Woolf's letters, when the author was between the ages of 50 and 53, covers the composition of the Years and the death of Lytton Strachey and Roger Fry. "Her wit flashes, often unexpectedly, in letters of almost every kind" (New Yorker). Edited by Nigel Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann; Introduction by Nigel Nicolson; Index.

Now in her forties and in love, Woolf writes two of her greatest novels during this period. "I can only write, letters that is, if I don't read them: once think and I destroy."-to Pernel Strachey, August 10, 1923. Edited by Nigel Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann; Introduction by Nigel Nicolson; Index; photographs.

Over six hundred letters covering the first decade of the Woolfs' marriage; the publication of The Voyage Out, Night and Day, and Jacob's Room; the founding of Hogarth Press; the years of World War I; Virginia's two periods of insanity and an attempted suicide. Edited by Nigel Nicolson and Joanne Trautmann; Introduction by Nigel Nicolson; Index; photographs.

A collection of Virginia Woolf's correspondence from age six to the eve of her marriage twenty-four years later. "Engagingly fresh and spontaneous as young Virginia's letters are...the excitement in this collection arises from [her] growing awareness of herself as a writer" (Chicago Sun-Times). Introduction by Nigel Nicolson; Index; photographs.

Vita Sackville-West, novelist, poet, and biographer, is best known as the friend of Virginia Woolf, who transformed her into an androgynous time-traveler in "Orlando," The story of Sackville-West's marriage to Harold Nicolson is one of intrigue and bewilderment. In "Portrait of a Marriage," their son Nigel combines his mother's memoir with his own explanations and what he learned from their many letters. Even during her various love affairs with women, Vita maintained a loving marriage with Harold. "Portrait of a Marriage" presents an often misunderstood but always fascinating couple.
""Portrait of a Marriage" is as close to a cry from the heart as anybody writing in English in our time has come, and it is a cry that, once heard, is not likely ever to be forgotten. . . . Unexpected and astonishing."--Brendan Gill, "New Yorker"
"The charm of this book lies in the elegance of its narration, the taste with which their son has managed to convey the real, enduring quality of his parents' love for each other."--Doris Grumbach, "New Republic"