Jane Brown
This widely acclaimed book tells the marvelous story of the making of Vita Sackville-West's glorious Edwardian-era garden, Sissinghurst, and in doing so, traces the evolution of Sackville-West as one of the great gardeners of the 20th century. Beginning with Vita's childhood (one charming photograph shows Vita as a young girl dressed "as a basket of westiria"), the book leads the reader through the past of her beloved Knole, her marriage, travels to Constantinople and Persia, her first garden at Long Barn, and finally, to Sissinghurst Castle, where, with her husband, Harold Nicolson, Vita designed and created a garden of remarkable beauty. Color and black-and-white photographs throughout of Vita's gardens (there are also original sketches of garden plans), home interiors, and moments with family. The ,Daily Telegraph, calls it "A gardening biography in which Vita's development as a character and a gardener are woven together and shown to achieve the fusion which, with the help of Harold Nicolson, produced Sissinghurst...'' ,The Times, hails it as "A book hautingly illustrated by contemporary photographs, from which shines forth a deep understanding of and sympathy for her subject."
Biography,Gardening
Vita's Other World: A Gardening Biography of Vita Sackville-West