Virginia Woolf Letter
Collection
Identifier: MSS-333-SC
Scope and Content
Letter from Virginia Woolf to V. Sackville-West. (MSS 333 SC)
The letter contained in this collection, from Virginia Woolf, a member of the Bloomsbury Group, to V. Sackville-West, was written on December 14th, 1924, from Woolf's home on 52 Tavistock Square in Bloomsbury, London. The letter discusses the possibilities for publishing V. Sackville-West's novelette Seducers in Ecuador, which is referred to in the letter as Seducers for America. The novelette revolves around one man's skewed view of reality and the events which link him to the murder of a friend. It is, according to Michael Stevens, written in the style reminiscent of Henry James' short stories. Seducers in Ecuador was, for many years, V. Sackville-West's favorite of her own publications. In a letter to Woolf (not in this collection), Sackville-West acknowledges Woolf's literary influence upon this book by calling it "our joint progeny." Woolf's admiration for the book is also expressed in correspondence (not in this collection) with V. Sackville-West. The letter in this collection is not transcribed in published collections of correspondence between these two noted authors. It was donated by V. Sackville-West's son Nigel Nicolson, also a biographer of Sackville-West.
The letter contained in this collection, from Virginia Woolf, a member of the Bloomsbury Group, to V. Sackville-West, was written on December 14th, 1924, from Woolf's home on 52 Tavistock Square in Bloomsbury, London. The letter discusses the possibilities for publishing V. Sackville-West's novelette Seducers in Ecuador, which is referred to in the letter as Seducers for America. The novelette revolves around one man's skewed view of reality and the events which link him to the murder of a friend. It is, according to Michael Stevens, written in the style reminiscent of Henry James' short stories. Seducers in Ecuador was, for many years, V. Sackville-West's favorite of her own publications. In a letter to Woolf (not in this collection), Sackville-West acknowledges Woolf's literary influence upon this book by calling it "our joint progeny." Woolf's admiration for the book is also expressed in correspondence (not in this collection) with V. Sackville-West. The letter in this collection is not transcribed in published collections of correspondence between these two noted authors. It was donated by V. Sackville-West's son Nigel Nicolson, also a biographer of Sackville-West.
Dates
- December 14, 1924
Creator
- Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941 (Person)
Language of Materials
English.
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
Copy Restrictions
Limited duplication of CSWR material is allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for compliance with all copyright, privacy, and libel laws. Permission is required for publication or distribution.
Biographical Information
Virginia Woolf, 1882-1941, was a noted novelist and is now viewed as a pioneer of feminist literature. She was a member of the Bloomsbury Group, comprised of English artists, philosophers, and writers in the early twentieth century. She was also a co-founder and operator (along with husband Leonard Woolf) of Hogarth Press. Author (of novels, poetry, biography, travel books, and scholarly articles) Victoria Sackville-West (better known as V. Sackville-West or Vita Sackville-West), 1892-1962, was both influenced by and influential to Virginia Woolf. V. Sackville-West's Seducers in Ecuador, ultimately published by the George H. Doran Company in 1925, was dedicated to Virginia Woolf, as Woolf's Orlando was based on and dedicated to Sackville-West. Their friendship began in 1924 (the same year Woolf suggested that Sackville-West write a book to be published by Hogarth Press) and continued up until Woolf's death in 1941. Seducers in Ecuador is considered the first fruit of Sackville-West's and Woolf's intimacy. Though Sackville-West's and Woolf's romantic involvement is often the focus of writings about them and their correspondence, Suzanne Raitt notes that "to ignore Sackville-West's writing in an account of their relationship is to falsify the way in which they themselves perceived their own intimacy." This collection, indeed, speaks to their professional relationship as author and publisher and as colleagues in writing.
Extent
1 folder ( 1 item )
Abstract
This collection consists of one letter written by Virginia Woolf to Vita Sackville-West in 1924 regarding the publication of V. Sackville-West's novelette, Seducers in Ecuador.
Creator
- Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941 (Person)
- Title
- Finding Aid of the Virginia Woolf Letter, 1924 Dec. 14
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by K. Stocker
- Date
- ©2000
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is in English
Revision Statements
- June 28, 2004: PUBLIC "-//University of New Mexico::Center for Southwest Research//TEXT (US::NmU::MSS 333 SC::Virginia Woolf Letter)//EN" "nmu1mss333sc.sgml" converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02.xsl (sy2003-10-15).
- Monday, 20210524: Attribute normal is missing or blank.
Repository Details
Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository
Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451
cswrref@unm.edu
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451
cswrref@unm.edu