A fascinating collection of the endlessly engaging letters sent between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, who was the inspiration for Woolf’s Orlando, possibly my favourite of her novels. There are quite a few diary snippets too, which work well to ‘plug’ the gaps in between their correspondence. I also enjoyed the introduction from Alison Bechdel, author of the excellent Fun Home. Quite simply, this was a joy to read.

I really enjoyed reading this collection of letters to gain an insight into the relationship of these two women and although it felt pretty personal and like I was reading something that should have been kept private, it was truly fantastic to experience their love for one another. I don't actually know that much about these two authors; I did study some Virginia Woolf at university but also reading this made me want to read more of their stuff especially Orlando which was mentioned a lot. It was also interesting to read about their thoughts and feelings of various events throughout their time such as the War and basically just seeing how they lived their lives.
A lovely collection of letters that expresses the love and lives of two women who are still remembered today.

Wow I was hooked, mainly because personal letters and correspondence and diary entries somehow hold a fascination for us nosy parkers, we are always wanting to find out what goes on in the minds of our literature hero’s such as Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville West two great female leaders in fiction though Vita suffering ignorance than Virginia, though is more well known for sissinghurst and its garden which I feel would be more important to her. I was enthralled and fascinated by their lives, loves and jealousies, and to be honest I felt closer to understanding and knowing them than if I read their novels. So from reading this I am on the hunt to read more of Virginia Woolf and hopefully grow more to understanding her and her thoughts.

I requested this primarily for the intro by Alison Bechdel, but stayed for the content. Gorgeous and absolutely fascinating - I may need to buy this for my permanent collection!

Vita and Virginia’s relationship is one of my favourite throughout the history of the literary canon. It feels unfair to rate something so personal but the letters are poignant and beautiful and I consider myself lucky to be able to look into their relationship.