Portrait Of A Marriage

The fascinating story of an unconventional, bisexual and powerfully loving relationship and a unique portrait of gender and feminism - with a new introduction from Juliet Nicolson.

'A brilliantly structured account of the dramas, infidelities and deep emotional attachments' GUARDIAN

'An intimate and controversial account of his bisexual parents' open relationship' NEW YORK TIMES

'One of the most absorbing stories, built around two very remarkable people, ever to stray from Gothic fiction into real life' TLS

The marriage was that between the two writers, Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson and the portrait is drawn partly by Vita herself in an autobiography which she left behind at her death in 1962 and partly by her son, Nigel.

It was one of the happiest and strangest marriages there has ever been. Both Vita and Harold were always in love with other people and each gave the other full liberty 'without enquiry or reproach', knowing that their love for each other would be unaffected and even strengthened by the crises which it survived. This account of their love story is now a modern classic.

A brilliantly structured account of the dramas, infidelities and deep emotional attachment that went to construct the partnership of Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West -- Michael de-la-Noy Guardian
One of the most absorbing stories, built around two very remarkable people, ever to stray from Gothic fiction into real life Times Literary Supplement
Portrait of a Marriage is as close to a cry from the heart as anybody writing 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 The 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
Nigel's insightful Portrait of a Marriage shines a light on a fascinating couple Literary Ladies Guide
An intimate and controversial account of his bisexual parents' open relationship -- Jennifer Conlin New York Times

Nigel Nicolson (Author)

Nigel Nicolson, the younger son of Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West, was a publisher, a Member of Parliament, an editor (including six volumes of Virginia Woolf's letters and three of his father's diaries) and the author of many books on history, politics, architecture and literature. He lived at the family home, Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, now a property of the National Trust, until his death in 2004.

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