Title: Pepita
Author: Victoria "Vita" Sackville-West
Genre: Biography & Memoir / Historical Nonfiction
Edition: First American Edition (First Printing)
Publisher: Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc.
In Pepita, acclaimed author Vita Sackville-West turns her sharp literary lens inward to uncover the astonishing, true history of her own family. The biography traces the colorful life of her grandmother, Josefa Durán y Ortega—better known as "Pepita de Oliva"—a legendary Spanish flamenco dancer who rose from the streets of Malaga to become the toast of Europe's grandest stages. Vita's story explores how her grand public lifestyle collided with her secret world when she became the lifelong mistress of British diplomat Lionel Sackville-West, setting off a chain of fascinating domestic scandals.
The second half of the book transitions into the equally improbable life of Vita's own mother, Victoria. Raised in the strict confines of a Parisian convent, Victoria was suddenly thrust into high society as the mistress of her father’s diplomatic household in Washington, before eventually establishing herself at Knole, one of England's most magnificent ancestral estates. Weaving together intimate family letters, historical archives, and her own rich narrative flair, Sackville-West delivers a vivid, witty portrait of two highly unconventional women navigating identity, passion, and class.
Author Victoria "Vita" Sackville-West (1892–1962): An English poet, novelist, and journalist known for her independent lifestyle and contributions to literature and horticulture. Born at Knole, her family's historic estate in Kent, she was a central figure in the literary Bloomsbury Group and twice won the prestigious Hawthornden Prize for her writing. Beyond her literary career, which inspired her close friend and lover Virginia Woolf to write the classic novel Orlando, Sackville-West was a pioneering garden designer. Alongside her husband, Sir Harold Nicolson, she created the iconic gardens at Sissinghurst Castle, which remain among the most famous and influential botanical landscapes in the world.
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Condition: Very Good/Good. Dust jacket: Moderate shelf wear; on the front, scuff in title, creased at upper and lower edges, small closed tear near tail of spine, light rubbing along fore edge; on the back, chipped along upper edge, three small tears at lower edge; spine is moderately faded, front fold is creased. Gold-embossed linen-colored cloth cover boards: Tanning along the grooves. Edge tanning of pages else clean, undamaged, and complete.
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