Violet Trefusis (née Keppel; 6 June 1894 – 29 February 1972) was an English writer and socialite. She is chiefly remembered for her lesbian affair with the poet Vita Sackville-West. She also wrote novels and many non-fiction works, both in English and French. The affair was featured in novels by both parties, and also in Virginia Woolf's Orlando: A Biography, as well as in many letters and memoirs of the period, roughly 1912-1922. Many are preserved at Yale University Library. Trefusis was an inspiration to many writers' fiction and was a pivotal character in their novels including Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate as "Lady Montdore" and in Harold Acton's The Soul's Gymnasium as "Muriel," a fictional portrait of her.
Read more about Violet Trefusis: Early Life, Her Affair With Vita Sackville-West, Work, Later Life in France, Writings
Famous quotes containing the words violet and/or trefusis:
“At the violet hour, when the eyes and back
Turn upward from the desk when the human engine waits
Like a taxi throbbing waiting,”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“You are my lover and I am your mistress and kingdoms and empires and governments have tottered and succumbed before now to that mighty combination.”
—Violet Trefusis (1894–1972)