Read more:
- Investor says Ripon's retail and leisure businesses have 'weathered the storm'
- Major refurbishment at Halls of Ripon will create space for more independents
Thank you for your interest in this story
To continue reading this article, sign up today to unlock exclusive content and be part of our community discussions
- Exclusive discounts
- Enjoy commenting on local issues
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
27
Jan 2024
Ripon book sleuth attempts to solve 90-year-old Sackville-West mystery
Who exactly was Mrs Carey and what was her connection to Bloomsbury Group poet Vita Sackville-West?
That's the tantalising mystery that Ripon-based professional book sleuth and curio hunter Daniel Hornsey of Hornseys Gallery, is attempting to unravel.
Mr Hornsey, who has worked from his Kirkgate shop for three decades, is recognised in the world of literature and collecting for his uncanny knack of tracking down the rarest of first edition books, with associations to some of the world's best-known real life and fictional characters.
These have ranged from James Bond creator Ian Fleming to Winnie The Pooh - who has his 100th birthday in December.
Now his attention is turned to Mrs Carey, the sleuth's only missing piece in the Sackville-West story,
Her name appears in a signed letter which, along with an enclosed three-page hand-written manuscript, was posted to her by the world-famous poet in May 1933.The letter and manuscript are among the rarest items in Mr Hornsey's possession and he is trying to find out why she gave it so readily to Mrs Carey, instead of keeping it on her files
The married Ms Sackville-West raised eyebrows in 1920s society when she and Virginia Woolf became lovers. Both were members of the group of artists, writers and philosophers and progressive thinkers, whose influence is still apparent to this day.
The May 1933 letter to Mrs Carey
Dates on the letter check out and substantiate the provenance of the enclosure — an amended draft, of the epic poem Sissinghurst, celebrating the splendour of the garden that the writer lovingly created at the Kent castle of that name.
But Mrs Carey and her part in this literary quiz, remains unanswered and in the ancient city of Ripon, the sleuth's online search continues.
Vita Sackville-West
Virginia Woolf. Pic: The Parish Review
Sackville-West's 'Collected Poems, Volume One, published in 1933 at the Hogarh Press owned by Ms Woolf and her husband Leonard, is a collectors' item in its own right, but there is much more to it.
Found concealed within the pages of the anthology was a signed letter and a three-page hand-written manuscript, which had been posted by the poet to the mysterious recipient.
Mr Hornsey told the Stray Ferret:
"With the passage of time, highly sought-after collectors' items of this quality and condition very rarely come on the market and they can be worth a fortune.
"This isn't just any manuscript with accompanying signed letter, but one featuring an iteration of Ms Sackville-West's epic and most famous poem Sissinghurst, celebrating the splendour of the garden that the writer created at the Kent castle of that name The property is now owned by the National Trust."
The letter read:
"Dear Mrs Carey, I find that I have not got a typewritten copy of the poem you wanted, so I hope you will forgive me for sending it to you in manuscript’."
Mr Hornsey said:
"Attached to this letter with a now-removed but retained paperclip are three pages of lined A4 paper onto which she has extraordinarily written the entire Sissinghurst poem in fountain pen. Written in praise of her house and garden, which she had bought as a farmstead ‘of squalor and disorder’ in 1930.
"It contains a number of corrections by her with directions where spaces should be, changes in punctuation, some in pen, some in pencil and some textual differences to the version published in this Collected Poems and in the first individual edition of 1931 which was also published by Virginia and Leonard Woolf at The Hogarth Press.
"This manuscript was not in fact written specifically for Mrs Carey: We believe that it is an exceptionally early draft."
Vita Sackville-West's hand-written poem
He added:
"Much of this belief hinges on her use of 'slender tower' rather than 'springing tower', 'the stagnant moat' rather than 'a stagnant moat' on the first page and 'Himalayas' rather than 'snowy mountains' mid-way through the poem.
"These words were changed before the 1931 edition and we can never know why Sackville-West gave away this manuscript. She usually kept all her papers, but the language of the letter shows that she was more than happy to do so."
Mr Hornsey continued:
"Sackville-West had dedicated the Sissinghurst poem: ‘Thursday. To V.W.’ Their love affair covered the period from 1925 – 1935 and from 1930 onwards Vita would begin the transformation of Sissinghurst itself into Britain’s finest 20th century garden.
"Her Sissinghurst home remains as Vita left it when she died, decorated with two photos: one of her husband and one of Virginia Woolf, for whom she wrote this poem."
The next question for the book sleuth, is where will his incredible discovery next be seen?
The vast majority of Vita Sackville-West’s papers and manuscripts are held by Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library., But, in view of the subject matter, a return to Sissinghurst Castle, would seem appropriate.
However, the National Trust, to whom Mr Hornsey has made an approach, may find itself in a transatlantic bidding war for this very scarce and important item.
In the meantime, the hunt for Mrs Carey goes on ...
Main picture: Book sleuth and curio hunter Daniel Hornsey, with the signed letter and three-page hand-written Sackville-West manuscript.
0