As the inaugural meeting of the LGBT Equality society teamed up with FemSoc, it was a huge pleasure to welcome Nino Strachey for her talk titled: “Rooms of their own: Eddy Sackville-West and the Bloomsbury Group”.
Nino Strachey opened her talk with an introduction to the story behind Eddy; his childhood at Eton and his education at Oxford were fascinating to hear about, especially looking back upon his open and perhaps flamboyant personality, as she noted.
The main body of the talk rested upon the description of the beloved family abode of Vita Sackville-West: Knole. Home to myriad artworks from the various same-sex partners both Vita and her husband, Harold Nicholson, had, it was amazing to hear how personal each portrait by the fireplace or still-life piece above her bed was. The artwork itself was spectacular and it was delightful to hear the personal insight from which a specific story sprung up for each and every one of them.
We would like to sincerely thank Nino Strachey for what was a hugely perceptive and engaging presentation of a history that is rarely told to the boys of Eton.
