Nicolson Harold - Harold Nicolson

Norman Rose is a graduate of the LSE and now holds the Chair of International Relations at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. A distinguished historian and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he is also the author of much acclaimed biographies of Winston Churchill and Chaim Weitzman, as well as a study of the Cliveden Set.

The Gentle Zionists

Baffy:
The Diaries of Blanche Dugdale

Vansittart: Study of a Diplomat

Lewis Namier and Zionism

Chaim Weizmann: A Biography

Churchill: An Unruly Life

The Cliveden Set:
Portrait of an Exclusive Fraternity

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Version 1.0

Epub ISBN 9781473520257

www.randomhouse.co.uk

Published by Pimlico 2006

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Copyright Norman Rose 2005

Norman Rose has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work

First published in the Great Britain in 2005 by
Jonathan Cape

Pimlico edition 2006

Pimlico
Random House, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road,
London SW1V 2SA

Random House UK Limited Reg. No. 954009

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 9780712668453

Map of Europe post-1918 drawn by Reginald Piggott
Map of Sissinghurst House and Garden copyright Stuart and Christine Page

For My Mother

1. Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West at a flower show in Sevenoaks, 1914.

2. Harold at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919.

3. Vita in 1918, painting by William Strang.

4. Violet Trefusis in 1919.

5. Vita with Nigel and Ben at Long Barn, 1924.

6. Sissinghurst Castle from the air in 1932.

7. Vita and Harold at Smoke Tree Ranch, California, 1933.

8. Harold as the New Party candidate for the Combined English Universities at the general election of 1931.

9. Harold after his election as MP for West Leicester, November 1935.

10. Harold and Vita at Sissinghurst, 1938.

11. The MP for West Leicester setting up his lathe ready for an evenings work helping in the war production.

12. Harold at his typewriter at Sissinghurst.

13. Canvassing in North Croydon, 1948.

14. Bertrand Russell, Harold Nicolson and Lord Samuel at the BBC before the discussion Why defend liberty? on 24 January 1951.

15. Vita and Harold in 1959. 16. (Inset) Harold with Nigel and grandson Adam in 1962.

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

. Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West at a flower show in Sevenoaks, 1914 (National Portrait Gallery, London).

. Harold at the Paris Peace Conference, 1919 (reproduced by kind permission of the Estates of Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West).

. Vita Sackville-West in 1918, painting by William Strang (Glasgow City Council Museums).

. Violet Trefusis in 1919 (Camera Press).

. Vita with Nigel and Ben at Long Barn, 1924 ( Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS).

. Sissinghurst Castle-from the air in 1932 (Simmons Aerofilms Ltd.).

. Vita and Harold at Smoke Tree Ranch, California, 1933 (reproduced by kind permission of the Estates of Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West).

. Harold as the New Party candidate for the Combined Universities at the general election of 1931 (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS).

. Harold after his election as MP for West Leicester, November 1935 (reproduced by kind permission of the Estates of Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West).

. Harold and Vita at Sissinghurst, 1938 (