Trefusis, Violet, 1894-1972

Violet Trefusis, British author.

From the description of Violet Trefusis papers, 1924-1971. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 80436404

From the description of Violet Trefusis papers, 1924-1971. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702161049

Violet Keppel was born in London on June 6, 1894. When Violet was a child, her mother, Alice Keppel, became the mistress of the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), until his death in 1910.

In 1904, Violet began an enduring friendship with Vita Sackville-West. The relationship developed into a difficult and tumultuous love affair that lasted from approximately 1918 to 1921, and which for a time alienated Violet from her mother and from society. It also caused problems with her husband, Major Denys Trefusis, whom she had married in 1919. They eventually reconciled publicly, if not privately, and moved to Paris in autumn of 1921. Denys Trefusis died of tuberculosis in 1929, the same year Violet published her first book, Sortie de secours .

In 1927, Violet purchased a medieval ruin in Saint-Loup-de-Naud, outside of Paris. The complex became her home until 1940, when she was forced to flee to England the escape the German invasion. She spent the war years in England, resuming her friendship with Vita Sackville-West, and publishing several more works, including her novelized version of her affair with Vita, Broderie anglaise . She also broadcast for the Free French on the BBC. After the war, she returned to France. In 1950 she was awarded rank of Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur for her wartime broadcasts. She published her autobiography, Don't Look Round, in 1952. Alice Keppel died in 1947, leaving her daughter Violet as the proprietor of L'Ombrellino, the Florentine villa the Keppels had purchased in the 1920's. Violet Trefusis died in Florence on February 29, 1972.

From the guide to the Violet Trefusis papers, 1924-1971, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)