Lady Margaret Sackville (24 December 1881 – 18 April 1963) was an English

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and children's author. Born at 60 Grosvenor Street,

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

, Sackville was the youngest child of

Reginald Windsor Sackville Reginald Windsor Sackville, 7th Earl De La Warr (21 February 1817 – 5 January 1896), styled The Honourable Reginald West until 1843, as The Honourable Reginald Sackville between 1843 and 1870 and known as the Lord Buckhurst between 1870 and 187 ...

, 7th

Earl De La Warr Earl De La Warr ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1761 for John West, 7th Baron De La Warr. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles of Viscount Cantelupe (1761) in the Peerage of Great Britain, Baron De La Warr (15 ...

. She was a second cousin of

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful nov ...

Poetry

She began to write poetry at an early age and when she was 16 became a ''protégée'' of

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (17 August 1840 – 10 September 1922), sometimes spelt Wilfred, was an English poet and writer. He and his wife Lady Anne Blunt travelled in the Middle East and were instrumental in preserving the Arabian horse bloodlines ...

. With his encouragement, she had her early poems published in periodicals such as ''

The English Review ''The English Review'' was an English-language literary magazine published in London from 1908 to 1937. At its peak, the journal published some of the leading writers of its day. History The magazine was started by 1908 by Ford Madox Hueffer (l ...

'', the ''

Englishwoman's Review ''The Englishwoman's Review'' was a feminist periodical published in England between 1866 and 1910. Until 1869 called in full ''The Englishwoman's Review: a journal of woman's work'', in 1870 (after a break in publication) it was renamed ''The ...

'', '' Country Life'', ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'', ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' and the ''

Pall Mall Gazette ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed i ...

''. She published her first book of poems, ''Floral Symphony'', in 1900. In 1910, she edited ''A Book of Verse by Living Women''. In her introduction, she noted that poetry was one of the few arts in which women were allowed to engage without opposition and made a direct connection between women's social freedom and the freedom of the imagination.Lady Margaret Sackville
Orlando Project. When the

Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

was formed in 1912, Sackville was made its first president. She had also been the first president of its predecessor, the Poetry Recital Society, formed in 1909. Joy Grant, in her biography of

Harold Monro Harold Edward Monro (14 March 1879 – 16 March 1932) was an English poet born in Brussels, Belgium. As the proprietor of the Poetry Bookshop in London, he helped many poets to bring their work before the public. Life and career Monro was born ...

, writes that Sackville "spoke well and to the point at the inauguration, hoping that the Society would 'never become facile and "popular", to turn to a merely trivial gathering of persons amiably interested in the same ideal'. Her half-expressed fears were unfortunately fulfilled: the direction in which the Society was heading soon became obvious—poetry was made an excuse for pleasant social exchanges, for irrelevant snobbery, for the disagreeable consequences of organised association."

Personal life

She had a passionate 15-year love affair with

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

, recorded in letters they wrote to each other between 1913 and 1929. MacDonald was a widower and repeatedly proposed to her, but she declined to be his wife. His biographer

David Marquand David Ian Marquand FLSW (20 September 1934 – 23 April 2024) was a British academic and Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP). Background and political career Marquand was born in Cardiff on 20 September 1934. His father was Hilary Marq ...

speculated that, although social considerations were a factor in her refusal, the main reason was that they were of different religions. Sackville was

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, while MacDonald was raised in the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

, later joining the

Free Church of Scotland In contemporary usage, the Free Church of Scotland usually refers to: * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), that portion of the original Free Church which remained outside the 1900 merger; extant It may also refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1 ...

. Sackville never married.

Peace movement

At the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she joined the anti-war

Union of Democratic Control The Union of Democratic Control was a British advocacy group, pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive foreign policy. While not a pacifism, pacifist organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government. World Wa ...

. In 1916 she published a collection of poems called ''The Pageant of War''. It included the poem "Nostra Culpa", denouncing women who betrayed their sons by not speaking out against the war. Her sister-in-law, Muriel De La Warr, and her nephew,

Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr Herbrand Edward Dundonald Brassey Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, (20 June 1900 – 28 January 1976), styled Lord Buckhurst until 1915 (and sometimes nicknamed "Buck De La Warr" after that), was a British politician. He was the first hereditar ...

, were also involved in the peace movement. Her brother, Gilbert Sackville, 8th Earl De La Warr, was killed during the conflict in 1915. The spare and angry strength of Sackville's war poems has attracted recent critical attention. Brian Murdoch notes the absence of overt patriotic elements in ''The Pageant of War'' and its memorialisation of all the dead: soldiers, non-combatants and refugees. 30 Regent Terrace 2015

Later life

She spent much of her adult life in

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, where she became the first president of Scottish

PEN PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

and was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

. She was a member of

Marc-André Raffalovich Marc-André Raffalovich (11 September 1864 – 14 February 1934) was a French poet and writer on homosexuality, best known today for his patronage of the arts and for his lifelong relationship with the English poet John Gray (poet), John Gray. Ea ...

's Whitehouse Terrace

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

, where she would meet guests including

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

Compton Mackenzie Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie, (17 January 1883 – 30 November 1972) was a Scottish writer of fiction, biography, histories and a memoir, as well as a cultural commentator, raconteur and lifelong Scottish nationalist. He was one of t ...

and the artist Hubert Wellington.Papers of and relating to Marc André Raffalovich
, Archive Hub. In 1922, she published ''A Masque of Edinburgh''. This was performed at the Music Hall,

George Street, Edinburgh George Street is the central thoroughfare of the First New Town, Edinburgh, New Town of Edinburgh, planned in the 18th century by James Craig (architect), James Craig. The street takes its name from George III of the United Kingdom, King Geor ...

, and depicted the history of Edinburgh in 11 scenes, from the Romans to a meeting between the poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

and the writer Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

.Anne Mitchell (1993). ''The People of Calton Hill''.

Mercat Press Mercat Press is an imprint of the Edinburgh, Scotland-based publishing company Birlinn Limited. It was established in 1970 as a subsidiary of the bookseller James Thin, and published facsimile editions of out-of-print Scottish works, such as ...

, James Thin, Edinburgh. . Sackville lived at 30

Regent Terrace Regent Terrace is a residential street of 34 classical 3-bay townhouses built on the upper south side of Calton Hill in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Regent Terrace is within the Edinburgh New and Old Town UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed ...

, Edinburgh, from 1930 to 1932. In 1936, Sackville moved to

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, where she lived for the rest of her life. She died of a heart condition at Rokeby Nursing Home, Cheltenham, in 1963.

Works

*''Floral Symphony'' (1900) *''Poems'' (1901) *''A Hymn to Dionysus and Other Poems'' (1905) *''Hildris the Queen: A Play in Four Acts'' (1908) *''Fairy Tales for Old and Young'' (1909) with Ronald Campbell Macfie *''Bertrud and Other Dramatic Poems'' (1911) *''Jane Austen'' (1912) *''Lyrics'' (1912) *''More Fairy Tales for Old and Young'' (1912) with Ronald Campbell Macfie *''Short Poems'' (1913) *''Songs of Aphrodite'' (1913) *''The Career Briefly Set Forth of Mr. Percy Prendergast Who Told the Truth'' (1914) *''The Dream-Pedlar'' (1914) *''The Travelling Companions and Other Stories for Children'' (1915) *''The Pageant of War'' (1916) *''Three Plays for Pacifists'' (1919) *''Selected Poems'' (1919) *''Poems'' (1923) *''A Rhymed Sequence'' (1924) *''Three Fairy Plays'' (1925) *''Collected Dramas: Hidris, Bertrud'' (1926) *''Romantic Ballads'' (1927) *''Epitaphs'' (1926) *''Alicia and the Twilight: A Fantasy'' (1928) *''100 Little Poems'' (1928) *''Twelve Little Poems'' ( Red Lion Press 1931) *''Ariadne by the Sea'' (Red Lion Press, 1932) *''The Double House and Other Poems'' (1935) *''Mr. Horse's New Shoes'' (1936) *''Collected Poems of Lady Margaret Sackville'' (1939) *''A Poet Returns: Some Later Poems by Lady Margaret Sackville'' (1940) edited by Eva Dobell *''Tom Noodle's Kingdom'' (1941) *''Return to Song and Other Poems'' (1943) *''Paintings and Poems'' (1944) *''The Lyrical Woodland'' (1945) *''Country Scenes & Country Verse'' (1945) *''Miniatures'' (1947) *''Tree Music'' (1947) *''Quatrains and Other Poems'' (1960)

References

External links

* *
Sackville, Margaret Lady (Open Library)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sackville, Margaret 1881 births 1963 deaths 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers Daughters of British earls English Catholic poets English children's writers English Roman Catholics English women dramatists and playwrights English women poets English World War I poets Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People from Mayfair Presidents of the Poetry Society Ramsay MacDonald

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

Nobility from London Mistresses and lovers of prime ministers of the United Kingdom