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The Orlando manuscript at Knole

Photo of a book on a stand. The book is open and writing can be seen on the page.
Original manuscript of 'Orlando' by Virginia Woolf, on display in Ballroom at Knole. | © National Trust/Toby Hooker

Virginia Woolf's 'Orlando' was inspired by Vita Sackville-West and Knole. A project to digitise the original manuscript means it is now accessible online.

Virginia Woolf’s novel ‘Orlando: A Biography’ has been described as ‘the longest and most charming love letter in literature’. The book follows the story of a fictional aristocratic poet who tumbles through historical time periods and whose sex changes throughout the story. Woolf’s inspiration for her main character was her friend and lover, Vita Sackville-West.

Virginia first met Vita, a fellow writer, at a dinner party in 1922. In the years that followed the women developed a romantic relationship which had a profound impact on both their lives and their writing. The character of Orlando was inspired by Vita’s life, friends, ancestors and childhood home at Knole. Vita was born in 1892 to Lord and Lady Sackville but, as her parents’ only daughter, was doomed to never inherit her family home. The loss of Knole left a deep scar on Vita’s life.

Ephemera and proofs relating to Virginia Woolf's novel 'Orlando' (London, 1928), black and white photograph of documents.
Ephemera and proofs relating to Virginia Woolf's 'Orlando' (London, 1928), part of the Sissinghurst Castle library collection, Kent. | © National Trust Images/John Hammond

My voluntary exile from Knole is very curious... I feel exactly as though I had a liaison with a beautiful woman who never, from force of circumstance, belonged to me wholly.

A quote by Vita Sackville-West

In ‘Orlando: A Biography’, the main character is always in possession of their ancestral home and this certainty was Virginia’s gift to Vita. On 6 December 1928 Viriginia gave her original manuscript, written in distinctive purple ink, to Vita with a dedication on the first page. The manuscript was preserved in Vita’s secluded Tower Writing Room at Sissinghurst Castle until her death in 1962.

‘the yellow pools which chequered the floor, made by the sun falling through the stained glass of a vast coat of arms in the window… Orlando stood now in the midst of the yellow body of a heraldic leopard.’

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Orlando at Knole

A short film about the manuscript of Virginia Woolf’s 'Orlando' (1928), written and presented by Holly James Johnston. This film looks at the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, how Vita’s aristocratic family history at Knole inspired Virginia to write Orlando, and why it feels symbolic that the manuscript now belongs in Knole’s collection.

A manuscript by Virginia Woolf for her novel 'Orlando', written in purple ink in 1928 - Book Spine.
The book spine of Virginia Woolf's manuscript of 'Orlando', written in 1928. | © National Trust/Richard Holttum
Sample of Knole Orlando Manuscript
Sample of Knole Orlando Manuscript | © The Estate of Virginia Woolf

The manuscript was given to the National Trust by Vita’s son, Nigel Nicolson, who believed it was Orlando’s rightful home. The purple ink that Virginia used to handwrite her drafts is very sensitive to light therefore the manuscript is rarely on display to prevent the words fading. However, a recent project to digitise every page means that one of the most beautiful and complex literary works of the twentieth century can now be accessed from anywhere in the world.

'Orlando: A Biography', by Virginia Woolf, digitisation of original manuscript, pages 1 to 34

A manuscript by Virginia Woolf for her novel 'Orlando', written in purple ink in 1928 - Front Cover.
Front cover of Virginia Woolf's manuscript of 'Orlando', written in 1928. | © National Trust/Richard Holttum

'Orlando: A Biography', by Virginia Woolf, digitisation of original manuscript

Front cover

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'Orlando: A Biography', by Virginia Woolf, digitisation of original manuscript, pages 35 to 70

A manuscript by Virginia Woolf for her novel 'Orlando', written in purple ink in 1928 - Page 35.
Virginia Woolf's manuscript of 'Orlando', written in 1928 - Page 35. | © National Trust/Richard Holttum

'Orlando: A Biography', by Virginia Woolf, digitisation of original manuscript

Page 35

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'Orlando: A Biography', by Virginia Woolf, digitisation of original manuscript, pages 71 to 109

A manuscript by Virginia Woolf for her novel 'Orlando', written in 1928 - Page 71.
Virginia Woolf's manuscript of 'Orlando', written in 1928 - Page 71. | © National Trust/Richard Holttum

'Orlando: A Biography', by Virginia Woolf, digitisation of original manuscript

Page 71

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'Orlando: A Biography', by Virginia Woolf, digitisation of original manuscript, pages 110 to 148

A manuscript by Virginia Woolf for her novel 'Orlando', written in purple ink in 1928 - Page 111.
Virginia Woolf's manuscript of 'Orlando', written in 1928 - Page 111. | © National Trust/Richard Holttum

'Orlando: A Biography', by Virginia Woolf, digitisation of original manuscript

Page 111