Lady Margaret Sackville facts for kids
Lady Margaret Sackville (born December 24, 1881 – died April 18, 1963) was an English poet and writer of children's books. She was born in Mayfair, London. Margaret was the youngest child of Reginald Windsor Sackville, who was the 7th Earl De La Warr. She was also a second cousin to another famous writer, Vita Sackville-West.
Becoming a Poet
Margaret Sackville started writing poems when she was very young. By the age of sixteen, she was encouraged by a writer named Wilfrid Scawen Blunt. With his help, her early poems appeared in popular magazines like The English Review and Country Life.
In 1900, she published her first book of poems, called Floral Symphony. Later, in 1910, she put together a book called A Book of Verse by Living Women. In this book, she wrote that poetry was one of the few arts where women could create without much opposition. She believed that women's freedom in society was connected to how freely they could imagine and create.
When the Poetry Society was created in 1912, Lady Margaret Sackville became its very first president. She had also been the first president of an earlier group, the Poetry Recital Society, which started in 1909.
Her Personal Life
Lady Margaret Sackville was a close friend of Ramsay MacDonald, who later became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. They wrote many letters to each other between 1913 and 1929. MacDonald, who was a widower, asked her to marry him several times. However, she always said no. One main reason for her refusal was their different religious backgrounds. Margaret was Roman Catholic, while MacDonald was raised in the Presbyterian Church. Lady Margaret Sackville never married.
Working for Peace
When World War I began, Lady Margaret Sackville joined a group called the Union of Democratic Control. This group was against the war. In 1916, she published a collection of poems titled The Pageant of War. One poem, "Nostra Culpa," criticized women who did not speak out against the war.
Her sister-in-law, Muriel De La Warr, and her nephew, Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, also supported the peace movement. Sadly, her brother, Gilbert Sackville, who was the 8th Earl De La Warr, was killed in the war in 1915. Margaret's war poems are known for their strong and often angry feelings. They do not focus on patriotism but remember all those who died, including soldiers, civilians, and refugees.
Later Years
Lady Margaret Sackville spent much of her adult life in Midlothian and Edinburgh, Scotland. There, she became the first president of the Scottish branch of International PEN, an organization for writers. She was also chosen as a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
She was part of a special group that met at Marc-André Raffalovich's home. Here, she met famous people like Henry James and Compton Mackenzie. In 1922, she published A Masque of Edinburgh. This was a play performed in Edinburgh that showed the city's history in eleven scenes. It covered everything from the Romans to a meeting between the poets Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. She lived at 30 Regent Terrace, Edinburgh, from 1930 to 1932.
In 1936, Lady Margaret Sackville moved to Cheltenham, where she lived for the rest of her life. She passed away in 1963 from a heart condition.
Her Books
Lady Margaret Sackville wrote many different kinds of books. She wrote lots of poetry, plays, and stories for children. Some of her well-known works include:
- Floral Symphony (1900)
- Fairy Tales for Old and Young (1909)
- The Travelling Companions and Other Stories for Children (1915)
- The Pageant of War (1916)
- Three Plays for Pacifists (1919)
- Alicia and the Twilight: A Fantasy (1928)
- Mr. Horse's New Shoes (1936)
- Tom Noodle's Kingdom (1941)
See also
In Spanish: Lady Margaret Sackville para niños
