was thinking about doing a one day one historical sapphist thread

one historical sapphist a day, the paris lesbos edition

one historical sapphist a day, the sewing circle edition

one historical sapphist a day, the scissoringhurst edition

day 1 : vita sackville-west

english novelist, poet and gardener; aristocrat who should have inherited knole and overall very lovable dumbass

works include novels : seducers in ecuador and all passion spent; poem collections : the land and the garden; gardens : sissinghurst

was this close to leave husband, children and country to elope with (the love of her life) violet keppel trefusis (1)

other lovers include virginia woolf (2) who wrote orlando after her, dorothy wellesley, mary campbell, evelyn irons, gwen st aubyn and chris st john

day 2 : una vincenzo, lady troubridge

british sculptor and translator; she has for example translated colette's work and introduced her to a british audience; romaine brooks painted her portrait (2)

she had a life-long relationship with english author radclyffe hall (3)

day 3 : dora carrington

english painter and decorative artist, she has close relationships with members of the bloomsbury group

lovers include lady ottoline morrell (photographer of 2 and 3) and american journalist henrietta bingham

here have some of her works, which i absolutely love

day 4 : alvilde lees-milne

british gardening and landscape expert

lovers include winnaretta singer and vita sackville-west (their husbands used to be lovers too); rumour has it that she also had a fling with violet trefusis

day 5 : mary garman campbell

the eldest of the garman sisters, known for their eccentric lifestyles and association with famous artists, writers and musicians

her most notable affair with a woman was with vita sackville-west, which sent her (abusive) husband in a jealous rage

day 6 : dorothy wellesley

english socialite, poet and literary editor (hogarth press), described by w.b. yeats as one of the 20th century greatest writers

lovers include vita sackville-west, for whom she left her husband in 1922, and later bbc radio producer hilda matheson

day 7 : evelyn irons

scottish journalist and war correspondent

she began an affair with vita sackville-west while in a relationship with a woman called olive rinder who, in turn, became vita's lover; they formed a menage-a-trois 'til evelyn met english journalist joy mcsweeney

day 8 : enid bagnold

british author and playwright, known for her novel national velvet

suspected of lesbianism with vita sackville-west (by michelle and me mostly lsdfjlksdfsdfk)

day 9 : valerie taylor

english stage actress, known for her role in berkeley square which she also performed on broadway and later on film

she entertained strong connections with members of the bloomsbury group (clive bell) and had an affair with vita sackville-west

day 10 : mabel batten

amateur singer of lieder, she was painted singing by john singer sargent (2); she was lady una troubridge's cousin

she had an affair with radclyffe hall (3) and possibly ethel smyth

day 11 : katherine mansfield

new zealand modernist short story writer and poet; woolf considered her as the only writer of whom she was jealous

lovers include māori tribal leader maata mahupuku, artist edith bendall, and later possibly dora carrington and dorothy brett (3)

day 12 : radclyffe hall

british writer; known for her novel the well of loneliness which was banned in the uk for its very apparent lesbianism

she loved and lived with lieder singer mabel batten (2); she then fell in love with the woman's cousin, una troubridge (3)

day 13 : edith craig

theatre director, producer, costume designer and early pioneer of the women's suffrage movement

she lived in a ménage à trois with dramatist christabel marshall (chris st john) and artist clare "tony" atwood (both seen in 3 with edith)

day 14 : ethel smyth

english composer and suffragette

lovers include suffragette leader emmeline pankhurst (getting arrested in 2), keyboard player violet gordon-woodhouse and music patron winnaretta singer; she fell in love with virginia woolf (3) at 71 but it was unrequited

day 15 : joe carstairs

wealthy british power boat racer; known for her "eccentric" lifestyle and appearance (she was tattooed)

famous lovers include dorothy wilde and actresses like marlene dietrich (carstairs snapshots of hers in 3), tallulah bankhead and greta garbo

day 16 : lady ottoline morrell

english aristocrat and society hostess

lovers could have included painter dora carrington and maria huxley (seen in 3 right at ottoline's side along with other members of the bloomsbury group)

day 17 : violet keppel (trefusis)

english socialite and author who spent her most of her life between england, paris and florence; she is camilla parker-bowles great aunt

she was vita sackville-west's soulmate; she also had a very long relationship with patron winnaretta singer

day 18 : virginia woolf

english modernist writer, known for her use of stream of consciousness

she had a love affair with vita sackville-west (3, with her sons), which did not end in 1928, and various friendships with sapphic ladies (ethel sands, ottoline morrell, ethel smyth)

day 19 : daphne du maurier

english author and playwright; novels include rebecca, my cousin rachel and jamaica inn

lovers included english actress gertrude lawrence; she was not out and i have to warn for internalised homophobia

day 20 : emmeline pankhurst

british political activist; she was the leader of the suffragette movement and had to go to prison 15 times through her fight for women's vote

lovers include other suffragettes such as ethel smyth (seen shielding her from getting arrested in 3)

day 21 : clare "tony" atwood

british painter, interested in a wide range of subjects

she formed a ménage à trois in kent with writer christabel marshall (chris st john) and actress edith craig (painted in 2); she also painted vita sackville-west as shakespeare's portia (3)

day 22 : maria huxley (née nys)

belgian woman, known for her association with british artists (and the bloomsbury group) through her marriage with english writer aldous huxley

she is rumoured to have had a love affair with socialite ottoline morrell (3)

day 23 : rosamund grosvenor

english aristocrat and socialite

she was vita sackville-west's (1 and 2) first actual lover; they met as children, rosamund became vita's bridesmaid (3, the photograph is damaged by the hand of vita's mother) and her first son's godmother

day 24 : evelina haverfield

british suffragette and aid worker

she was in a long-term relationship with emmeline pankhurst's (2) chauffeur vera "jack" holme (3)

day 25 : edith somerville (2) and violet martin (3)

irish second cousins and novelists who wrote together under the pen name of martin ross

they lived together and it was speculated that the nature of their partnership was also sexual and romantic

day 26 : christabel marshall/christopher "chris" st john

british suffragette, playwright and author (seen standing in 1)

she lived in kent in a ménage à trois with artist clare atwood and actress edith craig (1, 2 and 3); other lovers include vita sackville-west

day 27 : mary hutchinson

british writer and socialite, member of the bloomsbury group through her cousin lytton stratchey and her relationship with clive bell

she had a brief love affair with vita sackville-west

day 28 : madeleine ffrench-mullen

irish revolutionary and labour activist; she took part in the dublin easter rising in 1916 and joined the suffrage movement

lovers include kathleen lynn (3) with whom she lived for 30 years until her death

day 29 : gertrude lawrence

british stage actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer

lovers include british author daphne du maurier (3)

day 30 : gluck

british painter, known under the name gluck; gender non-conforming, she rejected any forename or prefix

lovers include british artist nesta obermer, british floral designer constance spry and british journalist edith shackleton heald (3)

here are some of gluck's paintings :

first painting represents gluck and her lover, nesta obermer; considered as an iconic lesbian statement

day 31 : gwen st aubyn

british writer, nursery worker and patron of the red cross

lovers include sister-in-law vita sackville-west with whom she lived for almost a decade

day 32 : ethel sands

american-born artist and hostess living in england; affiliated with the bloomsbury group

openly lesbian; fellow artist anna hope hudson (nan hudson) was her life partner; seen with ottoline morrell in 3

here are some of ethel sands' paintings :

day 33 : edith shackleton heald

british journalist, pioneering reporter for the london evening standard, the daily express, the sunday express and the daily sketch

she moved to chantry house to live with lover and british painter gluck (2 and 3) from 1944 to her death in 1976

day 34 : kathleen lynn

irish sinn féin politician, activist and medical doctor

her life-long partner was irish revolutionary and labour activist madeleine ffrench-mullen (3) with whom she lived and opened a female-run hospital

day 35 : vera "jack" holme

british actress and suffragette; she was the pankhursts' chauffeur

lovers include suffragette evalina haverfield and scottish painter dorothy johnstone (3); she spent some time with chris st john, edith craig and clare atwood in the 20s

day 36 : elizabeth bowen

irish-british novelist and short story writer

lovers include american novelist carson mccullers and american poet may sarton

she is being interviewed by american poet sylvia plath in 3

day 37 : nesta obermer

british philanthropist, playwright and artist

lovers include british artist gluck (2) who represented their lesbian relationship in the medallion (3)

day 38 : anna hope hudson

american-born artist who lived in france and england; nicknamed nan hudson

she was socialite and artist ethel sands' life partner

day 39 : hilda matheson

english bbc radio talks producer (and absolute sweetheart)

lovers include poet and gardener vita sackville-west and poet dorothy wellesley

day 40 : violet gordon-woodhouse

british keyboard player; she specialised in playing the harpsichord and clavichord

lovers include english poet and author radclyffe hall and composer and suffragette ethel smyth

day 41 : dorothy johnstone

scottish painter and watercolourist

lovers include suffragette vera "jack" holme (1)

day 42 : constance spry

british educator, florist and author; she gave her name to a sort of rose

lovers include british painter gluck

day 43 : juliette huxley

swiss-french sculptor and writer; she was the tutor of the daughter of ottoline morrell (she photographed her in 3 with dorothy brett & julian morrell vinogradoff)

lovers include american poet may sarton who was previously her husband's lover

day 44 : winifred ashton

english novelist and playwright who wrote under the name clemence dane; her book regiment of women claims to be "a study of lesbian relationships in a school setting"

lovers could include elsie arnold whom she lived with and olwen bowen-davies

day 45 : margaret goldsmith (voigt)

american journalist, historical novelist and translator

she had an affair with vita sackville-west, primarily in berlin where they both lived in 1928

day 46 : frieda gertrud riess

german portrait photographer; seen below in an autoportrait (1)

vita sackville-west calls her the redhead lesbian in her letters, after meeting her while living in berlin; frieda showed her naked photographs of josephine baker during that encounter