| Admin/Biog History | Julia Strachey (1901-1979) was an English writer and niece of Lytton Strachey.
Both through the connections of her uncle Lytton, and the name she made for herself through her writing, Julia became integrated into the Bloomsbury Group. Through this connection she became acquainted with the Nicolson family.
In 1927 Strachey married the sculptor Stephen Tomlin. They separated in 1934. In 1939, she met the artist (and later critic) Lawrence Gowing. The couple went on to spend thirty years together, fifteen of them married before Gowing fell in love with another woman. Nicolson met Gowing in 1939, and the three became very close friends, regularly socialising together and staying at each other's houses.
Journals in the Archive reveal that in December 1946, Strachey declared her love for Nicolson, but this was unrequited. Nicolson continued to remain friends with both individuals, providing emotional support to the couple both through the various ups and downs of their relationship and after the final breakdown of their marriage in the late 1960s.
Strachey died in 1979 after a long illness. |
| Description | Includes correspondence of a personal nature concerning her relationship with Gowing and Nicolson; invitations to meet up; plans to socialise together and her health. The letters from the 1940s are best read alongside the journals for this period.
Of particular note:
-letter, dated 2 October 1940, concerning her attempts to see Nicolson separately from Gowing
-letter, dated 4 July 1946, concerning her aim to live a life independent of Gowing, and inviting Nicolson out to a 'public entertainment' with her
-letter, dated 26 October 1946, comparing Nicolson's life to a book she is reviewing titled 'The Great Calm' and lamenting the fact he does not have time for her amongst his friends
-letter, undated [December 1946], expressing her love for Nicolson and lamenting that he does not reciprocate
-letter, dated 22 December [1946], responding to a letter from Nicolson (following a declaration of love from Strachey) in which he revealed his homosexuality
-letter, sent 15 June 1947, concerning various friends who prefer same-sex relationships (Raymond Mortimer; Eardley Knollys; Eddie Sackville-West and Lawrence Gowing) but who have made love to women and her own declaration of love for Nicolson. [A digital copy of this letter can be found below]
-letter, dated 22 October 1968, concerning a falling out with Philip Toynbee over his 'tiresome selfishness'
-letter, dated 7 December 1968, informing Nicolson that Gowing has moved back into her flat as he has 'been living a miserable gloomy life with Jennie for ages'
-postcard, dated 2 May 1971, suggesting how to acquire works by the painter Simon Bussy
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| Image Caption | Letter from Julia Strachey to Nicolson, dated 15 June 1947, concerning various friends. (6pp) |