[A few days after meeting Woolf for the first time]

I simply adore Virginia Woolf… She is utterly unaffected: there is no outward adornments—she dresses quite atrociously. At first you think she is plain; then a sort of spiritual beauty imposes itself on you, and you find a fascination in watching her. She was smarter last night; that is to say, the woollen orange stockings were replaced by yellow silk ones, but she still wore the pumps. She is both detached and human, silent till she wants to say something, and then says it supremely well. She is quite old. I’ve rarely taken such a fancy to anyone, and I think she likes me. At least, she’s asked me to Richmond where she lives. Darling, I have quite lost my heart.

—Vita Sackville-West, carta para Harold Nicolson em 19 de Dezembro de 1922, Vita and Harold: The Letters of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson 1919–1962 (via Letter of Note)