Portret jednog braka

A Portrait of a Marriage (1973) is a book by Nigel Nicolson, son of the famous writer Vita Sackville-West and the diplomat Harold Nicolson. The work is one of the most famous memoirs of the 20th century and an important document on open marriage, sexual freedom and the high society of the Bloomsbury Group.

The book is based on a diary written by Vita Sackville-West in 1920, in which she candidly describes her marriage, her love for Harold and her homosexual relationships (most famously with Violet Trefusis). Nigel Nicolson publishes this diary with his own comments and additional letters, creating a mosaic that shows her parents' marriage over several decades.

Vita and Harold entered into a marriage in 1913 that was extremely fashionable for its time. Both were bisexual, had numerous extramarital affairs, but maintained a deep emotional and intellectual connection. Harold was a diplomat and writer, Vita a prolific writer and gardener (famous for her garden at Sissinghurst). Their marriage survived affairs, scandals and social pressures thanks to tolerance, respect and friendship.

Nigel Nicolson writes with love, but also with sincerity - he does not idealize parents, but shows their weaknesses, sufferings and strengths. The book is an important document about homosexuality at a time when it was taboo, about female sexual freedom and about the possibility of marriages that are not based on monogamy.

The style is elegant, British, with deep psychological insights. Portrait of a Marriage influenced numerous authors and became a classic of LGBTQ+ literature and memoirs. The work shows that a marriage can survive without conventional fidelity if there is sincerity and deep affection. Indispensable reading for fans of biographies, Bloomsbury groups and stories about complex human relationships.