Violet Trefusis
| Violet Trefusis | |
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Trefusis in 1920
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| Born | Violet Keppel 6 June 1894 London, England |
| Died | 29 February 1972 (aged 77) near Florence, Italy |
| Occupation | novelist, radio broadcaster |
| Nationality | English |
| Spouse | Denys Trefusis (1919–29; his death) |
Violet Trefusis (née Keppel; 6 June 1894 – 29 February 1972) was an English writer and socialite. She is chiefly remembered for her lengthy affair with the poet Vita Sackville-West, which the two women continued after their respective marriages. Trefusis wrote novels and non-fiction works, both in English and French.
The affair was featured in novels by both parties, in Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando: A Biography, and in many letters and memoirs of the period, roughly 1912–1922. Many are preserved at Yale University Library. Trefusis also inspired other fiction and was featured as a pivotal character in these novels, including Lady Montdore in Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate and Muriel in Harold Acton's The Soul's Gymnasium.
Born Violet Keppel, she was the daughter of Alice Keppel, later a mistress of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, and her husband, The Hon. George Keppel, a son of the 7th Earl of Albemarle. But members of the Keppel family thought her biological father was William Beckett, subsequently 2nd Baron Grimthorpe, a banker and MP for Whitby.
Violet lived her early youth in London, where the Keppel family had a house in Portman Square. When she was four years old, her mother became the favourite mistress of Albert Edward ("Bertie"), the Prince of Wales, who succeeded to the throne as King Edward VII on 22 January 1901. He paid visits to the Keppel household in the afternoon around tea-time on a regular basis until the end of his life in 1910. (George Keppel, who was aware of the affair, was conveniently absent at these times.)
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