I'll Stand by You: The Letters of Sylvia Townsend Warner & Valentine Ackland

Throughout her professional life, Sylvia Townsend Warner was a prolific writer, ranging among biography, novels, short stories, and poetry. As I'll Stand by You, a collection of letters between Warner and her longtime companion, Valentine Ackland, proves, she was equally productive in her personal life as well. The relationship between the two women was a remarkably happy one, and their correspondence reflects this: one won't find much evidence of Sturm und Drang in the letters they wrote to one another during their separations. Instead, there are frequent declarations of love and practical admonishments to dress warmly and eat properly. When Ackland died after nearly 40 years of "marriage," Warner gathered together their voluminous correspondence for publication, connecting the letters with her own narrative and directing her editor to wait until anyone who might be offended by the contents was dead before publishing them. In addition to voicing the intense passion Warner and Ackland felt for one another, the letters range over a wide variety of topics--from pets to politics. What makes this collection of letters so intriguing is the wit and elegance with which both Warner and Ackland wrote. Their relationship wasn't perfect by any means--there was a lengthy period surrounding World War II during which Valentine fell in love with another woman--but it was securely grounded in love, a fact to which these selected letters stand testament.