Autograph letter signed L.A.G Strong to Vita Sackville-West about her son 1924

L. A. G. Strong gives an end of term report to Vita Sackville-West on her and Harold's son Ben Nicolson.

Strong, Leonard Alfred George (1896-1958). Autograph letter signed to Vita Sackville-West, concerning her son Benedict Nicolson at Summer Fields. 24 December 1924.

Two sides, 180x230mm, written from 16 Inverness Terrace, London, addressed "Dear Mrs Nicolson" and signed by L. A. G. Strong. Near fine, with original folds.

Writing on Christmas Eve, Strong reports on the recently completed school term. Ten-year-old Ben had been "in good form throughout", with "plenty of personality behind everything he does - he is always a positive member of society, which is the main thing!" He explains that Ben had been concerned about falling behind others in his French form: "The fact was he found he could lead without much effort, and just miscalculated the amount for a couple of weeks." Strong closes with good wishes to Harold Nicolson and Ben.

Strong, the novelist, poet, short-story writer and critic, taught at Summer Fields preparatory school, Oxford, where Benedict was a pupil. His first poetry collection, Dublin Days, appeared in 1921, preceding a prolific literary career. Benedict Nicolson (1914-1978), the elder son of novelist and poet Vita Sackville-West and diplomat and writer Harold Nicolson, subsequently became an art historian and longstanding editor of The Burlington Magazine. A personal assessment of the future scholar as a schoolboy, written by his teacher to his mother.