Sunflower

West’s posthumously published semi-autobiographical novelânow available as an ebookA beautiful actress of the 1920s faces painful decisions about her lovers and her futureStar of the stage, Sunflower has everything but the attention she craves from her long-timeâand marriedâlover, Lord Essington, a brilliant and intense man occupied with more intellectual thoughts. Eager for a more rewarding experience, Sunflower must decide whether another “great man,” the Australian Francis Pitt, will offer a more traditional relationship and happiness. Written during West’s own psychoanalysis and never finished, Sunflower ponders topics of the power struggle between the sexes, and a woman’s freedom to determine her romantic destiny. Drawn heavily from West’s own relationships with H.G. Wells and Lord Beaverbrook, this roman à clef gives a glimpse of the author’s own struggle to find a satisfying relationship.