Ruth Pennistan is a farmer’s daughter, born and brought up in Kent. But her dark hair and eyes belie a forgotten ancestry - a Spanish gypsy grandmother and a passionate inheritance. Malory, the rather straight-laced guest of the family, falls head over heels in love, even whilst Ruth becomes trapped against her will in a drama of love and tragedy with another man. Vita Sackville-West’s first heroine echoes the passions and contradictions of the author's own life. 

A heady romance surrounding the love affair of Ruth Pennistan and her cousin, Rawdon Westmacott. The novel is a good portrayal of the frustrating persistence of abusive relationships and the struggles of those who try to intervene, however the novel's insistence on personality and temperament being an ethnic trait is characteristic of the romanticist racism of the early 20th century and leaves 'Heritage' feeling rather dated.