biography of Sassoon, "his personal life was something that he shut away from the world". There was only a single intimate letter among his personal papers, to "Jack", a travel companion. The reviewer adds, "despite his many gay and bisexual friends, away from 'bohemian circles' it was still a taboo subject (homosexual acts were illegal). Sassoon was consequently regarded as an enigmatic solitary figure". Another reviewer offered that, "His sexuality was central to his character and activities, but there is never any hint of sexual activity in the many memories of him". Death Sassoon died on 3 June 1939, aged 50, of complications from influenza. He left an estate valued at £1,980,892 () on which death duty of close on £800,000 was paid. His cousin Hannah Gubbay (1885–1968), the widow of David Gubbay, was the main beneficiary, inheriting Port Lympne, Trent Park and an annuity of £11,000 (). After Sassoon's death, he was described by his friend Noël Coward as "a phenomenon that would never recur". According to biographer Damian Collins "I think because he died just three months before the Second World War started, he became part of that lost golden era; war had closed a chapter on that". References Sources Peter Stansky. Sassoon: The Worlds of Philip and Sybil (2003) Yale University Press Robert Boothby. I Fight to Live (1947) Gollancz London Clive Aslet. The Last Country Houses (1982) Yale University Press New Haven and London Christoper Hussey Country Life article, 17 January 1931 issue, pp. 66–7 Mark Girouard. Life in the English Country House (1978) Yale University Press New Haven and London Notes External links Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1910–1918 UK MPs 1918–1922 UK MPs 1922–1923 UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 British Jews Rothschild family Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Philip 1888 births 1939 deaths Parliamentary Private Secretaries to the Prime Minister Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Royal East Kent Yeomanry officers LGBT Jews English LGBT politicians British politicians of Iraqi descent Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Trent Park LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom LGBT military personnel Ministers in the Chamberlain peacetime government, 1937–1939 Bullingdon Club members British people of Indian-Jewish descent Baghdadi Jews British politicians