The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters

I had never heard of the Mitfords until a few years ago an Englishman (now American citizen) hired me to write his memoirs of WWII. His sister visited from England and told me about how Unity Mitford went to her boarding school. When asked who Unity Mitford was, she said, "You don't know the Mitford girls? Well, I do now! This collection of letters between the six Mitford girls is an outstanding record of their history spanning 80 years from 1925. In 1935 Unity met and became enamored with Hitler. The letters never indicated any romance, but she went to many major events with him. On September 3, 1939 when Britain and France declare war on Germany, Unity tried to take her life. She failed, causing brain damage. She died in 1948 at age 33. Nancy, the oldest, was born in 1904, Deborah the youngest in 1920. The book has photos, a short bio and family tree. The other sisters are Pamela, Unity and Jessica. Their brother Tom, who was sent to boarding school at age 8, died in WWII. These six English women were from an aristocratic family-but some became Nazi sympathizers, one an avowed Communist, others a novelist, poultry farmer and duchess. You follow them through their naïve youth to their adult involvements-as daughters, wives, widows, mothers (happy and grieving) and aging women. The letters (edited by Diane's daughter-in-law Charlotte) were printed using all the pet names and code words they used, but once you get reading it becomes easy. The many footnotes were invaluable and historical. Diana (1910-2003) married Sir Oswald Mosley, with Hitler present at the reception at Goebbel's home. They had had a long affair, and kept this marriage secret, too. Mosley formed the British Union of Fascists. In 1941, the British imprisoned Mosley and Diana for their activities-holding them over three years. By this time, they had four sons (two from Diana's earlier marriage) who were taken care of by the other the Mitford sisters. In 1941, Unity wrote Diana at prison that sums up the Mitfords: "When I first came back, I thought all this was a play, and I was looking on. Now I know I have a part to play, and I can't bear acting it." Armchair Interviews says: A superb collection of letters that take you as an observer before, during and beyond WWII. You'll never ask: "Who are the Mitford girls?"

A MOST enjoyable book-excellent history of this amazing family-about which I had read much before-great sadness-the feuds and family quarrels-some of which were never resolved-but mostly-I hate to highlight my lack of depth-for the humour-I laughed until I cried. I had to pace my reading as I went through it all too quickly.

This is the first book I've read by the Mitford sisters - I now want to move on to the other books of letters by Nancy and Jessica as well as some of the Mitford's autobiographies. I found these letters fascinating because, as is noted in one of the introductions, this is the first book of letters to chart the lives of six siblings over the span of some 70+ years. I was a little disappointed that a lot of historical events from the sisters' points of view seemed to have been left out, but it was still interesting reading through the decades. I understand that the volume of letters was daunting and cuts had to be made in order to get the most out of as many letters as possible, but it was still disappointing to read so many short letters. Also, the number of letters to and from Pam made one wonder why there were so few letters. It was never really explained why there were so few letters; unless an explanation, culled from an introduction to one section, was that most of her letters seemed to revolve around her dogs, chickens, and food - massive amounts of food and menus. But, she is referred to in many of the letters - maybe that excuses the lack of Pam. I found to be very helpful reasonably frequent editorial comments (translations of made up languages between the sisters and explanations of certain words) that kept cropping up, in the likely event that one forgot the meaning of certain words. I really enjoyed this book and can't help but hope that another volume is in process.

The six daughters of Lord and Lady Redesdale dominated gossip and society columns in Europe and America during the 1930s and were power players in the literary, social, and political worlds for more than fifty years. They were all bright, witty, and beautiful women who attracted comment and trouble wherever they went. There have been innumerable books about them, including memoirs/roman a clefs from some of the daughters themselves, and at least two have had collections of their letters published before, but this is the first time that correspondence from all six has been published in one volume. Nancy, the eldest, was a novelist and biographer. Diana and Unity are always described (rightfully) as "unrepentant Hitler apologists", while Jessica is inevitably portrayed (just as correctly) as "Left wing" or worse. Deborah, the youngest, married a Duke and became chatelaine of one of the grandest English country houses. Pamela was second oldest and quietest, enjoying a rural life surrounded by animals. There are many hundreds of letters in this huge collection, which Charlotte Mosley (granddaughter-in-law of Diana) indicates was winnowed down from untold thousands. The letters are interesting for several reasons. Since the Mitford girls knew an enormous number and variety of people the letters are filled with references to various social, political, and literary lions (thoughtfully identified in helpful footnotes after each letter). Unity and Diana's obsession with Hitler makes their letters particularly fascinating, if disturbing, when they fondly mention "the dear old Fuhrer" and other Nazi leaders. (One wonders if Charlotte Mosley intentionally left out some even more hateful comments the two must have made during the 1930s). On a lighter note, the letters are often witty and hysterically funny, particularly those from Nancy and Jessica. My favorite line comes from one of Nancy's letters, assuring an acquaintance that "People Like Us are never killed in earthquakes, only 29 people died, all non-U." Most of all, these letters make wonderful reading because they provide a chronicle of a family over seventy years or so. The Mitford sisters married, divorced, had affairs, lost husbands/brothers/friends during the war and afterward, gave birth to children, some of whom died, dealt with their aging parents' illnesses and deaths, and then grew old and ill themselves. I particularly felt for Nancy, who suffered miserably from cancer for four years, and for her sisters who took enormous trouble to visit and help her as much as they could. I longed for Diana and Jessica to make up their quarrel, which meant they rarely corresponded after 1940, and was glad when they finally exchanged a letter or two in the 1970s. Unity and Diana always troubled me, and they do even more after I read their letters: how could people that bright, fun, and artistic have become Fascists? Pam always was and remains the most unknown of the sisters, evidently a bi