Customer Reviews
Fascinating and very enjoyable read - By: Carrie, 06 Aug 2008 
I knew nothing about the Mitfords before borrowing this book from my mum. I found it highly compelling, especially all the references to the many influential & varied people of the 20th century. It is also very sad at times, especially the harsh realities of the passage of time. This collection of letters has been carefully chosen to tell the reader the Mitfords' story butin the words of the girls themselves.
A big adventure from start to finish!! - By: Michelle Wright, 03 Aug 2008 This book is a truly wonderful read & I would totally recommend it. I didn't know much about the Mitfords before I read the book, but afterwards I was desperate to find out everything I could!
It takes a while to get to grips with who is who - but before long you are sucked into the world of the 'Hons & Rebels' & you don't want to leave!!
Its a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish, & the fact that it is real life is the icing on the cake.
A truly mixed bag - By: Amsterdamned, 02 Aug 2008 
This is a difficult book to review. The editing is very well done. The layout it clear & the letters' contents are usually well annotated (though I wish this had been more continuous - should the reader be expected to remember that "Edwina" on page x is the same as that on page y, who is annotated on page z?)
The contents, though, are another matter. Despite some snippets of very interesting material, for example Unity's accounts of her meetings with Adolf Hitler, rather too many of the letters rarely rise above the mundane, superficial & vacuous. How interesting can it be, just reading that long-dead famous person dined with other long-dead famous person, page after page? Nancy's letters are a casein point. She clearly wrote far better prose than her sisters, but the level rarely rose above an obsession with her wardrobe & the weather.
This is, of course a function of the fact that these women were a product of their class & their age, & I have little interest in, or time for, any of them personally except Jessica, who actually made the effort to cut herself of from the shallowness & to work to actually make a difference. Too much of the time of the others was taken up by bemoaning their lot (only two servants, three houses etc.) or by listing their famous friends.
Only as late middle age drew upon the women did their letters (and punctuation!) improve. This is clearly an important source of material & needed to be put into the public domain, but for long stretches it is also truly disappointing.
The Unconventional Mitford Sisters - By: Well Read, 26 May 2008 Life would be incredibly boring without unconventional people. The Mitford's were such an interesting family. The sisters, frequently referred to as "notorious," were pre & post war celebrities, collectively carving a nichein English history. Nancy Mitford's witty writing is as readable now asin the past. Of her novels, I'm particularly fond of "The Pusuit of Love," & "Lovein a Cold Climate." Nancy adroitly lampooned the aristocracy.
It's the support of fascism by Unity Mitford, who was infatuated with Hitler; & Diana Mitford's marriage to Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Fascists, which even now hasn't been forgiven. In the war years, Diana had the title "the most loathed womanin England". Although Mosley was an arrogant man & a womaniser, she loyally remained faithful. Jessica Mitford, also a writer, eloped with her communist lover to the USA. Mostly, Nancy is the one I had previously known more of through her writing.
Of the six, Nancy, Jessica, Deborah & Diana, are the more interesting sisters. Pamela the most obscure. The only sister living is gentle Deborah, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire. She also writes, & transformed Chatsworth with her husband.
The editor, Charlotte Mosley, provides essential background information to the letters. That makes those more interesting reading. The Mitford girls, gossipy, intimate family letters span the 20th century. Much has been written about the Mitford's over the years. Unlike others, Charlotte Mosley had access to 12,000 family letters. Five percent are includedin the book.
What makes the Mitford's so fascinating? They were not the wealthiest aristocratic family. They were, however, well connected to other titled & famous people. The sisters lived through the worst & the best of times, becoming embeddedin the fabric of British social history. In terms of women's history, they have a rightful place. Like othersin their time, they cut through the conventions of how upper class women should be. As to any family eccentricity, that more appropriately applies to their father, & fanatical tragic sister Unity. Charlotte Mosley's book is an erudite addition to the Mitford family saga.
Ladies of letters - By: Lynette Baines, 22 May 2008 The Mitford sisters were notorious for beauty & scandal. Diana married Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists & one of the most hated men of the 20th century. Unity had a passion for Hitler, livedin Germany during the 1930s & was so distraught at the outbreak of WWII that she attempted suicide. Jessica was a Communist, running away with a young man to the Spanish Civil War & spent much of her lifein America. Nancy was a novelist with a waspish sense of humour who livedin France & was unhappilyin love with a man who would never marry her. Pamela loved the country life but became increasingly eccentricin later life. Deborah married the Duke of Devonshire, & turned Chatsworth into one of the most popular stately homesin Britain. The letters between the sisters span almost the whole 20th century & are a fascinating look at life for the upper classes. The relationships between the sisters go through good & bad times. Jessica refused to speak to Diana for decades because of her disgust at her politics. Nancy informed against Diana during WWII which led to her being interned & separated from her children. After the death of their motherin 1963, Deborah became the centre of the correspondence, & she is the most likeable & stable of the sisters. Happyin her marriage & with the great work of transforming Chatsworth, she is the link between the sisters as they grow older.
