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The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters | 
 enlarge | Creator: Charlotte Mosley
Publisher: HarperPerennial
Category: Book
List Price: £10.99
Buy New: £5.49
You Save: £5.50 (50%)
New (21) Used (4) from £5.49
Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 332
Media: Paperback
Pages: 830
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.1 x 2.1
ISBN: 1841157740
EAN: 9781841157740
ASIN: 1841157740
Publication Date: May 5, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 A wonderful read January 3, 2008
F. Gourlay (Stratford upon Avon, England)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
Having read and adored a number of Mitford biographies and a number of the books written by the sisters themselves I was truly excited to receive this at Christmas.
I loved every word of this book - Charlotte Mosley's erudite and fair narration and moreover the words of the sisters.
It certainly gives one pause for thought about Hitler, and or course about Diana and Oswald Mosley.
I would recommend this to anyone who has sisters, anyone who has an interest in the history of the 20th century - (if just to see how an inordinate number of different characters from the twenteith century link up from Betjeman to Hitler to Lucian Freud to Cecil Beaton to Churchill) and indeed to anyone interested in understanding human relationships.
My favourite Mitford character without a doubt is the mis-understood Muv - what incredible unfaltering loyalty. A true inspiration.
20th Century Blue-bloods October 21, 2007
Donald Mackay (Edinburgh, Scotland)
39 out of 42 found this review helpful
It's hard to imagine that there will ever be another book quite like this one; partly because of the death of letter-writing but mainly because it is hard to conceive of six astonishing characters as the Mitford sisters in one family - one sister a communist, another a duchess, yet another a bestselling novelist, yet another had Hitler as a wedding guest.
At times laugh-out-loud funny, at others incredibly moving; this is a compelling read and the range of the letters mirrors the diversity of the sisters' lives. The dramatis personae alone justifies the admission price - from Elsa Schiaparelli to Stella Tennant; Goebbels to JFK; Evelyn Waugh to Jon Snow; Winston Churchill to Lucian Freud; this book is an alternative history of the 20th Century.
If this book were a novel, it would fly of the shelves: beautiful writing, excellent jokes as well as tragedies dramatic and mundane, shaped into a compelling narrative by a very skilful editor. I can't recommend this highly enough even for those who think they already "know" the Mitford story.
six sisters in search of an editor December 10, 2007
Tiptoe (Rome)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
No book can possibly capture the incomparable story of the Mitford sisters better than they can tell it themselves. From society scandal to family tragedy, from one ideological extreme to another, this masterfully edited volume conveys every aspect of this fascinatingly complex clan and the era in which they lived and squabbled. Capable of intense loyalty and unpardonable betrayal, the Mitford sisters were above all masters of the arcane nickname, private jokes that are at times caustic, at others affectionate and touching. The childish and precocious banter, the patter of an informal, often fraught, discussion, like a late night conversation in six voices, broadcast over long distances and with much to be read between the lines, is what gives this book so much of its charm and import. It's like reading a history of the most traumatic events of the 20th century with concise, pithy commentary, punctuated by humorous asides, conducted by literate narrators pathologically unafraid of the big issues. Mosley's touch is deft; the introductory passages to each section could stand alone, and yet remain a model of editorial restraint. Like an assured chef d'orchestre, her selection allows the sisters speak for themselves, drawing out themes without sacrificing each unique strand or its counterpoint. This book is a perfect primer to, and an endlessly amusing psychological portrait of one of the most exasperating and alluring families of the modern era.
The Unconventional Mitford Sisters May 26, 2008
Well Read (Norhampton England)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
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 and post war celebrities, collectively carving a niche in English history. Nancy Mitford's witty writing is as readable now as in the past. Of her novels, I'm particularly fond of "The Pusuit of Love," and "Love in a Cold Climate." Nancy adroitly lampooned the aristocracy.
It's the support of fascism by Unity Mitford, who was infatuated with Hitler; and 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 woman in England". Although Mosley was an arrogant man and 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 and 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, and 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 included in the book.
What makes the Mitford's so fascinating? They were not the wealthiest aristocratic family. They were, however, well connected to other titled and famous people. The sisters lived through the worst and the best of times, becoming embedded in the fabric of British social history. In terms of women's history, they have a rightful place. Like others in 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, and fanatical tragic sister Unity. Charlotte Mosley's book is an erudite addition to the Mitford family saga.
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