The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters

Summary (from the publisher): The contrasting lives of the Mitford sisters – stylish, scandalous and tragic by turns – hold up a mirror to upper-class life before and after the Second World War.

The eldest was a razor-sharp novelist of upper-class manners; the second was loved by John Betjeman; the third was a fascist who married Oswald Mosley; the fourth idolized Hitler and shot herself in the head when Britain declared war on Germany; the fifth was a member of the American Communist Party; the sixth became Duchess of Devonshire.

They were the Mitford sisters: Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah. Born into country-house privilege, they became prominent as ‘bright young things’ in the high society of interwar London. Then, as the shadows crept over 1930s Europe, the stark – and very public – differences in their outlooks came to symbolise the political polarities of a dangerous decade.

The intertwined stories of their lives – recounted in masterly fashion by Laura Thompson – hold up a revelatory mirror to upper-class English life before and after World War II.  

 

Review: I received an advance readers' edition of this book as a giveaway on Goodreads.

 

The Mitford sisters were the six celebrated daughters of the second Lord and Lady Redesdale. Born in England between 1904 and 1920, Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah were marked by high individuality during a singular time in history. Known for their beauty, wit, originality, striking political choices, unique idioms, and made famous by their writings, the six sisters lived glittering and vastly differently lives. They can be succinctly described thus: "Writer; Countrywoman; Fascist; Nazi; Communist; Duchess" (1) yet theirs was a complex and complicated family web. Among the Mitfords' friends include Hitler, Churchill, the Kennedys, Evelyn Waugh, and Maya Angelou: the Mitfords cavorted with the biggest and brightest names of their times because they attracted and demanded attention, each in their own way.

 

My one great issue with Thompson's biography is that she has a disconcerting habit of darting about in time rather than providing a straightforward, chronological biography. The first half of the book is forever diving forward in time to give Thompson's thoughts on misunderstandings between the sisters or the impact of various books written by the sisters on their persona and interactions. Indeed, if I had not already read multiple books about the sisters, I imagine that I may have been somewhat confused about their early life and childhood after reading this, as the birth order and early years is never clearly laid out. On the other hand, Thompson gives more of a complete overview of the most forgotten Mitford - their brother Tom - than most accounts written about them.

 

Thompson asserts that it is thanks to Nancy that the public image of the Mitfords arose. Thanks to her novels, which famously caricature her idiosyncratic family, the Mitfords grew in fame. "She is the begetter of 'the Mitfords'.  Her novel, followed by Jessica's autobiographical work, "nurtured and primed the Mitfordian image until it became the essence of aristocratic charm, accessible yet untouchable, and as dangerously irrestible as a drug" (12). Indeed, Nancy's novels inspired and enabled various sisters to pursue their own writings; Jessica, Diana, and Deborah would all go on to write their memoirs.

 

I have previously read The Sisters by Mary S. Lovell and wondered if Thompson's joint biography would have much to add. In terms of a complete and detailed biography, I believe Lovell's to be the best starting place. For those already familiar with the Mitfords and looking for a more analytical approach to their relationships and writing, I would suggest Thompson. Thompson freely interjects her own take on the sisters, making it clear that Diana was too obsessed with her tyrannical husband and that Jessica was somewhat delusional in her warped perspective of her childhood and sisters. Likewise, she sees Deborah through a charmed lens, as the Mitford with the most equanimity and agreeable personality. Furthermore, she offers insight into Diana's imprisonment during WWII as well as Unity's obsession with Hitler. Rather than simply providing the facts, she provides an analysis of their actions.

 

Perhaps because of their multitude, perhaps because of their upbringing, perhaps because "they came of age when the world went mad" (77), the Mitfords have a lasting appeal for their fearless individualism, charm, and beauty. While Thompson's biography is perhaps less comprehensive than others, it does provide a more succinct and more analytical approach to the sisters and their written work.

 

Stars: 4

 

 

Related Titles:

• The Sisters by Mary S. Lovell
• The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
• Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
• Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford
• Wait for Me! by Deborah Mitford