The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters

Summary (from the publisher): The great wits and beauties of their age, the Mitford sisters were immoderate in their passions for ideas and people, counting among their diverse friends Adolf Hitler and Queen Elizabeth II, Cecil Beaton and President Kennedy, Evelyn Waugh and Givenchy. As editor Charlotte Mosley notes, not since the Brontës have the members of a single family written so much about themselves, or have been so written about.

The Mitfords offers an unparalleled look at these privileged sisters: Nancy, the scalding wit who transformed her family life into bestselling novels; Pamela, who craved nothing more than a quiet country life; Diana, the fascist jailed with her husband, Oswald Mosley, during World War II; Unity, a suicide, torn by her worship of Hitler and her loyalty to home; Jessica, the runaway Communist and fighter for social change; and Deborah, the genial socialite who found herself Duchess of Devonshire.

Spanning the twentieth century, the magically vivid letters of the legendary Mitford sisters constitute not just a superb social and historical chronicle; they also provide an intimate portrait of the stormy but enduring relationships between six beautiful, gifted and radically different women who wrote to one another to confide, commiserate, tease, rage and gossip -- and above all, to amuse.

 

Review: "Wouldn't it be dread if one had a) no sisters b) sisters who didn't write." Deborah to Diana, 1965.

 

Spanning the years between 1925 and 2002, this volume includes selected letters between the six celebrated Mitford sisters - Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah. Few families have been the object of such fascination and writings, both during and after their lifetime and little wonder - the six sisters included a novelist, a country farmer, a Fascist, a Nazi, a Communist, and a Duchess. Considering that all but Unity and Pamela were published authors during their lifetime, its little wonder that the sisters kept up a furious correspondence between them (well, between the ones who were speaking anyway). This frank and revealing epistolary collection reveals the heart of the relationship between the sisters, as well as revealing their personalities and takes on the life and times of their family. Although letters from all the sisters is included, Unity, because of her early death, and Pamela, because of her retiring personality, are featured the least. Deborah, because of her decades' long role as the peacemaker and matriarch of the family after their mother's death (despite being the youngest sister), is featured the most.

 

This is far from the first text I have read on the Mitford sisters. For the novice Mitford fan, I doubt this is a good starting point. The editor does provide a succinct overview periodically to provide some context for the letters, but a joint biography, such as the ones by Mary S. Lovell or Laura Thompson would be more ideal introductions to this remarkable family.

 

It was disappointing how few early letters exist between the sisters. In many ways, their childhood, which takes on almost mythical proportions and the details of which were hotly contested among the various sisters, was long gone by the time this correspondence really begins. Additionally, although the editor clearly had to make hard decisions about what to include, the lack of inclusion of letters from their brother Tom Mitford or the girls' mother Sydney seemed amiss - particularly as while she was alive, their mother kept up regular correspondence with all the sisters. It was also amusing to see the casual way the sisters have of referencing the exalted social circles they moved in - including references to the Kennedys, Evelyn Waugh, Harold Acton, the Prince of Wales, Lady Bird Johnson, and others. Also striking is the overly fond terms used by Unity and Diana to describe Hitler: "the Fuhrer is the kindest man in the world isn't he?" (135). But their social position, historical placement, shocking choices, and boisterous personalities were indeed what made them famous in the first place.

 

The editor notes that in total, the sisters correspondence consists of roughly twelve thousand letters, far more than could ever be included in one volume. Indeed, she notes that only roughly five percent of their letters are included in the over 800 pages of this book. Mosley has done an excellent job of identifying letters that sisters' personalities, major life events, and tenor of the relationship between them. The chosen letters beautifully capture the inside jokes, complicated web of nicknames, and hidden lore of the Mitford's shared history.  

 

Stars: 4

 

Related Titles:

• The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters by Laura Thompson
• 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