Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters -

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.

six sisters in search of an editor (7/8 people found this 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.

This Book is fab! (6/6 people found this helpful)

I loved this book but there are some errors in relation to the photos- Joan Kennedy is described as Eunice in the snap with Ted Kennedy. Anyone who loves the Mitfords will love this.

Wonderful,wonderful Mitfords (8/9 people found this helpful)

How much did I enjoy this book? It was superb.I have read loads of books about the Mitfords, but you can't beat listening to the ladies themselves.The letters are of historic provinance,insightful and a reflection of the upper classes in this period.
Anytime that I read a book about the Mitfords I wish that I had met them in full glory.
My favourite sisters are Debo and Nancy!

A truly wonderful read - I'd like to give it 6 stars! (25/28 people found this helpful)

"Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters," is a truly wonderful read. I have just finished the 800-plus pages and wish very much that there were 800 more. I'd like to give it 6 stars, but dear old Amazon (whose price is a giveaway £14.95 instead of the RRP of £25.00) only permits one to praise to a point. I willingly go beyond that point and any buyer who is a little hesitant about getting the book for Christmas and/or adding more copies to the order for the rellies that are loved or hated - both types will appreciate it, even if they can't or couldn't stand the Mitford 'girls' - should go ahead right away.

I have read somewhere that Charlotte Mosley (daughter-in-law of Diana Mitford, aka Lady Mosley) had access to some 12,000 personal letters exchanged by the sisters over nearly eighty years and has only chosen to use 5% of them for the book. But what a literal hoard of literary treasure!

Mrs Mosley has selected well and edited superbly, bringing out and explaining with her own notes the deep and long-lasting relationships of the sisters, the context of their times, their humour and their eccentricities, their enthusiasm for words in several languages, their loves and their tragedies and, with the exception of the delightful and redoubtable Deborah, now the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, the sadnesses of their passing.

The sisters have been described as "eccentric" and "maddening." Having read and enjoyed every one of their letters as published in this splendid work, I would be inclined to suggest that they were no more eccentric or maddening than the members of many families. But I suppose that their relatively privileged upbringing, their inclination to express themselves with confidence from an early age, their having the time to write so much - both letters and books - and the extraordinary array of celebrities with whom they mixed, all must have been major factors in how and why their lives were so "inter-esting" (or eccentric or maddening).

What were my conclusions? Well, first, I would have loved to have met any one of the ladies, though I would probably have become tongue-tied had a meeting happened. Second, my 'favourite' Mitfords are definitely Diana and Deborah, the former loyal to her late husband (Sir Oswald Mosley) to the last, and the latter clearly the most consistently loving and loved. And third, though it is often said and written that we shall never see such a correspondence again, I suggest that, even with Emails, provided they are filed, it is possible for our electronic means of communication to be preserved for future generations. I have done this with a distant relative and a pleasant (and private) little book is the result.

Finally, I wish to make it clear that I have no 'axe to grind' in praising "Mitfords": I am not and have not been related to or friendly with any of them and am merely reporting my opinion to a wider audience that this book is absolutely magnificent. Buy it now!

Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters

Reader Reviews:

A wonderful read (3/3 people found this helpful)

six sisters in search of an editor (7/8 people found this helpful)

This Book is fab! (6/6 people found this helpful)

Wonderful,wonderful Mitfords (8/9 people found this helpful)

A truly wonderful read - I'd like to give it 6 stars! (25/28 people found this helpful)

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