The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family

By Mary S. Lovell

Book Overview

A portrait of the Mitford sisters follows Jessica, a communist; Debo, the Duchess of Devonshire; Nancy, a best-selling novelist; Diana, who was the most hated woman in England; and Unity, who was obsessed with Adolf Hitler.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393010430
• ISBN13: 9780393010435
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
• Length: 611 Pages
• Weight: 2.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 2.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Quite a ride

This family and this book are A LOT. I can’t say I liked them but they weren’t dull, and this book doesn’t skimp.

The Mitford Girls

A fascinating book which gives a unique insight into the Mitford family and an era of great interest.

Fair biography of the Mitford Girls

Wonderful fair biography of the Mitford girls: 6 sisters. They were connected with all important public figures in society and politics. Wonderfully written!

Sisters, Daughters, Rebels, Lovers

The Sisters is a multigenerational story of one of the most dazzlingly complex families ever to grace the pages of Burke's Peerage. The seven children of the second Lord Redesdale were raised in a fairly conventional upper class British manner, with servants and governesses. As five of the six daughters emerged into adulthood, she found quickly found fame (or notoriety). Nancy became a gifted novelist, essayist, and biographer; Diana started as a society hostess and ended as wife of one of the most controversial men in British politics and as an undaunted Hitler apologist; Unity went even further by becoming a Hitler acolyte who shot herself when World War II broke out; Jessica (Decca)also entered politics by becoming a passionate Communist and later a gifted social critic and muckraker; Deborah (Debo) was slightly more traditional in that she became a Duchess and chatelaine of one of England's grandest country houses. Only the second daugher Pam lived a retiring life, and the only son Tom's career was cut short by his death in World War II.The Sisters is a good introduction to the Mitfords if you aren't familiar with them. Even if you are a long time Mitford aficionado it's a valuable read because it covers all the sisters without favoring or slighting any. This balanced look at the Mitfords will stand out because so much of what has been written about them is biased towards/against one or more of the sisters. Mary Lovell spent a lot of time untangling the real family history, which is important because so much of the sisters' stories has gotten entangled with Nancy's fictional Radletts (from "The Pursuit of Love" and "Love in a Cold Climate") and with Jessica's imaginative memoir "Hons and Rebels". By the time you finish the book you will be quite fond of all of the sisters and their extended family, and thanks to Ms. Lovell's inclusion of information on their descendants, you will feel like a friend who has known the family for two or three generations.