Growing up before
WWII at the top of Britain's aristocratic society, girls were
destined to be the wives and mothers of the next generation. Some of
the Mitford girls tried this avenue, but it was too narrow for their
political ideas.
Perhaps the most
remarkable thing about the six girls is the diversity of their
political leanings. Unity was a close friend and admirer of Hitler.
She committed suicide when Great Britain declared war on Germany.
Diana left her traditional family to become the wife of Oswald
Mosley, head of the Fascist party in Britain. Jessica was a Communist
sympathizer and member of the American Communist Party. Nancy was a
novelist whose novels depict the upper-class before WWII. Deborah
became the Duchess of Devonshire and was instrumental in restoring
Devonshire house.
The diversity of the
girls lives and interests reads almost like a novel. Even the parents
and grandparents were unusual characters. I enjoyed the portion of
the book recounting their exploits. To highlight manners and morals
of upper-class society, the author contrasted Nancy's book, The
Pursuit of Love, which was largely drawn from her own family, to
highlight the way the way this eccentric family interacted.
Although I enjoyed
the book, I found some parts difficult to follow. The author jumps
around giving time to each sister and the parents. I also found the
book quite repetitious. Some of this is due to the use of Nancy's
book to illustrate the lives of her family. We end up reading
essentially the same things more than once. The author is also quite
intrusive breaking into the narrative to offer her own opinions.
However, if you are interested in the Mitfords, this book is very
comprehensive and presents a good background for their way of life.
I received this book
from Net Galley for this review.
No comments:
Post a Comment