Mary S. Lovell, a renowned biographer and author of 'The Mitford Girls', dives into the fascinating lives of the Mitford sisters—Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah. She explores their hedonistic escapades in the roaring 1920s and the ideological divides of the 1930s. Hear about Diana’s scandalous romance that rocked her family, Unity’s troubling connection to fascism, and Jessica’s fight for political activism in America. Lovell’s personal anecdotes reveal how these sisters found themselves at the center of history's most shocking moments.
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insights INSIGHT
Mitford Sisters' Political Divide
The Mitford sisters held drastically different political views despite identical upbringing and education.
Their opposing fascist and communist stances emerged partly from sibling rivalry and youthful contrarianism.
insights INSIGHT
Sibling Rivalry Fuels Ideological Split
Despite identical upbringing, the sisters’ polarized ideologies reflected sibling rivalry more than parental influence.
Political symbols divided Unity and Jessica's shared bedroom, yet they maintained a complex loving relationship.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Pamela's Quiet Country Life
Pamela Mitford was content with a quiet country life, excelling in animal husbandry and farming.
She was witty and charming but did not seek the spotlight like her sisters.
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This biography by Mary S. Lovell delves into the lives of the six Mitford sisters, offering a balanced portrayal of their diverse personalities and experiences. The book explores their family dynamics, including their remarkable mother, Sydney, and their complex relationships with historical figures like Hitler. Lovell's approach allows readers to form their own opinions about the sisters' lives and choices.
Hons and Rebels
Hons and Rebels
Jessica Mitford
Hons and Rebels is a memoir that divides into two main parts. The first part details Jessica Mitford's upbringing at Swinbrook in the Cotswolds, highlighting her eccentric family, particularly her sisters Nancy, Diana, Unity, Pamela, and Debo. The narrative includes their unique nicknames and private languages, as well as Jessica's emerging political identity. The second part focuses on her romance with her cousin Esmond Romilly, their elopement to France and Spain, and their involvement in the Spanish Civil War. The book provides a vivid account of Mitford's rebellious spirit and her early life before she moved to the United States and became involved in civil rights and anti-capitalist activism.
Wigs on the Green
Wigs on the Green
Nancy Mitford
THE PURSUIT OF LOVE
Nancy Mitford
For much of the 20th century, six sisters from Britain’s minor aristocracy had a knack for making headline after scandalous headline. They were Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah Mitford. Now, the sisters' incredible shared story has been adapted into a TV drama called ‘Outrageous’ – based on the best-selling biography by Mary S Lovell. In this first of two episodes, Mary explores the sisters’ lives up to the end of the Second World War in 1945. Speaking to Danny Bird, she covers the hedonistic 1920s, the ideological rupture between fascism and communism in the 1930s, and how the sisters seemed to be on the frontlines of history, wherever it was happening.
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