This extensive biography tells the story of the six Mitford daughters: Nancy, whose bright social life masked a doomed love which soured her success; Pam, a countrywoman married to a millionaire physicist; Diana, an iconic beauty, who fell in love with Oswald Moseley, the leader of the British Fascists; Unity, who became a member of Hitler’s inner circle before shooting herself when WWII was declared; Jessica, the family rebel, who declared herself a Communist in the schoolroom and the youngest sister, Debo, who became the Duchess of Devonshire.
‘She has had access to material which was not previously available, mainly Decca’s correspondence, but also some unpublished letters from James Lees-Milne, who was a close friend of the family, and certain Mitford papers at Chatsworth. She has also interviewed the two surviving Mitford sisters, Diana Mosley and the Duchess of Devonshire. And she paints a somewhat more human, in fact more tragic, picture of the Mitfords than previous biographers.’ Lynn Barber, Observer