Review: The Mitford Affair - Marie Benedict
I don't normally enjoy
reading historical fiction, but earlier this year I discovered that I love
reading historical fiction based on real people and events, a bit like
biographical fiction. An author who I discovered that writes a lot on this
topic is Marie Benedict and I have a handful of hers to read. When it comes to
the Mitford sisters, the only one I knew about because she was a writer was
Nancy Mitford. I never really took much notice of her sisters, but after
reading The Mitford Affair based loosely on real events, the family was an interesting
bunch and for their time, the sisters were ahead of themselves. The book starts
at a party which is being hosted by the eldest of the sisters Diana Mitford -
Diana was married to Bryan Guiness - heir to the Guiness Beer Fortune. She ends
up divorcing him for a man she calls "M" aka Oswald Mosely. Oswald is
about Facism and sees himself being the British spokesperson for Hitler, Nancy
is making a career for herself out of writing and feels torn between loving her
sisters and her loyalty to Britain and their cousin's husband Winston Churchill,
Unity fell hard and fast for Hitler and his Nazi ways and moved to Germany to
be part of his party and became a spokesperson for the Nazi Party, Jessica aka
Decca was strong on Communism, the other two sisters Deborah and Pamela led
quieter lives compared to their sisters. Deborah became Lady Cavendish and
Pamela married scientist Derek Jackson and was content with being a female
farmer. The Mitford Affair focuses strongly on the lead-up to World War Two and
Hitler's reign of terror, the Mitford sisters' roles during this time, and the
aftermath which saw one sister in prison and another committing suicide. After
reading this I fell down the rabbit hole of The Mitford Sisters as I started to
research them. One thing that I love about Marie Benedict's books is they
are finally shining a spotlight on historical female figures who were normally
hidden in the wings.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/442RjKk
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