by Marie Benedict
Overall: I’m fascinated by the Mitford sisters and have read several biographies about them as well as many of Nancy Mitford’s books. This work of historical fiction looks at the lives of three of the sisters, Nancy, Diana, and Unity, in the years leading up to World War II. Diana famously divorces her wealthy, handsome young husband, with whom she had two small sons, to become the mistress of the married Oswald Mosley, leader of the British fascists. Unity, known in the family for her eccentric behavior, becomes obsessed with Hitler and moves to Germany to become part of his social circle. And Nancy, already a successful novelist, tries to understand her sisters’ growing devotion to fascism while coping with a failing marriage and infertility. And the Mitfords’ cousin Winston Churchill makes several appearances. Told in chapters that rotate between each sister’s point of view, the reader has an intimate vantage point on the major events and players in the lead-up to the war.
Likes: The book is based on solid research and contains plenty of period detail. I could picture Nancy’s little cottage, Diana’s glorious wardrobe, and the restaurant where Unity sits waiting for Hitler. Nancy, Unity, and Diana emerge as distinct characters, each with her own perspective on the world. The book also does a good job of identifying their common desire to be a part of larger world events, to matter in the world and be seen as important, and how it resulted in different outcomes for each.
Dislikes: I found it extremely difficult to spend time looking at the world from Diana and Unity’s perspectives. Interestingly, the author chose to narrate Nancy’s sections in the first person, but used the third person for Diana and Unity, which I think reflects an appreciation of the difficulty of asking the reader to identify too closely with their abhorrent views. However, I found the jumps between first and third person took me out of the narrative. The Mitfords’ famous made-up languages and nicknames require a lot of explication, which also at times interrupted the flow of the book. I missed Decca, my favorite Mitford and a fierce anti-fascist, who only appears briefly.
FYI: anti-Semitism, violence, attempted suicide, infertility, loss of a child, infidelity.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.
Liz Helfrich 