Deborah, last of the Mitford girls, dies

Alessandra Kelley · Sep 24, 2014

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-29348946

Deborah, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, and the last surviving Mitford sister, has died aged 94.

Her son, the Duke of Devonshire, announced the death in a statement from Chatsworth House, her stately home.

The six Mitford sisters, the daughters of the 2nd Baron Redesdale, were brilliantly weird and eccentric. Their father, a proud, country-dwelling conservative, did not believe in educating girls, and was rewarded with shocking scandals and astonishing behavior from his daughters.

The Mitford sisters fascinated - and sometimes scandalised - British society in the 1940s.

Unity was a friend of Hitler, Diana, the second wife of British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, and Jessica a left-wing polemicist.

Nancy Mitford was an author and celebrated humorist and cynic. The whole family was something peculiar and well worth reading up on.

Deborah was known as the "sensible" Mitford.

ColoradoGuy · Sep 24, 2014

I love Nancy Mitford's books (The Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate).

I don't know much about Deborah. I think a couple of Jeeves/Wooster episodes with Frye and Laurie had some thinly veiled Mitford-type characters.

Haggis · Sep 24, 2014

Jessica shook up the American funeral industry something fierce.

A fascinating family, for sure.

Snowstorm · Sep 24, 2014

Thanks for the information and link, Alessandra Kelley. Very interesting family. I added the novels and her memoir to my to-read list.

TerzaRima · Sep 24, 2014

Mary Lovell's The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family is a worthwhile read, as well as Hons and Rebels, Jessica Mitford's memoir.

Nancy Mitford's letters are also really entertaining--for example, she was close with Evelyn Waugh and his wife, whom she called "Evelyn and she-Evelyn."

Lady MacBeth · Sep 24, 2014

TerzaRima said:
Mary Lovell's The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family is a worthwhile read, as well as Hons and Rebels, Jessica Mitford's memoir.

Nancy Mitford's letters are also really entertaining--for example, she was close with Evelyn Waugh and his wife, whom she called "Evelyn and she-Evelyn."

I read Deborah's memoir, Wait for Me, and found it quite entertaining too.

RIP Debo

TerzaRima · Sep 24, 2014

Apparently the Duchess was friends with Patrick Leigh Fermor, and their correspondence has been made into a book. Fermor's travel diaries are great reading as well.

Expat-hack · Sep 25, 2014

Somerset Maugham called Patrick Leigh Fermor "a middle-class gigolo for upper-class women." He was extremely handsome and charming and had quite a few high class lady friends in his day. I'll have to look into if any of his dealings with the Mitford sisters were more than platonic.

TerzaRima · Sep 25, 2014

I think the book is called In Tearing Haste--I've only browsed it a bit, not read the whole thing. Reading their exchanges made me feel a bit like we've evolved into a race of drive-through, lol-ing oafs. Such wit and complexity on the page from two people without--by today's standards--much formal education.

Somerset Maugham called Patrick Leigh Fermor "a middle-class gigolo for upper-class women."

Meeow! Maugham was known to be even more obsessed with class than most Brits of his time and place.

maxmordon · Sep 25, 2014

ColoradoGuy said:
I don't know much about Deborah. I think a couple of Jeeves/Wooster episodes with Frye and Laurie had some thinly veiled Mitford-type characters.

I only recall the Mosley parody and his Black Shorts (because all the shirts were already taken...)

Expat-hack · Sep 30, 2014

maxmordon said:
I only recall the Mosley parody and his Black Shorts (because all the shirts were already taken...)

British Knees!

maxmordon · Sep 30, 2014

Expat-hack said:
British Knees!

And a British-made bicycle and umbrella for every working citizen!

mccardey · Sep 30, 2014

If you find this sort of thing fascinating (oh, what? I think it is...) there's a gorgeous doco about the last season of debs that has D. M. and her cronies chatting about the last Season. Here.

You're welcome.

Expat-hack · Oct 1, 2014

mccardey said:
If you find this sort of thing fascinating (oh, what? I think it is...) there's a gorgeous doco about the last season of debs that has D. M. and her cronies chatting about the last Season. Here.

You're welcome.

Splendid. And thank you. It is like viewing life in another universe.

Lady MacBeth · Oct 1, 2014

mccardey said:
If you find this sort of thing fascinating (oh, what? I think it is...) there's a gorgeous doco about the last season of debs that has D. M. and her cronies chatting about the last Season. Here.

You're welcome.

Thank you!

I'll take a look.

Old Hack · Oct 1, 2014

It's the Duchess's funeral today.

She transformed Chatsworth House into a thriving business and a brilliant place to visit: it's quite close to where I live, and is beautiful. She will be much missed.

Lady MacBeth · Oct 3, 2014

Old Hack said:
It's the Duchess's funeral today.

She transformed Chatsworth House into a thriving business and a brilliant place to visit: it's quite close to where I live, and is beautiful. She will be much missed.

I always wanted to see Chatsworth. Maybe someday...

Captcha · Oct 4, 2014

There's a fun set of excerpts from the Duchess's book posted at http://the-toast.net/2014/10/03/best-sentences-debo-mitfords-wait/.

Lines like “She used to pick up poor Miss Dell, the governess, who was rather small, and put her on the sideboard," certainly make me want to read the book and get a glimpse into their lives...

Lady MacBeth · Oct 5, 2014

The photos from her funeral really were something with the Chatsworth staff lined up along the road.

Deborah, last of the Mitford girls, dies

Alessandra Kelley

Sophipygian

ColoradoGuy

I've seen worse.

Haggis

Evil, undead Chihuahua

Snowstorm

Baby plot bunneh sniffs out a clue

TerzaRima

Absinthe O'Malice

Lady MacBeth

Out, damn'd spot! out, I say.

TerzaRima

Absinthe O'Malice

Expat-hack

Too much lost generation as a kid!

TerzaRima

Absinthe O'Malice

maxmordon

Penúltimo

Expat-hack

Too much lost generation as a kid!

maxmordon

Penúltimo

mccardey

Expat-hack

Too much lost generation as a kid!

Lady MacBeth

Out, damn'd spot! out, I say.

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

Lady MacBeth

Out, damn'd spot! out, I say.

Captcha

Lady MacBeth

Out, damn'd spot! out, I say.