Genealogy Books - The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family

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Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: Thank your stars you weren't the parents of this crew
Comment: Mary S. Lovell's biography of the famous, infamous, and infinitely interesting Mitford sisters is a
truly engaging book. 'Those crazy Mitford girls' is how they were known during their heyday, and
this book will prolong and perpetuate that sobriquet. There were 6 of them, plus one handsome and
doted-upon male sibling who went and got himself killed during the war, leaving the road clear for
the girls to completely dominate. Lovell succeeds in making each girl unique for us, so we don?t get
them confused, a real feat with so many characters. The Mitford sisters obliged, however, and made
Lovell's task easier by being 6 entirely different personalities. It seems the only thing they had
in common was good looks. They ranged from Fascist Hitler-lovers (Diana) to communists (Jessica).
The story of their lives spans the 20th century and is well worth the read on many levels. Just pity
the Mitford sisters long-suffering parents.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Nazis and Fascists and Communists, Oh My!
Comment: As skeptical as I was about how interesting a book about six British sisters of another era could be
I am glad to say I was delighted in being wrong. Mary Lovell has made another time come to life in
this multibiographical tome which chronicles the lives of what certainly must have been one of the
most fascinating (and often most reviled) families in British history.
As entertaining as the
book is as a general read it also adds some dimension to the understanding historically of the time
and the social and political upheavals then in existence. These girls may have been misguided, naive
and sometimes just plain stupid but they certainly weren't boring.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Powerfully Engaging Story
Comment: Mary S. Lovell made a wise decision when she took up her pen and joined the Mitford industry. The
Sisters (The Saga of the Mitford Family) is a truly fascinating and endlessly engaging book. And
there was no way it could not be with those crazy Mitfords: Nancy, Jessica, Debo, Diana, Pam and, of
course, the very tragic Unity Valkyrie, conceived at Swastika Canada and devoted friend of Hitler.
The story of these sisters spans the twentienth century and travels all over the political spectrum.
The author shows her own conservative bias clearly throughout and was obviousaly charmed by Diana
Mosely (nee Mitford), the still living wife of Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Fascists
during the interwar years. But her prejudices and political naivete (the author's suggestion that
World War II could possibly have been avoided if Diana just brought Hitler and Churchill, a relative
of hers, together is quite silly and should have been edited out) are so apparent that one can enjoy
the book regardless. The portrayal of the mother of the girls, Sydney, is the most interesting to
come along of her. A wonderful, delightful read of six powerfully individual women.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Sydney Prevails
Comment: I kept wondering why anyone would want to read a biography of any one of these women. Together, they
make an interesting family. However, Sydney, the mother, is the best Mitford by far.
Through all
her children's wild political workings, living with
her husband's gruff demeanor, and living
through her son's death in the war, she sails gracefully on, always there for her children and
having a few wild politics of her own. I did feel that I knew each one of them so I'll give the
author that.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Gossipy history lesson
Comment: While it's probably true that if you're under 50 you most likely don't know who the Mitfords are.
That was the case with me, but I didn't find that it made a bit of difference. Being young doesn't
mean you have no sense of the historical. If that were so, basically everyone who didn't live
through WW2 would not be able to read this book.

The girls (author Nancy, socialite/fascist Diana,
farmer Pamela, nazi Unity, communist Decca, and Duchess Debo) were heavily political and remarkably
intelligent. They were media darlings of the 1930's-60's. Given their privileged, (though
relatively poor) upbringing, and amazing involvement in the greatest events of the mid-20th century,
you have to wonder what they thought, what made them tick, and what eventually happened to them.
All these factors make The Sisters a compelling read with semi-gossipy, semi-historical
motivations.

All in all, Lovell is an easy author to follow - she's an unabashed Mitford fan and
did her homework for this book - but you also get the impression that she idolizes the clan a bit
too much for this to be entirely factual or objective. But perhaps as readers, we wouldn't want it
that way. The women were sensational and eccentric if you admired them, selfish and
self-destructive if you didn't. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, which is mostly
where this book is.

As much as I enjoyed reading the book and looking into the Mitford world, it
was just that - looking in. You never get the feeling that these are normal people you can relate
to or would want to be, glamorous and fascinating as their lives were. Historical significance
aside, they didn't seem to be very likeable people - while sympathizing with tragedies and problems,
you also feel they brought it upon themselves and acted stupidly in many regards. As minor players
on the large stage with Churchill, Hitler, and various political upheavals across Europe, and major
players in the social and literary worlds, the Mitfords had interesting, almost surreal lives - but
whether you like them or not isn't easily established. Lovell's book takes in a lot of time and
events, so you get to see this famous family in a long-range perspective, which gets you past the
more bizarre episodes that would otherwise color your view of a sister.

I recommend this as a good
read, but it will help enormously if you are a fan of the Mitfords.

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