“The Mitford Affair” tells the story of a British aristocratic family in the years leading up to WWII.
I had not heard of the Mitford family. They are an intriguing, while disturbing, group. I was attracted to the book because of the author. Marie Benedict does an excellent
…more job of researching history and capturing the essence of the culture and time surrounding her subjects.
The Mitfords were related to Winston Churchill’s wife. They were an upper crust, Kardashian type, British family. There were six sisters and one brother. Their home life as children seems dysfunctional by today’s standards. The girls were not allowed formal education and were left on their own to educate themselves. The resulting personalities were unique to say the least. Benedict focuses her storytelling primarily on three of the sisters. Diana was the one most noted for her beauty who had married young to the heir to the Guinness fortune, and shortly thereafter became involved with the leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF), and pursued having influence over Hitler. Unity was the odd duck of the family who become overly infatuated with Hitler. Nancy was the most principled of the three, who wrote novels that thinly veiled the nefarious activity of her sisters, and had to ultimately choose between protecting her family and protecting her country.
I would recommend this work to anyone who loves Historical Fiction, anyone intrigued by WWII history, and to book clubs who enjoy discussing human nature. (less)
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