Rating: 
Summary: A wonderfully evocative chronicle.
Review: This English aristocratic family was undoubtedly one of the most bizarre kind.
This work has studied and researched it's charges with empathy, passion and objectivity.
The chronology is wisely structured and written with effervescent and engaging script.
One feels both the central characters, the decades and the life philosophies come vividly to life.
It is honest and non judgemental, sympathetic while avoiding sycofance. An engaging insight into a fascicnating family, interesting times and a lost world.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fascinating, Riveting Book
Review: "The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family" tells the (true) story of the Mitford sisters, six beautiful and talented aristocratic young women who came of age in the interwar period.(There was a brother Tom who died during WWII. He does not play a major role in this book nor does it seem in their lives.) These women lived, for the most part, amazing (though not admirable in all cases) lives: Nancy, the oldest, became a best selling novelist; Pamela, the "least interesting" (to the biographer and her family, though not necessarily the reader), lived a country life after a marriage to a brilliant man who married compulsively (six total); Diana, the society beauty, who left her husband for the fascist Oswald Mosley and who befriended Hitler; Unity, who became obsessed with Hitler and met him 140 times during a short period before WWII; Jessica, the rebel, who eloped at 18, became a communist, moved to the states, and became a best selling author on such topis as the funeral home industry; and Deborah, the youngest, who made the most brilliant marriage, to the future Duke of Devonshire. This book details the eccentric but loving childhood of these sisters (though the father had murderous rages that seemed to have a lifelong impact on the children) and the diverse set of political causes and men that both brought them together and drove them apart over the years. Any book that affords the reader glimpses of Churchill as an uncle, Hitler as a "friend", Maya Angelou as an honorary "sister", is worth its price. Lovell presents her material in a straightforward manner. The book is thoroughly researched. However, there are flaws. Lovell could probe further than she does into the psyches of the sisters. Three of them became obsessed with men in ways that bordered on the unhealthy and bizarre (Nancy had a lifelong infatuation for a count that would never marry her, the beautiful Diana dedicated her life to the unfaithful Mosley, and Unity's fixation on Hitler was downright psychotic.) And she lets Diana off the hook a bit too easily for her fascist and pro-Hitler views (Diana never repented.) She seems somewhat bewitched by Diana's external beauty-she met her at the age of 90--and doesn't focuse on the fact that it was external. (As obituary writers did this past summer after her death in August.)
Still it is a great read particularly for those fascinated by the British upper classes between the two wars.
Rating:
Summary: From Adolph to Omega
Review: 'I love the Mitford sisters for their sins,' volunteered a voice on phone-in radio. Debo Mitford learned in 1937 that her sister Unity was smitten with Adolph Hitler. Unity sent der Fuhrer an invitation to her wedding, to be held in the office of a reluctant Goring. Obliging Adolph happily left his duties and trotted along. Hitler and Unity managed, in all, 140 get-togethers. She felt so strongly in agreement with der Fuhrer that she wrote Churchill (a relative) to lay off his fierce speeches in British Parliament attacking Adolph. In Germany she published a newspaper hate-article denouncing all Jews. It endeared her to the Nazi party, as was Unity's intention. When war broke out with Germany, Unity was so upset with people misunderstanding her sweet petty-pie, that she attempted suicide. She appears the most eccentric of the six clever, talented (four were writers,) and beautiful sisters. Their collective politics, however, amounted to a bouillabaisse with fish hooks in it. Jessica became a Communist. For her outspoken Fascism, Diana was stuffed in jail. Nancy (the eldest) and Jessica churned out best-selling novels; two of these appeared recently in TV adaptations. There are a generous 24 pages of black and white photographs included in the book. Many of these are dour, especially considering that the sisters were known for their humour. Even the family portrait (photo #24) is severe, and Decca (who later eloped) is an unhappy debutante in her photo, #37. Mary S. Lovell's splendid biography is the definitive saga of this famous family that gripped the English nation for several decades sins and all.
Rating:
Summary: Nazis and Fascists and Communists, Oh My!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A superb Biography!A 'must' for every home!
Review: Beautifully written,with insight,humor,and skilled analysis
of 1. The English Aristocracy,of the 20-60's.
2. The tragedies & triumphs of a brilliant family.
3. An perceptive and personal insight into Anglo-American
'culture' in the XX Century. This book should be required reading for College students
to understand recent history. As Mary Lovell introduces her book she points out that the
subjects are probably known to all of us older than 50,but
to the younger majority this is an unexplored field. In the book,if nothing else a delightful read,she shows her skill
with superbly researched documented facts,yet at the same time
making a reader relive the era.The insight into Jessica's
life (Decca) when she becomes American is masterful,and is a brilliant look at the difference between 2 countries separated
by a common language!
Rating:
Summary: A Good Familial Portrait of the Wacky Mitford Family
Review: I first read Jessica Mitford's "A Fine Old Conflict" when it was published in the early 1970's. It remained in my bookcase and I recently re-read it and also read "Hons (Daughters) and Rebels" which whetted my appetite for more information on what the sisters came to label as the "Mitford Industry". I then purchased "The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family". I was not disappointed. I found The "Sisters" really enjoyable and well researched, and the photos excellent. There is much interesting information in the many footnotes, too. Like Sydney said, "What a Set!"
Rating:
Summary: A Good Familial Portrait of the Wacky Mitford Family
Review: I first read Jessica Mitford's "A Fine Old Conflict" when it was published in the early 1970's. It remained in my bookcase and I recently re-read it and also read "Hons (Daughters) and Rebels" which whetted my appetite for more information on what the sisters came to label as the "Mitford Industry". I then purchased "The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family". I was not disappointed. I found The "Sisters" really enjoyable and well researched, and the photos excellent. There is much interesting information in the many footnotes, too. Like Sydney said, "What a Set!"
Rating:
Summary: A Good Familial Portrait of the Wacky Mitford Family
Review: I first read Jessica Mitford's "A Fine Old Conflict" when it was published in the early 1970's. It remained in my bookcase and I recently re-read it and also read "Hons (Daughters) and Rebels" which whetted my appetite for more information on what the sisters came to label as the "Mitford Industry". I then purchased "The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family". I was not disappointed. I found The "Sisters" really enjoyable and well researched, and the photos excellent. There is much interesting information in the many footnotes, too. Like Sydney said, "What a Set!"
Rating: 
Summary: Sydney Prevails
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Well-researched story of artistocratic English family
Review: I knew nothing about the Mitford family before reading this book, so if nothing else, I learned a great deal of history through the events and people discussed in the biography. Several reviews mentioned that the author doesn't discuss why the Mitford sisters were so politically involved with radical groups. I don't know that a biographer always has the answer to "why" her subjects did things, and I don't know that it's the biographer's place to theorize. It is the reader's place to theorize based on the information provided in the book. My theory for the political involvement of the Mitford girls is that they were extremely intelligent young ladies who needed a formal education and their father denied them this opportunity because they were girls. Consequently, as soon as they were old enough to leave home, they did and they seemed to get caught up in whatever political environment they found themselves in. Thus, you find that Unity and Diana support Fascism and Hitler (as did their mother, Sydney after meeting him;) and Decca becomes a Communist due to the influence of Esmond Romilly who she longed to meet for several years. Nancy finds her outlet in writing about and making fun of the English aristocracy, of which she's still very much a part. Pam and Debo are less politically active and Tom seems to take on the views of whomever he is with at the time. The other aspect that can't be overlooked is that the family had the resources to travel all over Europe and to America so that they met important people and became socially involved with politicians, writers, and the celebrities of those times.
I found the family to be very interesting and their role in history to be fascinating. If you like biography and you like history, you'll enjoy this book.
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