I chose to read Jessica Mitford’s Hons and Rebels for the “Nonfiction Classic” category in the Back to the Classics 2022 challenge. This wasn’t my first choice for this category, but a combination of not being able to lay my hands immediately on my copy of Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, and a work of fiction piquing my interest in the Mitford sisters led me to change my choice.
The Plot
The Mitford sisters, Nancy, Pam, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah, were controversial figures in the 1920s and 1930s. The daughters of the second Baron Redesdale, scandal followed them wherever they went.
Hons and Rebels is Jessica Mitford’s autobiography. While she talks a little bit about her childhood, and growing up with her six siblings*, it mostly focuses on the period of her life between her society debut in the mid-1930s and the outbreak of WW2.
Three years ago, I had never heard of the Mitford sisters… then I started reading Jessica Fellowes’ series of murder mysteries loosely based on the lives of the Mitford family.** Hons and Rebels is listed as one of the source materials for the series – and I was interested enough to see how the fact and fiction compare.
Jessica (known to all as Decca) writes candidly about her youth, and paints a vivid picture of a family that was torn between the traditional conservativism of their aristocratic upbringing, and the influences of the emerging political movements of socialism, communism, and fascism. She writes with some humor, but also admits that there were times when she made mistakes. I was actually a little disappointed that the book ended with the outbreak of the war, as she was only 22 at the time, and reading up on her I learned that she continued to make interesting choices throughout her lifetime.
I have another Mitford book on my Back to the Classics list for this year – The Pursuit of Love by Decca’s eldest sister, Nancy. I can’t wait to see how the two sisters’ writing styles compare!
*Five sisters, and her brother, Tom.
**So far there are five books in the series, each set during an important period in the life of one of the six Mitford sisters. they’re worth a read if you like an old fashioned historical/cozy/murder mystery.