bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
3.0
Cured of any budding fascination I might have had for the Mitfords. Feeling exhausted and longing for my sane, sensible sister who has never uttered words like "Oh isn't the Fuhrer just the kindest man ever!" Also, she has never tried to have me imprisoned. All good things. Must get her something nice for Christmas.
mg_libros's review against another edition
5.0
Como dice una amiga mía, hay matrimonios que han durado menos que el tiempo que he tardado en leer este libro.
Me ha entusiasmado. La parte mala, la letra enana y mi falta de costumbre de leer ya en papel.
Editoriales, quiero pagar por vuestras ediciones digitales, hacedlas.
Este libro lo hubiera leído en digital y además conservado en papel, son fascinantes y conocían A TODO EL MUNDO.
He marcado montones de cosas. Lo recomiendo locamente, claro.
Me ha entusiasmado. La parte mala, la letra enana y mi falta de costumbre de leer ya en papel.
Editoriales, quiero pagar por vuestras ediciones digitales, hacedlas.
Este libro lo hubiera leído en digital y además conservado en papel, son fascinantes y conocían A TODO EL MUNDO.
He marcado montones de cosas. Lo recomiendo locamente, claro.
offbalance80's review against another edition
2.0
While this book would be a great resource of primary-source documents if you're writing a paper or a thesis, the letters in and of themselves are something of a dry read. I also found it difficult to find sympathy with the political views of the sisters, and their letters did little to help with it.
bellinipeaches's review against another edition
3.0
Past the 50s it doesn't read like such an interesting life, pretty humdrum but nicely domestic for Deborah, all the others seem pretty unhappy with their lives, which just goes to show what extremism(in this case political) does for you!
we_are_all_mad_here26's review against another edition
4.0
"Ha! A letter saying some North Vietmaniens will be in Paris on Sunday and will I be sure to go & meet them - Vanessa Redgrave's flying up from Rome (you bet she is). No, I will not. You may disapprove of people being set fire to without wanting to meet them."
This particular passage was written in a letter from Nancy in 1968 and for better or worse, is a pretty good illustration of why she will always be my favorite Mitford.
800+ pages of letters was a lot to read and yet I never got tired of it. Four stars instead of five because (in my biased, Nancy-loving mind) it felt like the editor, Diana's daughter-in-law, may have had a bit of a bias herself. Certainly the two who were still alive during the compiling of this collection (Diana and Deborah) got the most air time.
All the same I can't imagine sifting through 12,000 or so letters and putting together over 70 years' worth of them, and having it all come out in the end as something that makes sense. Footnotes were extensive but helpfully placed at the end of each letter instead of pages ahead (though on a Kindle I think it would have been totally annoying). Helpful notes at the beginning of each section gave the right amount of context.
Bottom line is that if you know nothing about the Mitfords, this is not the place to start. If you already love them and feel like you'd love to read their letters through decades, you are most likely right.
This particular passage was written in a letter from Nancy in 1968 and for better or worse, is a pretty good illustration of why she will always be my favorite Mitford.
800+ pages of letters was a lot to read and yet I never got tired of it. Four stars instead of five because (in my biased, Nancy-loving mind) it felt like the editor, Diana's daughter-in-law, may have had a bit of a bias herself. Certainly the two who were still alive during the compiling of this collection (Diana and Deborah) got the most air time.
All the same I can't imagine sifting through 12,000 or so letters and putting together over 70 years' worth of them, and having it all come out in the end as something that makes sense. Footnotes were extensive but helpfully placed at the end of each letter instead of pages ahead (though on a Kindle I think it would have been totally annoying). Helpful notes at the beginning of each section gave the right amount of context.
Bottom line is that if you know nothing about the Mitfords, this is not the place to start. If you already love them and feel like you'd love to read their letters through decades, you are most likely right.
theknittingritual's review against another edition
2.0
These letters between the Mitford sisters served mostly to show me that any life - however fascinating - can always be improved with the help of a good editor.
I love reading about the Mitford sisters - they all had fascinating lives gadding around the Western world doing fabulous things. However, what this book also showed me is that they also maintained an active home life and also spent time doing the same ordinary things that all other women also did at the time - raising children, gardening, cleaning.
Because of this active home life - which, let's face it, is only really interesting to their friends and family - the letters often suffer from too much detail. There are so many letters they wrote to each other along the lines of 'the grandchildren came over today for a visit', or 'I've been cleaning out the house', instead of the exciting parts of their lives that made them famous - the rebellion, the politics and the writing. This of course makes perfect sense (I don't often write to my sisters about my political views either!) but it does make the letters a bit of a chore to get through sometimes.
At the same time, huge moments in the sisters' lives were glossed over in the letters. This again makes complete sense - when important things were happening in their lives, the sisters met up or phoned each other rather than writing. But as a result, the reader is left feeling a little unsatisfied.
There were some points of interest in the book. It was fascinating to read about Hitler from Unity's perspective and also interesting to see first hand the change in her personality after she suffered brain damage. It provides an insight into the intense politics that often goes on inside families as well.
These letters will probably be most interesting to a strong aficionado of the Mitford sisters. For everyone else, there is a surfeit of other writing about these women which better showcases the most interesting aspects of their lives. I'd recommend that people just starting to learn about these amazing women start with one of these books instead.
I love reading about the Mitford sisters - they all had fascinating lives gadding around the Western world doing fabulous things. However, what this book also showed me is that they also maintained an active home life and also spent time doing the same ordinary things that all other women also did at the time - raising children, gardening, cleaning.
Because of this active home life - which, let's face it, is only really interesting to their friends and family - the letters often suffer from too much detail. There are so many letters they wrote to each other along the lines of 'the grandchildren came over today for a visit', or 'I've been cleaning out the house', instead of the exciting parts of their lives that made them famous - the rebellion, the politics and the writing. This of course makes perfect sense (I don't often write to my sisters about my political views either!) but it does make the letters a bit of a chore to get through sometimes.
At the same time, huge moments in the sisters' lives were glossed over in the letters.
Spoiler
For example, there is very little in the book on Decca's baby dying, and no letters at all written about Unity or Decca's funeral.There were some points of interest in the book. It was fascinating to read about Hitler from Unity's perspective and also interesting to see first hand the change in her personality after she suffered brain damage. It provides an insight into the intense politics that often goes on inside families as well.
These letters will probably be most interesting to a strong aficionado of the Mitford sisters. For everyone else, there is a surfeit of other writing about these women which better showcases the most interesting aspects of their lives. I'd recommend that people just starting to learn about these amazing women start with one of these books instead.
sillyzilly's review against another edition
5.0
So long, and so great! I love a good gossipy letter, and THESE are some good, gossipy letters--the name-dropping alone, over the course of nearly a century, is amazing. The Mitfords make for great semi-sympathetic and semi-reliable narrators of their own lives; I think the best and most revealing part of reading their letters is seeing how they viewed each other (and talked behind each others' backs). For what it's worth, Debo is my favorite Mitford, and she died the day after I finished the book. (!!!)
scottishvix's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating look at the 20th century through the eyes of a single family in their personal correspondence. These woman were at the heart of a wide spectrum of political and social life in Europe. They weaved their way through the century, creating a link between Hitler, the British monarchy and Stalin.
It is also a fascinating look at the dynamics of sisters. Having a sister of my own, I recognise the rivalry, jealousy, the fight to be the one approved of and beloved of your parents, and the bitter holding on to old arguments and hurts. I also recognise the need for one another in a time of crisis, the power of shared childhood memories, and the way the relationship changes, grows and strengthens the older you get. A sister can push all of your buttons and make you want to tear your hair out. But there can be no stronger pillar to lean on when life deals you a blow.
As Nancy put it, "sisters can be a shield against life's cruel adversity."
And as Jessica put it, "but sisters ARE life's cruel adversity."
The book itself takes longer to read than you would think by its size, given that you constantly have to turn to the end of the chapter to find out what a particular odd word or name is referring to, or to explain a particular incident mentioned in a previous letter (which hasn't been included), or to put something into its political or social context.
It is also a fascinating look at the dynamics of sisters. Having a sister of my own, I recognise the rivalry, jealousy, the fight to be the one approved of and beloved of your parents, and the bitter holding on to old arguments and hurts. I also recognise the need for one another in a time of crisis, the power of shared childhood memories, and the way the relationship changes, grows and strengthens the older you get. A sister can push all of your buttons and make you want to tear your hair out. But there can be no stronger pillar to lean on when life deals you a blow.
As Nancy put it, "sisters can be a shield against life's cruel adversity."
And as Jessica put it, "but sisters ARE life's cruel adversity."
The book itself takes longer to read than you would think by its size, given that you constantly have to turn to the end of the chapter to find out what a particular odd word or name is referring to, or to explain a particular incident mentioned in a previous letter (which hasn't been included), or to put something into its political or social context.