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Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford
“Decca” Mitford lived a larger-than-life born into the British aristocracy—one of the famous (and sometimes infamous) Mitford sisters—she ran away to Spain during the Spanish Civil War with her cousin Esmond Romilly, Winston Churchill’s nephew, then came to America, became a tireless political activist and a member of the Communist Party, and embarked on a brilliant career as a memoirist and muckraking journalist (her funeral-industry exposé, The American Way of Death, became an instant classic). She was a celebrated wit, a charmer, and throughout her life a prolific and passionate writer of letters—now gathered here.
Decca’s correspondence crackles with irreverent humor and mischief, and with acute insight into human behavior (and misbehavior) that attests to her generous experience of the worlds of politics, the arts, journalism, publishing, and high and low society. Here is correspondence with everyone from Katharine Graham and George Jackson, Betty Friedan, Miss Manners, Julie Andrews, Maya Angelou, Harry Truman, and Hillary Rodham Clinton to Decca’s sisters the Duchess of Devonshire and the novelist Nancy Mitford, her parents, her husbands, her children, and her grandchildren.
In a profile of J.K. Rowling, The Daily Telegraph (UK), said, “Her favorite drink is gin and tonic, her least favorite food, trip. Her heroine is Jessica Mitford.”
Decca’s correspondence crackles with irreverent humor and mischief, and with acute insight into human behavior (and misbehavior) that attests to her generous experience of the worlds of politics, the arts, journalism, publishing, and high and low society. Here is correspondence with everyone from Katharine Graham and George Jackson, Betty Friedan, Miss Manners, Julie Andrews, Maya Angelou, Harry Truman, and Hillary Rodham Clinton to Decca’s sisters the Duchess of Devonshire and the novelist Nancy Mitford, her parents, her husbands, her children, and her grandchildren.
In a profile of J.K. Rowling, The Daily Telegraph (UK), said, “Her favorite drink is gin and tonic, her least favorite food, trip. Her heroine is Jessica Mitford.”
744 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 2006
About the author
Jessica Mitford
40 books178 followersJessica Lucy Freeman-Mitford was an English author, journalist and political campaigner, who was one of the Mitford sisters. She gained American citizenship in later life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
September 6, 2020
Funny thing about the six famous Mitford sisters, all were beautiful, but the two evil ones, the Hitler lover Unity and the Fascist Diana, had no talent and didn't write. The other four, Jessica, Nancy, Pamela and Deborah, were all good people and talented writers. But only Jessica, Decca, wrote hard-hitting sociological books (and funny ones about class - Hons and Rebels and U and Non U). I've read four of her books so I'm looking forward to this one.
Emails are so ephemeral and so casual that it's a case of write, read, archive a while, delete. I can't see emails ever being collected in a huge tome as an example of good and interesting writing and social commentary. Those days have gone. It's sad really, but then emails and texts are so fast easy, no hour spent writing, then looking for a clean envelope, having to pop out for a stamp to the post office and then waiting at least a week for a reply, if one every came.
It's another world now, this electronic one and letters belong to a past century not this one.
Emails are so ephemeral and so casual that it's a case of write, read, archive a while, delete. I can't see emails ever being collected in a huge tome as an example of good and interesting writing and social commentary. Those days have gone. It's sad really, but then emails and texts are so fast easy, no hour spent writing, then looking for a clean envelope, having to pop out for a stamp to the post office and then waiting at least a week for a reply, if one every came.
It's another world now, this electronic one and letters belong to a past century not this one.
October 15, 2013
Like many, I am fascinated by the Mitford sisters. Books-wise, so far, I have only read "Hons and Rebels" by Jessica Mitford. Having read "Hons and Rebels" I was interested to find out more about her. Perhaps a 700 page plus book of her letters, and that covers her entire life, was a bit too ambitious. I cannot pretend to have read every letter contained in the book however I managed to read plenty, and I came away from the book even more impressed by Jessica (aka Decca) than I had expected.
Despite far more than her fair share of tragedy and upheaval, what emerges is a woman who faced life with courage, humour, conviction and honesty. From a very early age she rebelled against her aristocratic background, running away to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and then America, where she married radical lawyer, Robert Treuhaft, having joined the Communist Party during the McCarthy era, which also signalled decades of civil rights activism.
The letters in this book cover her very early years up to her death. I was most interested in the letters she exchanged with her mother and sisters, and realised as I worked through this book that I might have been better off reading a biography about the family. Indeed I think this book would be most suitable for someone who has already got a good understanding of Jessica's own story and that of her family. That said, Peter Y. Sussman who edited this book, provides a helpful introduction to each section, in addition to numerous useful explanatory footnotes - it must have taken him ages!
This book contains many wonderful letters which are well worth reading if you are interested in Jessica Mitford, and it is probably most suitable for readers who have already read her other works and want to dig deeper.
Despite far more than her fair share of tragedy and upheaval, what emerges is a woman who faced life with courage, humour, conviction and honesty. From a very early age she rebelled against her aristocratic background, running away to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and then America, where she married radical lawyer, Robert Treuhaft, having joined the Communist Party during the McCarthy era, which also signalled decades of civil rights activism.
The letters in this book cover her very early years up to her death. I was most interested in the letters she exchanged with her mother and sisters, and realised as I worked through this book that I might have been better off reading a biography about the family. Indeed I think this book would be most suitable for someone who has already got a good understanding of Jessica's own story and that of her family. That said, Peter Y. Sussman who edited this book, provides a helpful introduction to each section, in addition to numerous useful explanatory footnotes - it must have taken him ages!
This book contains many wonderful letters which are well worth reading if you are interested in Jessica Mitford, and it is probably most suitable for readers who have already read her other works and want to dig deeper.
November 16, 2017
It's rare that I rate a book 5 stars. This one deserved nothing less.
I read this HUGE book of letters over the course of 3 months. I delved in and out, but often found myself reading more than I intended at each sitting. These letters cover a huge span of Jessica Mitford's life, from childhood to old age. They encompass various topics of love, loss and family life and her work both in and out of the communist party. Decca was heavily involved in civil rights, as well as campaigning for other causes within the funeral and prison industries, both of which she wrote about.
This book is a who's who of people. Churchill, Hitler, Mosley, JFK, Evelyn Waugh, Hilary Clinton, Huey P. Newton, Maya Angelou...the list is often surprising. I was drawn to reading it because I wanted to know something more of the amazing Mitford sisters. Whereas Decca was the communist of the family, most of her closest relations were staunch fascists and so she largely broke away from them to another continent and another life. Her letters about the family are truly fascinating, but it turns out that Jessica's writing, political activism and exploits as a ridiculously awful mother, were even more interesting.
I read every single letter in this collection and there must have been hundreds. I can honestly say that I enjoyed every one. Whether she was writing about something of importance or a trivial matter, Decca's intelligence, superb wit and good humour shone through them all.
Another factor worthy of note is the amazing job that Peter Y. Sussman did with editing. I believe he spent years researching and compiling the collection and it is an astounding job. Each chapter works through a different period in Jessica's life and gives you a brief background to what she is getting up to, which sets the letters in context and gives a further insight. A job very well done all round.
I read this HUGE book of letters over the course of 3 months. I delved in and out, but often found myself reading more than I intended at each sitting. These letters cover a huge span of Jessica Mitford's life, from childhood to old age. They encompass various topics of love, loss and family life and her work both in and out of the communist party. Decca was heavily involved in civil rights, as well as campaigning for other causes within the funeral and prison industries, both of which she wrote about.
This book is a who's who of people. Churchill, Hitler, Mosley, JFK, Evelyn Waugh, Hilary Clinton, Huey P. Newton, Maya Angelou...the list is often surprising. I was drawn to reading it because I wanted to know something more of the amazing Mitford sisters. Whereas Decca was the communist of the family, most of her closest relations were staunch fascists and so she largely broke away from them to another continent and another life. Her letters about the family are truly fascinating, but it turns out that Jessica's writing, political activism and exploits as a ridiculously awful mother, were even more interesting.
I read every single letter in this collection and there must have been hundreds. I can honestly say that I enjoyed every one. Whether she was writing about something of importance or a trivial matter, Decca's intelligence, superb wit and good humour shone through them all.
Another factor worthy of note is the amazing job that Peter Y. Sussman did with editing. I believe he spent years researching and compiling the collection and it is an astounding job. Each chapter works through a different period in Jessica's life and gives you a brief background to what she is getting up to, which sets the letters in context and gives a further insight. A job very well done all round.
December 8, 2017
Many years ago, I read "A Fine Old Conflict," Jessica (Decca) Mitford's memoir of being in the American Communist Party in the 1950s, and immediately became a fan. Fast-forward a couple of decades, and my very sweet husband bought this collection of her letters for me as soon as they came out, and then we moved several times and I lost track of it. The other day I spotted my copy and thought I'd just read a few pages, just for the pleasure, not thinking I would keep going. But I could not put it down, so now I've finished. Soon as I was done with work for the day, I made a bee-line for it, and would force myself to stop reading so I could go to sleep at a semi-reasonable hour.
This seems unusual for a collection of letters, even to me. But this no typical person, and the letters are remarkable both in terms of the author's voice, and the content, because of the life she made. It might be best to read her two memoirs before you try the letters: The U.S. Version of the first one is called "Daughters and Rebels," and I've already mentioned the later one. If you can read them without falling in love with the author, I will be a bit worried about you.
Impossible to summarize her life in a GR review, but I want to try, only for the fun of dropping so many very different names -- but it's her life that is impressive, not the recognizable names that pop up along the way. If you are a fan of letters, you certainly can read this book without any previous reading, as the editor has done a great job of providing context (along with tons of helpful footnotes). So, anyway, read this, it's fascinating and fun, what more can you ask?
This seems unusual for a collection of letters, even to me. But this no typical person, and the letters are remarkable both in terms of the author's voice, and the content, because of the life she made. It might be best to read her two memoirs before you try the letters: The U.S. Version of the first one is called "Daughters and Rebels," and I've already mentioned the later one. If you can read them without falling in love with the author, I will be a bit worried about you.
Impossible to summarize her life in a GR review, but I want to try, only for the fun of dropping so many very different names -- but it's her life that is impressive, not the recognizable names that pop up along the way. If you are a fan of letters, you certainly can read this book without any previous reading, as the editor has done a great job of providing context (along with tons of helpful footnotes). So, anyway, read this, it's fascinating and fun, what more can you ask?
May 10, 2010
Oh, how I shrieked over these! Besides the eternal Mitford fascination, I loved reading about Decca's muckraking career, which isn't really covered in either of her two autobiographies (Hons and Rebels and A Fine Old Conflict), and about the things she left out of the autobiographies, most notably her reaction to the death of her son, Nicholas, at the age of ten in a car-bike accident (which is barely mentioned in A Fine Old Conflict).
Now I would like someone to do a collection of the Duchess of Devonshire's letters, please, though I imagine that won't happen until after her death; I would like to see her side of some of the exchanges with Decca.
Oh, and I thought Sussman's editing was very good -- just the right number of explanatory notes and excellent, witty introductions to each chapter. It's a long book, but I'd have read twice as many letters gladly and only wished it was longer.
Now I would like someone to do a collection of the Duchess of Devonshire's letters, please, though I imagine that won't happen until after her death; I would like to see her side of some of the exchanges with Decca.
Oh, and I thought Sussman's editing was very good -- just the right number of explanatory notes and excellent, witty introductions to each chapter. It's a long book, but I'd have read twice as many letters gladly and only wished it was longer.
August 27, 2019
minu obsessioon õdede Mitfordide suhtes ei tunne piire ega näita vaibumise märke - kuigi seda viimast ma Decca kirjadega alustades veidi lootsin, sest ma arvasin, et see on nüüd enamvähem viimane nende kõigi kirjutatud raamatutest, mille ma peaks oma elus läbi lugema. aga esiteks meenus siit kohe, et Nancy "Wigs on the Green" on mul veel lugemata; teiseks tundub, et tuleb ette võtta ka Nancy kirjade kogumik; kolmandaks tahaks üle sirvida juba loetud kõigi õdede omavaheliste kirjade raamatu (Charlotte Mosley koostatud) ja Deborah' ja Decca enda autobiograafiad; ja neljandaks, kui õnnestuks kuskilt hankida mõni Decca tegelikest suurteostest, nt "The American Way of Death", siis tuleks seda ka lugeda; ja viiendaks on mul üldse plaan hakata otsast peale Nancy tuntuimate ilukirjanduslike teostega, aga eesti keeles. nii et kui ma nüüd võibolla elu lõpuni midagi muud ei jõuagi lugeda kui Mitforde, siis teate, miks.
sest noh, ükski lucindariley ei suuda välja mõelda niisuguste eludega niisugusi õdesid, nagu Mitfordid seda olid. (nad olid briti vaesepoolse aristokraadipere tütred, sünniaastatega 1904-1920. seal vahepeal oli üks vend ka, aga LOOMULIKULT sai ta II maailmasõjas surma - kui see oleks ilukirjanduses juhtunud, ma ütleks, et igavalt ootuspärane lahendus. ja nende õdede erinevad elusaatused ja omavahelised konfliktid lahutasid briti rahva meelt kuni noorima surmani 2014. aastal.)
Decca on mulle neist alati ühe sümpaatseima ja põnevamana tundunud - Nancyt hindan kirjanikuna, aga mulle tundub, et inimesena meeldinuks ta mulle vähem; Hitlerisse armunud Unity ja end fašistina defineerinud Dianaga poleks mul (nagu Deccalgi) klappinud poliitilised vaated; Pamela tundub lihtsalt veidi igav (kõige huvitavam asi, mida keegi tema kohta iial öelnud on, on vist see, kui Decca nentis, et "she's become a you know what bian" ja seegi on huvitavam väljendina ja ehk ka ütlemise aja tõttu, 1955. aastal võibolla poleks oodanud seksuaalse orientatsiooni nii möödaminnes mainimist?) ja Deborah on tegelikult sümpaatne, aga ainus kogu sellest aadliperest, kelle saatus oli täiesti ootuspärane (sai hertsoginnaks).
Decca aga... hakkas teismelisena kommunistiks, põgenes kodust Hispaania kodusõtta ja abiellus seal (ikka veel teismelisena), emigreerus Ameerikasse, kaotas esimese abikaasa sõjas, oli kodanikuaktivist ja inimõiguste eest võitleja, kirjutas raamatuid, raputas kogu USA matusetööstust... uskumatult kirev elu, ja neid tema kirju lugedes tundsin küll, et sõber, kes selliseid saadab, võiks endalgi olla. (ja üldse tekkis igatsus aegade järgi, kui inimesed nii palju kirju kirjutasid.)
olles õdede tekste ja kirju ennegi lugenud, teadsin oodata (aga nautisin ikka väga) Decca omapärast keelekasutust - neil oli lapsepõlvest saadik välja kujunenud terve salakeel, hulk hüüdnimesid üksteisele ja sõpradele-pereliikmetele jne. joonealused märkmed (superhästi toimetatud raamat, muide) seletavad need kenasti lahti. üldse on ta oma kirjades lihtsalt tohutult vaimukas.
mulle avaldasid tohutut muljet Decca sihikindlus ja töökus (erinevalt enamusest teistest õdedest tegi ta tõesti päris palju... päris tööd, ja ei põlanud seda ühelgi hetkel ära ega eeldanud, et maailm oleks talle midagi võlgu) ja intelligentsus (haridust õed ei saanud, tollal ei peetud seda nende taustaga naistele vajalikuks. Decca ise ütleb, et ta õpetati lugema ja jäeti siis ise end edasi harima). seda, et vanim õde Nancy Mitford on tuntud kirjanik, teame ju küll, aga ka Deccast sai väga hea (uuriv) (aja)kirjanik, paljude raamatute autor, ja seda täieliku iseõppijana.
peresuhted, muidugi. Dianaga, kes abiellus Oswald Mosley, briti fašistliku partei (British Union of Fascists) juhiga, ei suhelnud Decca elu lõpuni (v.a. mõned praktilised kohtumised Nancy surivoodil). samu vaateid jaganud Unityt armastas ta aga väga ja kirjutas talle elu lõpuni (mida polnud küll kauaks, kuna Unity tegi enesetapukatse, kui tema armastatud Hitler Inglismaale sõja kuulutas, ja ei saanud ajuvigastusest kunagi terveks). ja ma tõesti ei saanudki ei tema elulooraamatust ("Hons and Rebels") ega ka kirjadest aru, millest selline vahe. samuti leppis ta ära ja sai hiljem lähedaseks emaga, aga ei rääkinud pärast elus 17-aastaselt kodust põgenemist enam sõnagi oma isaga. ja nii kadunud Unity kui sõjas hukkunud venna Tomi poliitiliste vaadete üle omavahel kraaklemist jätkus ses perekonnas veel kaugele 1990ndatesse välja...
Decca oli 1950ndatel USA kommunistliku partei liige, astus aga 60ndatel parteist välja, sest leidis, et seal ei tegelda sellega, millega oleks vaja. kommunistina defineeris ta end aga elu lõpuni ja... noh, ma pole enne lugenud suurt midagi sellest, kuidas oli olla kommunist USAs. väga, väga huvitav. nagu ka kogu tema tegevus mustanahaliste õiguste eest võitlemisel.
mulle see raamat tohutult meeldis, aga soovitada julgeksin ikkagi Mitfordi-connoisseurile. esimese tutvuse selle perega soovitaksin teha Nancy ilukirjanduse kaudu, mis on ikka üpris autobiograafiliste sugemetega (nende hullumeelne lapsepõlv) ja siis edasi vast Charlotte Mosley koostatud "The Mitfords: Letters between Six Sisters".
sest noh, ükski lucindariley ei suuda välja mõelda niisuguste eludega niisugusi õdesid, nagu Mitfordid seda olid. (nad olid briti vaesepoolse aristokraadipere tütred, sünniaastatega 1904-1920. seal vahepeal oli üks vend ka, aga LOOMULIKULT sai ta II maailmasõjas surma - kui see oleks ilukirjanduses juhtunud, ma ütleks, et igavalt ootuspärane lahendus. ja nende õdede erinevad elusaatused ja omavahelised konfliktid lahutasid briti rahva meelt kuni noorima surmani 2014. aastal.)
Decca on mulle neist alati ühe sümpaatseima ja põnevamana tundunud - Nancyt hindan kirjanikuna, aga mulle tundub, et inimesena meeldinuks ta mulle vähem; Hitlerisse armunud Unity ja end fašistina defineerinud Dianaga poleks mul (nagu Deccalgi) klappinud poliitilised vaated; Pamela tundub lihtsalt veidi igav (kõige huvitavam asi, mida keegi tema kohta iial öelnud on, on vist see, kui Decca nentis, et "she's become a you know what bian" ja seegi on huvitavam väljendina ja ehk ka ütlemise aja tõttu, 1955. aastal võibolla poleks oodanud seksuaalse orientatsiooni nii möödaminnes mainimist?) ja Deborah on tegelikult sümpaatne, aga ainus kogu sellest aadliperest, kelle saatus oli täiesti ootuspärane (sai hertsoginnaks).
Decca aga... hakkas teismelisena kommunistiks, põgenes kodust Hispaania kodusõtta ja abiellus seal (ikka veel teismelisena), emigreerus Ameerikasse, kaotas esimese abikaasa sõjas, oli kodanikuaktivist ja inimõiguste eest võitleja, kirjutas raamatuid, raputas kogu USA matusetööstust... uskumatult kirev elu, ja neid tema kirju lugedes tundsin küll, et sõber, kes selliseid saadab, võiks endalgi olla. (ja üldse tekkis igatsus aegade järgi, kui inimesed nii palju kirju kirjutasid.)
olles õdede tekste ja kirju ennegi lugenud, teadsin oodata (aga nautisin ikka väga) Decca omapärast keelekasutust - neil oli lapsepõlvest saadik välja kujunenud terve salakeel, hulk hüüdnimesid üksteisele ja sõpradele-pereliikmetele jne. joonealused märkmed (superhästi toimetatud raamat, muide) seletavad need kenasti lahti. üldse on ta oma kirjades lihtsalt tohutult vaimukas.
mulle avaldasid tohutut muljet Decca sihikindlus ja töökus (erinevalt enamusest teistest õdedest tegi ta tõesti päris palju... päris tööd, ja ei põlanud seda ühelgi hetkel ära ega eeldanud, et maailm oleks talle midagi võlgu) ja intelligentsus (haridust õed ei saanud, tollal ei peetud seda nende taustaga naistele vajalikuks. Decca ise ütleb, et ta õpetati lugema ja jäeti siis ise end edasi harima). seda, et vanim õde Nancy Mitford on tuntud kirjanik, teame ju küll, aga ka Deccast sai väga hea (uuriv) (aja)kirjanik, paljude raamatute autor, ja seda täieliku iseõppijana.
peresuhted, muidugi. Dianaga, kes abiellus Oswald Mosley, briti fašistliku partei (British Union of Fascists) juhiga, ei suhelnud Decca elu lõpuni (v.a. mõned praktilised kohtumised Nancy surivoodil). samu vaateid jaganud Unityt armastas ta aga väga ja kirjutas talle elu lõpuni (mida polnud küll kauaks, kuna Unity tegi enesetapukatse, kui tema armastatud Hitler Inglismaale sõja kuulutas, ja ei saanud ajuvigastusest kunagi terveks). ja ma tõesti ei saanudki ei tema elulooraamatust ("Hons and Rebels") ega ka kirjadest aru, millest selline vahe. samuti leppis ta ära ja sai hiljem lähedaseks emaga, aga ei rääkinud pärast elus 17-aastaselt kodust põgenemist enam sõnagi oma isaga. ja nii kadunud Unity kui sõjas hukkunud venna Tomi poliitiliste vaadete üle omavahel kraaklemist jätkus ses perekonnas veel kaugele 1990ndatesse välja...
Decca oli 1950ndatel USA kommunistliku partei liige, astus aga 60ndatel parteist välja, sest leidis, et seal ei tegelda sellega, millega oleks vaja. kommunistina defineeris ta end aga elu lõpuni ja... noh, ma pole enne lugenud suurt midagi sellest, kuidas oli olla kommunist USAs. väga, väga huvitav. nagu ka kogu tema tegevus mustanahaliste õiguste eest võitlemisel.
mulle see raamat tohutult meeldis, aga soovitada julgeksin ikkagi Mitfordi-connoisseurile. esimese tutvuse selle perega soovitaksin teha Nancy ilukirjanduse kaudu, mis on ikka üpris autobiograafiliste sugemetega (nende hullumeelne lapsepõlv) ja siis edasi vast Charlotte Mosley koostatud "The Mitfords: Letters between Six Sisters".
August 21, 2012
"Compilations of correspondence are necessarily biographies of a kind—biographies of individual consciousness with less intrusive mediation and interpretation than one finds in a traditional biography," Peter Y. Sussman, editor of "Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford" writes. But what constitutes "less intrusive mediation"? Jessica Mitford supplied an admirable answer, which Mr. Sussman quotes: "The whole point of letters is to reveal the writer & her various opinions & let the chips fall where they may. Censoring them for fear of offending the subjects is in my view absolutely wrong."
Why then does Mr. Sussman disregard Mitford's uncompromising conviction? Mitford belonged to a family of outspoken individualists, including her older sister, the novelist Nancy Mitford, who satirized her own family's peculiarities and their devotion to the fascist cause. Another sister, Diana Mosley, was unapologetic about her marriage to the British fascist Oswald Mosley, and Jessica herself publicly excoriated Diana and another sister, Unity, for their pro-Hitler activities. Jessica, for her part, became a communist and later an outspoken critic of American institutions, and is perhaps best known for her watershed book, "The American Way of Death," a hilarious but savage attack on the funeral home industry.
What is more, unlike many of her fellow writers, Mitford applied her principles to herself and to her friends, sparing (with one exception) no person or organization when she believed an important principle was involved. For example, when biographer Joan Mellen asked for an interview with Mitford about her friend, the writer Kay Boyle, Mitford assented even when the capricious Boyle withdrew her support for Mellen's biography and enjoined Mitford to do the same. Mitford refused, preferring to anger her friend, and to honor an agreement, noting, as well, that she had a right to speak with anyone she liked. Would that more writers obeyed that Samuel Johnson injunction: It is more important to reveal the truth than to worry about hurting people's feelings.
Yet Mr. Sussman wants to protect Mitford's correspondents, to mitigate their pain, and is even willing to hide the identities of Communist Party members who have not, in his words, "outed" themselves. I cannot believe, based on the evidence of the very letters that Mr. Sussman provides, that Jessica Mitford would find his concerns about the tender feelings and reputations of others worthy of respect.
Mr. Sussman's motives are all the more suspect since Mitford's own Communist Party membership is one of the least attractive features of her biography. While the wayward Mitford was a problem for the party, since she was by both nature and nurture such an independent soul, she nevertheless lent her talents to an undemocratic and conspiratorial organization that took its orders from a foreign power.
Why? Because for her the party stood for social justice, especially civil rights, a laudable concern Mitford championed in countless ways in the San Francisco Bay area. She not only wrote about social issues, she put her day-to-day energies into the drive for equal rights.
At the same time, Mitford, who prided herself on her investigative skills, turned a blind eye to the global and geopolitical actions of the party, headquartered in Moscow. Take, for example, the astonishing letter Mitford wrote after visiting Hungary shortly before the 1956 rising, which (Mr. Sussman notes) resulted in 30,000 deaths in Budapest alone: "Why couldn't we see signs of this while we were there?" she wrote to her mother-in-law. Why indeed. Anyone who traveled, as I did, in communist Europe right through the end of the 1970s, had to be aware of repressive and closed societies that produced sullen functionaries and a cowed populace ready to unburden itself to visiting Americans if an appropriately secure location could be arranged.
Mitford (a member of the party until 1958) expressed some sympathy with the uprising, but look how she frames her discussion:
However, I gather from news releases that the rebels were quickly joined by fascists and that a "white terror" was being established. Because of this, I think in the long run the interests of the Hungarian people are best served by entry of Russian troops.
It takes your breath away. As Woody Allen said in "Annie Hall": "Excuse me, I'm due back on planet earth."
While Mitford's criticisms of American social institutions often hit their mark, the Soviet Union, until very late in the day, got no more than wry wrist slaps. Her letters disclose a love of causes, and even the fawning Mr. Sussman admits that sometimes Mitford was not doing much more than stirring the pot.
Mitford was a muckraker, and the downside of a continual raking of the muck is that the raker can get pretty soiled herself. I was dismayed to read, for example, these gloating passages:
I was also successful in getting the book [a history of the Mitfords written from a pro-Diana bias] thoroughly trashed by reviewers in S.F. Chronicle, Boston Globe, & NYT Book Review, having pointed out to reviewers — all friends of mine — some of the stupider passages.
More on OJ: Bob [Treuhaft, her husband] & I rather agreed with you ... we were pleased with verdict but thought he's prob. guilty ... serves the cops right. A thought: sort of an Affirmative Action type of vote? Redressing centuries of injustice in our law courts?
Forget the brutality of the murder and find your solace in revolutionary justice. No wonder it took Mitford so long to leave the communist party. Elsewhere she writes that she supported Stalin: "Mainly for pragmatic reason that his lot won. Trots lost. I think Trotsky wld have been more to our liking philosophically." Her inhumanity is striking.
For all the good Mitford did in exposing corruption, there was corruption at her very core as well. She seemed to have little understanding or empathy for liberals like Senator Clinton, who once was an intern in Bob Treuhaft's law firm, but later helped her husband reform the penal system in Arkansas.
Rebecca West, who in some ways had a temperament similar to Jessica Mitford's but drew very different political conclusions from her investigative reporting, might have said Mitford lacked a sense of process, a grasp of the mechanisms by which genuine social change is accomplished. Mitford was curious about West and wrote to me, wishing to know more about my research for a biography of West.Too bad Mitford did not take to heart West's key insight: That no matter how slow and contradictory it might be, there is no substitute for the Rule of Law — a phrase West liked to capitalize. Resort to revolutionary justice results in no justice at all.
Why then does Mr. Sussman disregard Mitford's uncompromising conviction? Mitford belonged to a family of outspoken individualists, including her older sister, the novelist Nancy Mitford, who satirized her own family's peculiarities and their devotion to the fascist cause. Another sister, Diana Mosley, was unapologetic about her marriage to the British fascist Oswald Mosley, and Jessica herself publicly excoriated Diana and another sister, Unity, for their pro-Hitler activities. Jessica, for her part, became a communist and later an outspoken critic of American institutions, and is perhaps best known for her watershed book, "The American Way of Death," a hilarious but savage attack on the funeral home industry.
What is more, unlike many of her fellow writers, Mitford applied her principles to herself and to her friends, sparing (with one exception) no person or organization when she believed an important principle was involved. For example, when biographer Joan Mellen asked for an interview with Mitford about her friend, the writer Kay Boyle, Mitford assented even when the capricious Boyle withdrew her support for Mellen's biography and enjoined Mitford to do the same. Mitford refused, preferring to anger her friend, and to honor an agreement, noting, as well, that she had a right to speak with anyone she liked. Would that more writers obeyed that Samuel Johnson injunction: It is more important to reveal the truth than to worry about hurting people's feelings.
Yet Mr. Sussman wants to protect Mitford's correspondents, to mitigate their pain, and is even willing to hide the identities of Communist Party members who have not, in his words, "outed" themselves. I cannot believe, based on the evidence of the very letters that Mr. Sussman provides, that Jessica Mitford would find his concerns about the tender feelings and reputations of others worthy of respect.
Mr. Sussman's motives are all the more suspect since Mitford's own Communist Party membership is one of the least attractive features of her biography. While the wayward Mitford was a problem for the party, since she was by both nature and nurture such an independent soul, she nevertheless lent her talents to an undemocratic and conspiratorial organization that took its orders from a foreign power.
Why? Because for her the party stood for social justice, especially civil rights, a laudable concern Mitford championed in countless ways in the San Francisco Bay area. She not only wrote about social issues, she put her day-to-day energies into the drive for equal rights.
At the same time, Mitford, who prided herself on her investigative skills, turned a blind eye to the global and geopolitical actions of the party, headquartered in Moscow. Take, for example, the astonishing letter Mitford wrote after visiting Hungary shortly before the 1956 rising, which (Mr. Sussman notes) resulted in 30,000 deaths in Budapest alone: "Why couldn't we see signs of this while we were there?" she wrote to her mother-in-law. Why indeed. Anyone who traveled, as I did, in communist Europe right through the end of the 1970s, had to be aware of repressive and closed societies that produced sullen functionaries and a cowed populace ready to unburden itself to visiting Americans if an appropriately secure location could be arranged.
Mitford (a member of the party until 1958) expressed some sympathy with the uprising, but look how she frames her discussion:
However, I gather from news releases that the rebels were quickly joined by fascists and that a "white terror" was being established. Because of this, I think in the long run the interests of the Hungarian people are best served by entry of Russian troops.
It takes your breath away. As Woody Allen said in "Annie Hall": "Excuse me, I'm due back on planet earth."
While Mitford's criticisms of American social institutions often hit their mark, the Soviet Union, until very late in the day, got no more than wry wrist slaps. Her letters disclose a love of causes, and even the fawning Mr. Sussman admits that sometimes Mitford was not doing much more than stirring the pot.
Mitford was a muckraker, and the downside of a continual raking of the muck is that the raker can get pretty soiled herself. I was dismayed to read, for example, these gloating passages:
I was also successful in getting the book [a history of the Mitfords written from a pro-Diana bias] thoroughly trashed by reviewers in S.F. Chronicle, Boston Globe, & NYT Book Review, having pointed out to reviewers — all friends of mine — some of the stupider passages.
More on OJ: Bob [Treuhaft, her husband] & I rather agreed with you ... we were pleased with verdict but thought he's prob. guilty ... serves the cops right. A thought: sort of an Affirmative Action type of vote? Redressing centuries of injustice in our law courts?
Forget the brutality of the murder and find your solace in revolutionary justice. No wonder it took Mitford so long to leave the communist party. Elsewhere she writes that she supported Stalin: "Mainly for pragmatic reason that his lot won. Trots lost. I think Trotsky wld have been more to our liking philosophically." Her inhumanity is striking.
For all the good Mitford did in exposing corruption, there was corruption at her very core as well. She seemed to have little understanding or empathy for liberals like Senator Clinton, who once was an intern in Bob Treuhaft's law firm, but later helped her husband reform the penal system in Arkansas.
Rebecca West, who in some ways had a temperament similar to Jessica Mitford's but drew very different political conclusions from her investigative reporting, might have said Mitford lacked a sense of process, a grasp of the mechanisms by which genuine social change is accomplished. Mitford was curious about West and wrote to me, wishing to know more about my research for a biography of West.Too bad Mitford did not take to heart West's key insight: That no matter how slow and contradictory it might be, there is no substitute for the Rule of Law — a phrase West liked to capitalize. Resort to revolutionary justice results in no justice at all.
March 21, 2021
Thoroughly delightful and intensely pleasurable, and she was quite a handful. (Trying to think what it would be like growing up referred to as "The Donk" by one's mother. She meant it in the best possible way, though.)
About halfway now, talking about Hons and Rebels, and I know she'll welcome me back again whenever I get there.
Brilliantly edited, BTW.
About halfway now, talking about Hons and Rebels, and I know she'll welcome me back again whenever I get there.
Brilliantly edited, BTW.
December 20, 2017
Jessica Mitford was an inspired writer: biting without being bitchy, polemical without being preachy, and satirical without being snide. She also had an amazing life, which she chronicled in two autobiographies. The first of them (Hons and Rebels) is still one of the funniest books I've ever read. (As an autobiographer, though, she was outdone by her first husband, Esmond Romilly, who published two autobiographies before he was 21!) Although her life was marked by tragedy (losing a husband and two children), she had incredible joie de vivre that comes through in almost every letter she ever wrote. She loved life, good food, people, gossip, and--most importantly--justice.
I found the first third of the book the most interesting, which covers her life before she became the celebrity author of The American Way of Death. In particular, her reintegration into (part of) her crazy family is the stuff of novels. Her roller-coaster feelings for her mother; her arms-length relationship with her sister and fellow-writer Nancy; and her intense relationship with sister Deborah, the Duchess of Devonshire, are all quite fascinating. She couldn't have been more unlike Debo--whom Decca said had no interest in the world outside Chatsworth, her ducal home--but their bond was intimate and intense. And her last letter to her husband, composed while she was dying, was incredibly moving.
This is a wonderful book for those interested in the Mitfords, the Bay Area left, and the intellectual life of the latter part of the twentieth century. Cheers to Peter Sussman, the editor, for informative footnote explanations that never become cumbersome, and for a lengthy and generous selection.
I found the first third of the book the most interesting, which covers her life before she became the celebrity author of The American Way of Death. In particular, her reintegration into (part of) her crazy family is the stuff of novels. Her roller-coaster feelings for her mother; her arms-length relationship with her sister and fellow-writer Nancy; and her intense relationship with sister Deborah, the Duchess of Devonshire, are all quite fascinating. She couldn't have been more unlike Debo--whom Decca said had no interest in the world outside Chatsworth, her ducal home--but their bond was intimate and intense. And her last letter to her husband, composed while she was dying, was incredibly moving.
This is a wonderful book for those interested in the Mitfords, the Bay Area left, and the intellectual life of the latter part of the twentieth century. Cheers to Peter Sussman, the editor, for informative footnote explanations that never become cumbersome, and for a lengthy and generous selection.
November 2, 2013
Books-wise, so far, I have only read "Hons and Rebels" by Jessica Mitford, and, earlier this week, Highland Fling, my first Nancy Mitford.
Having read "Hons and Rebels" I was interested to find out more about Jessica Mitford. Perhaps a 700 page plus book of her letters, and that covers her entire life, was a bit too ambitious. I cannot pretend to have read every letter contained in the book however I managed to read plenty, and I came away from the book even more impressed by Jessica (aka Decca) than I had expected.
Despite far more than her fair share of tragedy and upheaval, what emerges is a woman who faced life with courage, humour, conviction and honesty. From a very early age she rebelled against her aristocratic background, running away to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and then America, where she married radical lawyer, Robert Treuhaft, having joined the Communist Party during the McCarthy era, which also signalled decades of civil rights activism.
The letters in this book cover her very early years up to her death. I was most interested in the letters she exchanged with her mother and sisters, and realised as I worked through this book that I might have been better off reading a biography about the family. Indeed I think this book would be most suitable for someone who has already got a good understanding of Jessica's own story and that of her family. That said, Peter Y. Sussman who edited this book, provides a helpful introduction to each section, in addition to numerous useful explanatory footnotes - it must have taken him ages!
This book contains many wonderful letters which are well worth reading if you are interested in Jessica Mitford, and it is probably most suitable for readers who have already read her other works and want to dig deeper.
Having read "Hons and Rebels" I was interested to find out more about Jessica Mitford. Perhaps a 700 page plus book of her letters, and that covers her entire life, was a bit too ambitious. I cannot pretend to have read every letter contained in the book however I managed to read plenty, and I came away from the book even more impressed by Jessica (aka Decca) than I had expected.
Despite far more than her fair share of tragedy and upheaval, what emerges is a woman who faced life with courage, humour, conviction and honesty. From a very early age she rebelled against her aristocratic background, running away to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and then America, where she married radical lawyer, Robert Treuhaft, having joined the Communist Party during the McCarthy era, which also signalled decades of civil rights activism.
The letters in this book cover her very early years up to her death. I was most interested in the letters she exchanged with her mother and sisters, and realised as I worked through this book that I might have been better off reading a biography about the family. Indeed I think this book would be most suitable for someone who has already got a good understanding of Jessica's own story and that of her family. That said, Peter Y. Sussman who edited this book, provides a helpful introduction to each section, in addition to numerous useful explanatory footnotes - it must have taken him ages!
This book contains many wonderful letters which are well worth reading if you are interested in Jessica Mitford, and it is probably most suitable for readers who have already read her other works and want to dig deeper.
October 14, 2008
love the mitford sisters. jessica has long been my favorite.
July 24, 2024
Decca, AKA Jessica Mitford, was one of the younger of the six notorious Mitford sisters. Their parents, a pair of very conservative British aristocrats, raised quite a brood. There was also a son, but he does not factor much into the account. Her mother decided that girls had no need for schooling (the boy, of course, went to college), and only allowed them to learn to read. But that’s all it took. They came into adulthood in the 1930s, and the oldest, Nancy Mitford, became a well-known author (Love in a Cold Climate, The Pursuit of Love). The next sister, Pamela (known to her sisters as Woman) kept to herself, but the next two, Diana and Unity, were quite a pair. Diana married Sir Oswald Mosley, and the three were ardent admirers of Adolf Hitler, spending a good deal of time in Germany with him in the lead up to WWII. When Britain entered the war against the Nazis, Diana and Oswald ended up in a British prison for the duration, and Unity tried to shoot herself. She was not immediately successful, and ended up dying several years later from the extensive brain damage. That left the two youngest, Decca and Deborah. Deborah married into money and helped restore one of England’s greatest stately houses, Chatsworth House, her husband’s home. And Decca? She ran as far from the rest of the family as she could get.
Eloping at 19 with her Canadian cousin, they joined the rebel forces fighting the Spanish Civil War. From there, they made their way to the United States where they joined the communist party fighting for civil rights (at this time, the communist party was far more supportive than either of the two major political parties). Her husband was killed by a U boat attack as he was returning to Britain to fight in the war, and Decca ended up marrying a Jewish civil rights lawyer, Robert Treuhaft. They eventually moved to Oakland where she lived for the rest of her life. She remained active in civil rights and union causes for the rest of her life, but also was attracted to related causes, such as the, at the time, funeral industry. Using her proper British lady persona, she conducted numerous interviews and as they say, did her research. The result was The American Way of Death, a huge best-seller and an eye-opening reveal of a secretive industry. Other topics for the books that followed included matters where she perceived injustice, such as the prison business and the Congressional trials of Dr. Spock, as well as family memoirs.
This book itself is a voluminous collection of her letters to a wide range of correspondents. And fun fact: she and Maya Angelou were close friends over several decades based on their work together on civil rights. But they were estranged for a few years over their disagreement regarding the character of Clarence Thomas. Maya thought he was a fine pillar of the black community, but Decca had no use for him whatsoever. Hmm. Look who was right.
Eloping at 19 with her Canadian cousin, they joined the rebel forces fighting the Spanish Civil War. From there, they made their way to the United States where they joined the communist party fighting for civil rights (at this time, the communist party was far more supportive than either of the two major political parties). Her husband was killed by a U boat attack as he was returning to Britain to fight in the war, and Decca ended up marrying a Jewish civil rights lawyer, Robert Treuhaft. They eventually moved to Oakland where she lived for the rest of her life. She remained active in civil rights and union causes for the rest of her life, but also was attracted to related causes, such as the, at the time, funeral industry. Using her proper British lady persona, she conducted numerous interviews and as they say, did her research. The result was The American Way of Death, a huge best-seller and an eye-opening reveal of a secretive industry. Other topics for the books that followed included matters where she perceived injustice, such as the prison business and the Congressional trials of Dr. Spock, as well as family memoirs.
This book itself is a voluminous collection of her letters to a wide range of correspondents. And fun fact: she and Maya Angelou were close friends over several decades based on their work together on civil rights. But they were estranged for a few years over their disagreement regarding the character of Clarence Thomas. Maya thought he was a fine pillar of the black community, but Decca had no use for him whatsoever. Hmm. Look who was right.
July 12, 2018
This was a really fun read. I only give it three stars because by far the most interesting period of her life was the twenties, thirties, and forties, and the bulk of this 700+ page book was her work and writing in America from the sixties to the nineties. I mean that's interesting too, but I found myself skimming everything to do with The American Way of Death. Sidenote, what a strange undertaking (pun intended) for her! I guess she was looking at the social and economic implications, but she had been such a warrior and a sympathizer with the underdog--see: her political views on the Spanish Civil War, the American South, etc--it all just seem like kind of a random cause for her. She did try to get various wrongfully convicted men of color out of prison and was active in the Civil Rights movement, but what she's known for is The American Way of Death.
Anyway, her complicated devotion to her family really drove this book for me. Diana was the one sister that she really never forgave. Isn't that interesting? Diana has no redeeming qualities according to Decca, and she only spoke to her once after running away and eloping, at Nancy's funeral. I mean she does seem like a cold-hearted bitch. It was so strange to read her letters to Unity, simply putting ideological differences aside (ahem: Unity was a proud Nazi) and writing sweet letters proclaiming how fiercely she misses her sister. She apparently didn't know at the time the extent of Unity's cognitive struggles after the suicide attempt. Her chatty, newsy letters during that time probably never got read. Also, SUPER weirdly, she used the N word in one letter!!! The editor thinks this was a way to make Unity feel better after her suicide attempt. Yikes... Her relationship with Debo got much better as time went on, and she became her most frequent correspondent in later years. She rarely mentions Pam.
Decca is such a strange person. She was relentlessly cheerful with a strong work ethic, a bleeding heart, and a mischievous need to debate anyone and everyone. Despite how much tragedy and drama she endured in her life, she always remained self deprecating and funny. Her son died at age 10, and apart from a few letters right after the fact, she almost never mentions him for the rest of her life. She explained her decision to never speak of him in one letter years and years later, basically saying it was too painful to bear and she didn't want to revisit his death for her autobiography or later writings. That feels very British to me. Keep a stiff upper lip. Lastly all those weird nicknames for her family did not disappoint (Woman for Pam, Hen/Henderson for Debo, Susan for Nancy, friggin' Boud for Unity) along with some equally weird ones for friends (one friend she calls Dob, another Bites. No explanation.)
This was fascinating if far too long (sorry.)
Anyway, her complicated devotion to her family really drove this book for me. Diana was the one sister that she really never forgave. Isn't that interesting? Diana has no redeeming qualities according to Decca, and she only spoke to her once after running away and eloping, at Nancy's funeral. I mean she does seem like a cold-hearted bitch. It was so strange to read her letters to Unity, simply putting ideological differences aside (ahem: Unity was a proud Nazi) and writing sweet letters proclaiming how fiercely she misses her sister. She apparently didn't know at the time the extent of Unity's cognitive struggles after the suicide attempt. Her chatty, newsy letters during that time probably never got read. Also, SUPER weirdly, she used the N word in one letter!!! The editor thinks this was a way to make Unity feel better after her suicide attempt. Yikes... Her relationship with Debo got much better as time went on, and she became her most frequent correspondent in later years. She rarely mentions Pam.
Decca is such a strange person. She was relentlessly cheerful with a strong work ethic, a bleeding heart, and a mischievous need to debate anyone and everyone. Despite how much tragedy and drama she endured in her life, she always remained self deprecating and funny. Her son died at age 10, and apart from a few letters right after the fact, she almost never mentions him for the rest of her life. She explained her decision to never speak of him in one letter years and years later, basically saying it was too painful to bear and she didn't want to revisit his death for her autobiography or later writings. That feels very British to me. Keep a stiff upper lip. Lastly all those weird nicknames for her family did not disappoint (Woman for Pam, Hen/Henderson for Debo, Susan for Nancy, friggin' Boud for Unity) along with some equally weird ones for friends (one friend she calls Dob, another Bites. No explanation.)
This was fascinating if far too long (sorry.)
September 16, 2020
At over 700 pages, I thought I might be skimming through lots of the letters of Jessica (Decca) Mitford, but I read and savored every page. She's consistently forthright and funny and had an astonishing range of correspondents, friends and acquaintances--a substantial cross-section of American and British public figures from the 1930s to the 1990s--and of course wrote several wonderful books, all of which I read years ago when I somehow got stuck on what she calls the "Mitford industry," which includes her parents and several sisters. Surely few non-royal families have had so many books written by and about them. All good value, but Decca is particularly good company through these letters.
June 25, 2020
This is a large & wide-ranging collection of letters, although towards the end there are an increasing number of threads opened which are never closed and it is hard to know if this is because Decca herself never followed up on those questions/ideas, or because the editor decided they weren't sufficiently interesting to rate space in this volume. The editing itself is very good, Sussman's editorial notes regarding Decca's family strive for some objectivity, although his bias towards Decca and her version of the story is evident.
As for the letters themselves, well -- I have been fascinated with the Mitfords on & off for years, and Decca is certainly the one whose political opinions are closest to mine, but as it turns out they are not that close & I really did not enjoy her company very much. India Knight pointed out in an article in the London Review of Books that Decca's virtues are very much those of the class she hated -- "fearlessness, a clever, comical, unsentimental way with words, a very deep love of jokes and advanced social skills." To that list I would add her belief in the correctness of her own point-of-view, her expectation that people will take her seriously, and her refusal to temper her behaviour to the needs of others -- why can't they just fight back with the same confidence and entitlement she has? Yes, it is an excellent thing that she fought so hard and long for civil rights, but I dislike the lack of empathy that she displays throughout her life -- and I think that is what made her dislike feminism so much; she refuses to imagine that other women have different situations than her own, so obviously if they are unsuccessful, mistreated, victims of violence etc. it is simply because they are doing it wrong, not because there are structural inequities that should be addressed.
So, an interesting collection, well worth reading, but I am not inclined to read more of her work; I feel like I understand her now as well as I am likely to be able to understand someone of a different country and class and generation who died 20+ years ago, and I am ready to move on to other things -- some of which may be other Mitfords, as I am still trying to wrap my brain around her sisters.
As for the letters themselves, well -- I have been fascinated with the Mitfords on & off for years, and Decca is certainly the one whose political opinions are closest to mine, but as it turns out they are not that close & I really did not enjoy her company very much. India Knight pointed out in an article in the London Review of Books that Decca's virtues are very much those of the class she hated -- "fearlessness, a clever, comical, unsentimental way with words, a very deep love of jokes and advanced social skills." To that list I would add her belief in the correctness of her own point-of-view, her expectation that people will take her seriously, and her refusal to temper her behaviour to the needs of others -- why can't they just fight back with the same confidence and entitlement she has? Yes, it is an excellent thing that she fought so hard and long for civil rights, but I dislike the lack of empathy that she displays throughout her life -- and I think that is what made her dislike feminism so much; she refuses to imagine that other women have different situations than her own, so obviously if they are unsuccessful, mistreated, victims of violence etc. it is simply because they are doing it wrong, not because there are structural inequities that should be addressed.
So, an interesting collection, well worth reading, but I am not inclined to read more of her work; I feel like I understand her now as well as I am likely to be able to understand someone of a different country and class and generation who died 20+ years ago, and I am ready to move on to other things -- some of which may be other Mitfords, as I am still trying to wrap my brain around her sisters.
April 29, 2020
Delightful! The letters reveal Jessica Mitford's feisty character and a fascinating life story.
April 6, 2022
I actually couldn't finish it. I was looking forward to reading more about the Mitford sisters but I just couldn't engage.
March 3, 2024
this is such a FAT book.
and then, i keep stopping to read the books that she mentions.
first i read her sister's first three novels, then hons and rebels, and now i'm reading the American Way of Death.
it's the only and best way to keep up with the letters.
but i found out yesterday that JKR (Joanne Rowling) named her daughter Jessica, and nicknamed her Decca, after Jessica Mitford, one of her favorite writers. weird!!! (i don't actually like JKR's books that much. i tried reading the detective series, um, cormoran strike?, but didn't enjoy the writing and didn't get past the first chapter; i read the first two harry potter books and didn't enjoy the formulas OR the harry potter character himself, so i stopped after those two. there are so much better fantasy novels out there, i thought, i just can't get into this... BUT after her "transwomen are transwomen/people who menstruate is an insulting and reductive way to refer to women/(male) rapists do not belong in women's prisons regardless of how they identify" statements [all of which i find much milder than what i actually think or have said regarding this issue] i totally love JKR. and love that she loved Jessica Mitford. so anyway.
ok, time passed and i finally finished this book. took me almost all year. and i LOVED it. even though it took me so long to finish and it was, well, it was a bunch of letters, and sometimes it seemed as if there were too many, later on i was like, wait, she mentions a letter but it's not here!! put all the letters in!!!!!!!!
by the end of the book i cried like an idiot. knowing that she was dead, that she would obviously be dead because she wasn't a member of an alien species, and knowing that she died of cancer at home, when i read the final letter, and a footnote said, Decca died ten days later, i began to cry... all the things she left undone that she was counting on! why, oh why!??!
i have tried to find all of her books, especially the first thing she wrote, (somethingpenmanship), but i guess i'll have to wait 'til i'm in the US and i can go to a library and get an interlibrary loan or something.
what an amazing individual... i am so glad to have met her through this book...
and then, i keep stopping to read the books that she mentions.
first i read her sister's first three novels, then hons and rebels, and now i'm reading the American Way of Death.
it's the only and best way to keep up with the letters.
but i found out yesterday that JKR (Joanne Rowling) named her daughter Jessica, and nicknamed her Decca, after Jessica Mitford, one of her favorite writers. weird!!! (i don't actually like JKR's books that much. i tried reading the detective series, um, cormoran strike?, but didn't enjoy the writing and didn't get past the first chapter; i read the first two harry potter books and didn't enjoy the formulas OR the harry potter character himself, so i stopped after those two. there are so much better fantasy novels out there, i thought, i just can't get into this... BUT after her "transwomen are transwomen/people who menstruate is an insulting and reductive way to refer to women/(male) rapists do not belong in women's prisons regardless of how they identify" statements [all of which i find much milder than what i actually think or have said regarding this issue] i totally love JKR. and love that she loved Jessica Mitford. so anyway.
ok, time passed and i finally finished this book. took me almost all year. and i LOVED it. even though it took me so long to finish and it was, well, it was a bunch of letters, and sometimes it seemed as if there were too many, later on i was like, wait, she mentions a letter but it's not here!! put all the letters in!!!!!!!!
by the end of the book i cried like an idiot. knowing that she was dead, that she would obviously be dead because she wasn't a member of an alien species, and knowing that she died of cancer at home, when i read the final letter, and a footnote said, Decca died ten days later, i began to cry... all the things she left undone that she was counting on! why, oh why!??!
i have tried to find all of her books, especially the first thing she wrote, (somethingpenmanship), but i guess i'll have to wait 'til i'm in the US and i can go to a library and get an interlibrary loan or something.
what an amazing individual... i am so glad to have met her through this book...
February 4, 2009
One of the Mitford girls, sister of one of Hitler's alleged girlfriend's (the appositely-named Unity Valkyrie Mitford), Oswald Moseley's wife (Diana), the current Duchess of Devonshire (Debo), and Nancy, Jessica went completely the opposite way. She eloped to Spain to fight in the Civil War and ended up in America.
Skip onwards 50 years and she's become a widow, calls her daughter 'Dinky Donk', remarried, joined the American Communist Party, spearheaded racial integration and social projects in the face of extreme Governmental provocation; she took down the US Funeral and Spa businesses, became close friends with Maya Angelou, Leadbelly, refers to Jon Snow as 'the packer' because he packs for her, and Christ knows what other mad, and utterly utterly brilliant things. Fuck, she owns an island! She is and was a complete genius and this is without doubt one of the best books I've ever read, and to prove it I'll leave you with two random quote. Both excellent, and tell you all you need to know:
October 24th, 1969
"Debo was at Head weekend, and marvellous old codger called Lord Hardwick. A sample Hardwick story: "There was this fellow I know in the Foreign Office. A memorandum came across his desk - it was full of utter bosh, don't you know, so he was going to write BALLS on it. But he though that was a bit steep, so instead he wrote ROUND OBJECTS. Memo comes back from Tony Eden (PM) with a note: 'Who the devil is this fellow Round & what does he object to?"
November 3rd, 1971
"My brother-in-law, Giles Romilly, was a homosexual from the time I knew him (he was about 21 when we first met). He had some pretty horrible experiences in the war. Came back, got married, had 3 children. Divorced, remarried, went totally bonkers, committed suicide. I can't help wondering if he wouldn't have been far better off sticking to his original metier, so to speak?..."
All you need to know
Skip onwards 50 years and she's become a widow, calls her daughter 'Dinky Donk', remarried, joined the American Communist Party, spearheaded racial integration and social projects in the face of extreme Governmental provocation; she took down the US Funeral and Spa businesses, became close friends with Maya Angelou, Leadbelly, refers to Jon Snow as 'the packer' because he packs for her, and Christ knows what other mad, and utterly utterly brilliant things. Fuck, she owns an island! She is and was a complete genius and this is without doubt one of the best books I've ever read, and to prove it I'll leave you with two random quote. Both excellent, and tell you all you need to know:
October 24th, 1969
"Debo was at Head weekend, and marvellous old codger called Lord Hardwick. A sample Hardwick story: "There was this fellow I know in the Foreign Office. A memorandum came across his desk - it was full of utter bosh, don't you know, so he was going to write BALLS on it. But he though that was a bit steep, so instead he wrote ROUND OBJECTS. Memo comes back from Tony Eden (PM) with a note: 'Who the devil is this fellow Round & what does he object to?"
November 3rd, 1971
"My brother-in-law, Giles Romilly, was a homosexual from the time I knew him (he was about 21 when we first met). He had some pretty horrible experiences in the war. Came back, got married, had 3 children. Divorced, remarried, went totally bonkers, committed suicide. I can't help wondering if he wouldn't have been far better off sticking to his original metier, so to speak?..."
All you need to know
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2016
Jessica "Decca" Mitford wrote some very entertaining letters, but it seems strange to read only one half of any correspondence. The editor includes sufficient biographical information to put the letters in to context and does sometimes explain what was said in the letters which are responses. I would have liked to see the letters she received as well.
I was most interested in Jessica's life up to 1945, which covers her childhood, teenage rebellion, running off to Spain with Esmond Romilly, first marriage (to Esmond) and first child, emigration to the USA and later becoming an American citizen, joining the Communist Party, discovery of the civil rights issue, learning to type so she could work for left wing organisations, Esmond's death, second marriage to lawyer Robert Treuhaft and birth of more children. This is quite enough for one life, you might think.
Unfortunately Jessica did not start keeping carbon copies of her letters until the 1950's, so the earlier record is incomplete.
I read every letter up to 1960, but the book was due back at the library, so skipped through the rest.
I admire Jessica's commitment and optimism, as displayed in her letters, but I do take issue with her on a few matters. The USSR's reaction to the Hungarian uprising was not the best thing for the Hungarian people, particularly those who died, even if it had been 'taken over by fascists' (which I don't think it was) and the US Communist Party's condemnation of it was not 'stodgy' or 'boring', nor was their acknowledgement that Stalin went too far a 'betrayal of the revolution'. To my mind a campaigner for human rights should oppose oppression regardless of the political affiliation of the oppressor. (The same thinking led the US to support some very repressive right-wing dictators in South and Central America on the basis that at least they were not communist.)
I was most interested in Jessica's life up to 1945, which covers her childhood, teenage rebellion, running off to Spain with Esmond Romilly, first marriage (to Esmond) and first child, emigration to the USA and later becoming an American citizen, joining the Communist Party, discovery of the civil rights issue, learning to type so she could work for left wing organisations, Esmond's death, second marriage to lawyer Robert Treuhaft and birth of more children. This is quite enough for one life, you might think.
Unfortunately Jessica did not start keeping carbon copies of her letters until the 1950's, so the earlier record is incomplete.
I read every letter up to 1960, but the book was due back at the library, so skipped through the rest.
I admire Jessica's commitment and optimism, as displayed in her letters, but I do take issue with her on a few matters. The USSR's reaction to the Hungarian uprising was not the best thing for the Hungarian people, particularly those who died, even if it had been 'taken over by fascists' (which I don't think it was) and the US Communist Party's condemnation of it was not 'stodgy' or 'boring', nor was their acknowledgement that Stalin went too far a 'betrayal of the revolution'. To my mind a campaigner for human rights should oppose oppression regardless of the political affiliation of the oppressor. (The same thinking led the US to support some very repressive right-wing dictators in South and Central America on the basis that at least they were not communist.)
November 2, 2009
I just finished this remarkably EPIC and fascinating book about Jessica Mitford. Having read quite a bit about the Mitford Sisters helped I think in understanding the letters but I must say that I find her after reading the book the most remarkable of all of the truly exceptional and interesting Mitford sisters. The book is truly brilliant in every respect. This book is my favorite book thus far this year. My favorite book in 2008 was the Collected Letters of the Mitford Sisters.
I haven't read Nancy Mitford's book of letters yet although that will be next. I have read several of Diana Mosley's books, however.
So very much of the material in DECCA, particularly about the Communist Party, was a new subject for me. The complexity and layers of this woman's life, similar to the rest of her siblings, is astonishing. There was so much detail about the Communist Party, about liberal politics, race issues and the history of the US last century.
I highly recommend this book. Whether you know a thing, or not, about the Mitford sisters.
I haven't read Nancy Mitford's book of letters yet although that will be next. I have read several of Diana Mosley's books, however.
So very much of the material in DECCA, particularly about the Communist Party, was a new subject for me. The complexity and layers of this woman's life, similar to the rest of her siblings, is astonishing. There was so much detail about the Communist Party, about liberal politics, race issues and the history of the US last century.
I highly recommend this book. Whether you know a thing, or not, about the Mitford sisters.
October 10, 2015
Only informative parts were the introductions to each sections and the copious footnotes which explained just what she was going on about. Only got this because I read it was an influence on J.K. Rowling, but what a snooze! So boring I ended up skimming the latter two-thirds. Had bits and pieces but didn’t really tell me what was going on in her life! Very frustrating. Saw a mention about her biracial grandsons, but had to search to find anything about them, and there was precious little about her daughter’s first relationship. Didn’t find any of it funny, either. I think I’d rather read the books she wrote, not a hodge-podge of dashed-off letters. Must be the fascination with U.C. British folk with titles and all the name-dropping that people liked.
January 23, 2013
This is a heavy read in a lot of ways - its a bloody big book! And the subject matter can be a bit heav going in places, but for anone really interested in the Mitfords I would recommend it. Decca had opinions on just about everything and was not afraid to say what she thought. I always had a soft spot for her and this book hasn't changed my opinion.
Thought the editing was EXCELLENT - footnotes very clear and give good explanation for the wide cast of characters who inhabit these letters. I also liked the fact that Peter Y Sussman wasn't afriad to use letters that showed Decca's temper, her battle with alcoholism and the less nice sides of her character - which we all have after all.
Thought the editing was EXCELLENT - footnotes very clear and give good explanation for the wide cast of characters who inhabit these letters. I also liked the fact that Peter Y Sussman wasn't afriad to use letters that showed Decca's temper, her battle with alcoholism and the less nice sides of her character - which we all have after all.
June 25, 2013
This collection of Jessica Mitford's letters gives a fascinating insight into her remarkable world. More than that, it gives one woman's impressions of some of the key moments in 20th Century History. Decca was Winston Churchhill's cousin, active in the Black Civil Rights movement, and appeared before the House Un-American Activities court while a member of the Communist Party, not to mention being friends with some of the leading literary figures of her time. Her letters provide a glimpse into these these moments in history and give the everyday details that make them seem real. The book is huge, but there is no need to read from start to finish if you find it daunting - just dip in and read a few here and there.
October 6, 2011
I seem to have an insatiable taste for the Mitford sisters. Just finished the autbiog of the last survivor, Deborah, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire and that led me back to Jessica, whose "American Way of Death transfixed me 45 years ago and forward to Nancy's novels which I may not have ever read. This book is huge - to be read in smallish doses, but I am reminded how much there is to like and admire about the lefty sister, (as opposed to the two fascists, Unity and Diana).
April 1, 2012
Some of the references are a bit dated but most hold up pretty well especially if you are willing to spend some time with the footnotes. She is very funny and parts of this had me laughing out loud, eg: "I'm going for a check-up!...One has to have a thing called a MAMMOGRAM...Katie [her assistant] has one every year and thinks they should be reported to Amnesty International, as what happens is exactly like the tortures one hears described to compel a prisoner to confess or name names."
April 29, 2008
This is the best book I've read all year so far. really moving and interesting. By reading this book you will vastly expand your knowledge of the american communist party, how to escape the press, the best way to keep dogs off your lawn, how expensive spas are a waste of money, and what it's like to be married to a duke, amongst other fascinating topics.
July 13, 2009
Jessica Mitford is a heroine to the enlightened. Her correspondence to casual friends and family recite stories of adventures and social events that most of us only dream of. Like a fairytale wrapped in the harsh realities of life. The book Decca gives us a peak into her extraordinary life.
August 8, 2009
The letters of one of the contreversal Mitford sisters to her friends an family. An enlightening insight into the early years of the Communist Party in the US as well as an insight into the family dynamics from Decca's point of view.
Liz
Liz
March 26, 2007
More letters of correspondence between Jessica Mitford and her siblings. Very interesting family.
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