Overview
Deborah Mitford, Duchess of Devonshire, is the youngest of the famously witty brood that includes the writers Jessica and Nancy, who wrote when Deborah was born, "How disgusting of the poor darling to go and be a girl.” Deborah’s effervescent memoir, Wait for Me!, chronicles her remarkable life, from an eccentric but happy childhood in the Oxfordshire countryside, to tea with Adolf Hitler and her controversially political sister Unity in 1937, to her marriage to the second son of the Duke of Devonshire. Her life would change utterly with his unexpected inheritance of the title and vast estates after the wartime death of his brother, who had married Kick Kennedy, the beloved sister of John F. Kennedy. Her friendship with that family would last through triumph and tragedy. Wait for Me!, with its intense warmth and charm, is a unique portrait of an age, and an unprecedented look at the rhythms of life inside one of the great aristocratic families of England. It is irresistible reading, and will join the shelf of Mitford classics to delight readers for years to come.
Synopsis
Deborah Mitford, Duchess of Devonshire, is the youngest of the famously witty brood that includes the writers Jessica and Nancy, who wrote when Deborah was born, “How disgusting of the poor darling to go and be a girl.” Deborah’s effervescent memoir, Wait for Me!, chronicles her remarkable life, from an eccentric but happy childhood in the Oxfordshire countryside, to tea with Adolf Hitler and her controversially political sister Unity in 1937, to her marriage to the second son of the Duke of Devonshire. Her life would change utterly with his unexpected inheritance of the title and vast estates after the wartime death of his brother, who had married Kick Kennedy, the beloved sister of John F. Kennedy. Her friendship with that family would last through triumph and tragedy. Wait for Me!, with its intense warmth and charm, is a unique portrait of an age, and an unprecedented look at the rhythms of life inside one of the great aristocratic families of England. It is irresistible reading, and will join the shelf of Mitford classics to delight readers for years to come.
Library Journal
The author, whose full name is Deborah Vivien Freeman-Mitford Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, now 90 years old, is the youngest and last surviving of the Mitford sisters, made famous in Nancy Mitford's thinly fictionalized comic novels, especially The Pursuit of Love. The six sisters included two who became fascists (Unity and Diana), a communist (Jessica), a duchess (Deborah), and two best-selling authors (Nancy and, again, Jessica). Deborah Mitford's affable memoir reads like the bonus voice-over DVD commentary—the "movie" here being Nancy's uproarious novels. To make proper sense of Wait for Me!, the uninitiated may first need to read The Pursuit of Love. But don't expect Nancy Mitford's ironic view of the British aristocracy; "I have always voted Conservative," writes Deborah Mitford, "and would never do otherwise." The usually genial author reserves harshest judgment for her writing sisters Jessica and Nancy while offering passes to Diana and Unity, great admirers of Hitler ("many other girls...were swept up in the movement"). VERDICT The book palls when the sisters grow up, and it ceases to serve as a gloss on Nancy Mitford's novels. Yet all acolytes of the Mitford sisters will want to read what will probably be the last firsthand account of their youth.—Stewart Desmond, New York
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Deborah Mitford Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire, is the youngest and last surviving of the six famous and infamous Mitford sisters. Now ninety, she has finally mercifully decided to share memories of her long life. (Most of her previous books have been devoted to her beloved Chatsworth estate.) The book justifies the wait. Mitford's recollections include telling anecdotes about her eccentric sisters; a somewhat mystifying afternoon tea with Adolf Hitler; and her close friendship with the Kennedy family. A perfect evening setting for Anglophiles.
Publishers Weekly
In this sparkling memoir, the Duchess (The Pursuit of Laughter) writes about her famously eccentric family and the upper reaches of the British aristocracy with whom she has mingled during her long life (she'll turn 91 in March). She was related to Winston Churchill's wife, Clementine, and to Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. In 1938, she met her future husband, Andrew Cavendish, and socialized with the Kennedy's. As their guest, she attended JFK's inauguration, and then his funeral, and writes movingly of both events. When her husband inherited his title, she became the mistress of Chatsworth; the Devonshire family estate dated back to the time of Henry VIII and contained fabulous treasures, including original Rembrandt paintings, and Mitford helped manage a variety of enterprises connected with it. In the ‘60s, Andrew served as a Minister of State and the couple travelled widely. A staunch conservative herself, her family's politics tended to be more extreme. Her parents sympathized with Nazi Germany, her sister Unity, a close companion of Hitler, attempted suicide at the start of hostilities, and sister Diana, wife of British fascist Oswald Mosley, was jailed. Full of absorbing anecdotes, Mitford's wonderfully-written tale of a tumultuous era is fascinating. Norman Parkinson's iconic 1952 photo of the Duchess adorns the cover. (Nov.)Library Journal
The author, whose full name is Deborah Vivien Freeman-Mitford Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, now 90 years old, is the youngest and last surviving of the Mitford sisters, made famous in Nancy Mitford's thinly fictionalized comic novels, especially The Pursuit of Love. The six sisters included two who became fascists (Unity and Diana), a communist (Jessica), a duchess (Deborah), and two best-selling authors (Nancy and, again, Jessica). Deborah Mitford's affable memoir reads like the bonus voice-over DVD commentary—the "movie" here being Nancy's uproarious novels. To make proper sense of Wait for Me!, the uninitiated may first need to read The Pursuit of Love. But don't expect Nancy Mitford's ironic view of the British aristocracy; "I have always voted Conservative," writes Deborah Mitford, "and would never do otherwise." The usually genial author reserves harshest judgment for her writing sisters Jessica and Nancy while offering passes to Diana and Unity, great admirers of Hitler ("many other girls...were swept up in the movement"). VERDICT The book palls when the sisters grow up, and it ceases to serve as a gloss on Nancy Mitford's novels. Yet all acolytes of the Mitford sisters will want to read what will probably be the last firsthand account of their youth.—Stewart Desmond, New YorkNora Krug
It would be difficult for any book about the Mitfords to be dull, no matter how dutiful its purpose. And Wait for Me! does not disappoint…And while Mitford's tone is steely, she nonetheless unleashes some zingers…and amusing vignettes.—The Washington Post
From the Publisher
“Charming, captivating, and at times wickedly funny. ‘Wait for Me!’ was the refrain of young ‘Debo’, the baby of the family. Now ninety, she has caught up beautifully.” —Time
“A national treasure.” —Sarah Lyall, The New York Times
“Wait for Me! . . . teem[s] with memories of love, war, betrayal, heartbreak, housekeeping, and frolic . . . tantalizing . . . riveting.” —Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times Book Review
“Admirably done, cannily blending disclosure and reticence in a charming book that kept me riveted.” —Miranda Seymour, The Guardian (London)
“[Debo] is in possession of what I can only describe as a uniquely Mitford-esque sensibility: loving but unsentimental . . . able to find the ridiculous in almost anything.” —Rachel Cooke, The Observer (London)
Praise for Counting My Chickens . . .
“More entertaining than anything I could say about it.” —P. J. Kavanagh, The Spectator
Praise for Home to Roost
“Nobody with an interest in the past century could fail to be interested in the gossip, which extends to just about everyone of interest.” —Matthew Bell, The Independent on Sunday
“Behind the wit and quips, there is something else stronger and more rigorous. She goes to the ballet at Covent Garden with the Queen Mother and notices that throughout the entire performance, the Queen Mother’s back ‘never once touched the chair.’ That is how the Duchess is too—never a slouch, never a saggy moment, even in grief alert, attentive, observant.” —Adam Nicolson, The Spectator
Praise for In Tearing Haste
“One of the great twentieth-century correspondences . . . Bursting with wit and conviviality.” —James Purdon, The Observer (London)
“Beguiling . . . Hugely enjoyable . . . What these letters so wonderfully demonstrate is an unfailing appetite for life.” —Anne Chisholm, The Spectator
Praise for The Mitfords
“Funny, loving, sparkly, snarky, heartbreaking, chilling, gossipy, wise.” —Amanda Lovell, O, The Oprah Magazine
Praise for Counting My Chickens . . .
“More entertaining than anything I could say about it.” —P. J. Kavanagh, The Spectator
Praise for Home to Roost
“Nobody with an interest in the past century could fail to be interested in the gossip, which extends to just about everyone of interest.” —Matthew Bell, The Independent on Sunday
“Behind the wit and quips, there is something else stronger and more rigorous. She goes to the ballet at Covent Garden with the Queen Mother and notices that throughout the entire performance, the Queen Mother’s back ‘never once touched the chair.’ That is how the Duchess is too—never a slouch, never a saggy moment, even in grief alert, attentive, observant.” —Adam Nicolson, The Spectator
Praise for In Tearing Haste
“One of the great twentieth-century correspondences . . . Bursting with wit and conviviality.” —James Purdon, The Observer (London)
“Beguiling . . . Hugely enjoyable . . . What these letters so wonderfully demonstrate is an unfailing appetite for life.” —Anne Chisholm, The Spectator
Praise for The Mitfords
“Funny, loving, sparkly, snarky, heartbreaking, chilling, gossipy, wise.” —Amanda Lovell, O, The Oprah Magazine