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The Story of the Mitford Girls' Mother
‘Rachel Trethewey has done the seemingly impossible in a book about the Mitfords: she has found something original to say, thanks to her excellent scholarship, and has written Muv’s story exceptionally well.’ – Simon Heffer, author of Sing As We Go: Britain Between the Wars
Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, Deborah: these are the flamboyant Mitford Girls, the Bright Young Things who defined their era. The trials, tribulations and outrageous escapades of these six controversial sisters continue to fascinate us. Yet what about the seventh and arguably most vital Mitford woman of them all – their mother?
Sydney Redesdale, known as ‘Muv’, is often portrayed as different from her daughters – outside of that exclusive girl gang. Without doubt, she was a divisive character, her daughters squabbling about the ‘real Muv’ for even longer than they argued about their political differences. They could never agree: was she a scapegoat or saint, mother or manager? Even later biographers couldn’t quite pin her down: just who was this elusive woman who nurtured such colourful children?
How could these exceptional daughters have sprung from such apparently ordinary parents? In reality, Sydney was far from ‘ordinary’: she was the original Mitford girl, from whom much of her daughters’ legendary strong will, self-confidence and extremism was born. Set against the backdrop of a country and a family divided, the story of her life – one of eccentricity, tragedy and resilience – is told here in full for the first time.
‘For the first time, the matriarch of the Mitfords emerges as an exciting historical figure in her own right, who was as brilliant and maddening as her six daughters. A treat for Mitford aficionados, this book offers a wealth of new information, re-framing and refreshing the story of the Mitfords as never before. Rachel Trethewey has set a new standard in the Mitford world – a truly dazzling book.’
Lyndsy Spence, author of The Mitford Girls’ Guide to Life and Mrs Guinness,
‘A gripping life of a troubled, troubling, and unjustly neglected woman.’
Professor Richard Toye, Professor of History at Exeter University,
‘Rachel Trethewey’s Mothers of the Mind is an engrossing and magnificently rewarding study of the relationships between three literary women – Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie and Sylvia Plath – and their mothers. In Muv, Trethewey looks with equally clear eyes at the tremendous influence exerted on the celebrated Mitford sisters by their strong-willed and alarmingly fervent mother, Sydney Redesdale. Fascinating stuff from one of our most innovative biographers.’
Miranda Seymour, novelist, biographer and critic,
‘Rachel Trethewey has done the seemingly impossible in a book about the Mitfords: she has found something original to say, thanks to her excellent scholarship, and has written Muv’s story exceptionally well. Those who think they know all there is to know about the family will find her work a revelation.’
Simon Heffer, author of Sing As We Go: Britain Between the Wars,
