The Mitford Sisters
Dedicated to the most scandalous bunch of sisters of the 20th century. Diana the Fascist, Jessica the Communist, Unity the Hitler-lover, Nancy the Novelist, Deborah the Duchess and Pamela the unobtrusive poultry connoisseur.
You can find my non-Mitford related posts at therealhousewivesofwesteros.tumblr.com
11thAprWed
“ …indeed, with the Radletts, you never could tell. Why, for instance, would Victoria bellow like a bull and half kill Jassy whenever Jassy said, in a certain tone of voice, pointing her finger with a certain look, “Fancy?” I think they hardly knew why, themselves. ”
- Nancy Mitford, Love in a Cold Climate
10thAprTue
“I read Selina’s book all through again & cried all over again… it really is a very good book.”
—Diana, in a letter to Pamela
Here’s the cover for Vintage’s forthcoming edition of Selina Hasting’s biography NANCY MITFORD. The title design is adapted from a custom bookplate that Naunce used in her private collection.
SURPRISE: I recommend you put this hot number on your summer reading list. It’s just as entertaining and compelling as Naunce’s own novels—you can gobble it up in an afternoon, but it will stay with you forever.
6thAprFri
Unity Valkyrie Mitford, aged 18.
I love how darling she looks here. Butter wouldn’t melt!
4thAprWed
“ I have missed you enormously the last few days — it has been similar to a prolonged dull kind of stomach ache, and so I’ll be glad to get to Canada to get started on something. The car, driving around, having meals, club breakfasts, arriving in new places etc. have all point removed when done without you. Well, there is one thing — not seeing you all this time will certainly give me something terrific to look forward to. Be sure to write me exactly what you’re doing, and be sure to have a nice and exciting time, and enjoy yourself. ”
- Esmond Romilly to Jessica Mitford, 1940 (via fineoldconflicts)
26thMarMon
“ She had all the sentimentality of her generation, and this sentimentality, growing like a green moss over her spirit, helped to conceal its texture of stone, if not from others at any rate from herself. ”
- Love in a Cold Climate, Nancy Mitford (via touchingfromalongdistance)
Decca & The Dectones - Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
From an album Decca recorded later in her life utilizing cowbells and kazoos.
24thMarSat
“ It’s no good pretending that winning isn’t marvellous, I speak as a life-long loser. ”
- Diana Mitford, Lady Mosley, in a letter to her sister Deborah Cavendish, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire (via acockeyedoptimist)
24thMarSat
“ In the nineteen-sixties when very short skirts were the fashion, Nancy said, “Now we shall have to choose whether to be dowdy or ridiculous.”
“ In the nineteen-sixties when very short skirts were the fashion, Nancy said, “Now we shall have to choose whether to be dowdy or ridiculous.”
“Which will you choose?” I asked.
“Oh, ridiculous of course,” she replied. ”
- Diana Mitford (via ancientqueen)
