The Mitford Affair

Content warnings: character who practically worships Hitler, Nazis, fascism, communism, miscarriage, attempted suicide, imprisonment, betrayal

The Mitford sisters are divided by politics during World War II.

The Mitfords are a notorious group of six English sisters who lived at the beginning of the twentieth century. Eldest sister Nancy is famous for her wit and novels, but she longs for marriage and children. Diana is unhappily married with children and seeks freedom from her husband, which leads her to fascism. Unity and Jessica shared a bedroom when younger, and each is a staunch adherent to communism and fascism, respectively. Pamela marries a fascist, which makes her more interesting in the eyes of Diana and Unity. Deborah is too young to feature much in the novel, and their brother Tom is also a minor character.

Narration mainly switches between Nancy, Diana, and Unity. The book focuses on Nancy's writing, Diana's association with the British Union of Fascists which becomes increasingly unbreakable as the novel progresses, and Unity's friendship with Adolf Hitler and rise within the Nazi party. Both Nancy and Diana's marriages and divorces also are key story elements.

The novel shows how fascism started as a potential benefit for British society to a violent party during the rise of Hitler. In the beginning stages of the Second World War, Hitler and Germany were often covered in the press as a German success story and liberators of Austria. Although the Treaty of Versailles was violated, the rest of Europe stood back because they didn't want to get involved. Communism was on the rise in Spain, and the growing fascist threat in Italy wasn't perceived as much danger until they allied with Germany.

The Mitfords' nonsensical names for each other can sometimes make the book hard to follow. For example, Jessica is Decca and Unity is Bobo or Boud. Other nicknames like Debo for Deborah and Naunce for Nancy are easier to understand.

Recommended for historical fiction readers who like to learn more about history rather than having connections to the characters.

Marie Benedict (real name Heather Terrell) is a lawyer who writes historical fiction focusing on important women throughout history.

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Length: 352 pages

Release Date: January 17, 2023

Representation: divorced woman in the 1930s

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.