Take Six Girls: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters (60 page)

and the Diehards 85–6

and Esmond Romilly 148, 158, 199–201

and Jessica Mitford 2, 7, 8, 87, 177–81, 262–3, 277, 318–21

and Jews 147

and the Spanish Civil War 183

Cooper, Duff 269, 293

Cooper, Lady Diana 18, 34, 56, 125, 134, 293

Costello, Elvis 139

Crux Easton 274–5, 280, 283

Cunard, Emerald 117, 125

Curzon, Lady Cynthia
see
Mosley, Cynthia (Cimmie)

Czechoslovakia 194

Diana, Princess of Wales 345–6

Dicks, Laura
see
Blor, Nanny (Laura Dicks)

Diehards movement 85–7

Don’t Tell Alfred
(Nancy Mitford) 74, 100–1, 196, 206, 318, 329, 333

Downton Abbey
syndrome 20

Dudley Ward, Penelope 70

Eden, Anthony 187

Edward VII, King 31, 34, 38

‘The English Aristocracy’ (Nancy Mitford) 10, 21–2, 29, 34, 84, 323–4

Fabian Society 140

Fascism 5, 6–7

and Tom Mitford 72, 190

see also
British Union (of Fascists, BU/BUF)

First World War 44–6

Fitzgerald, F. Scott 73, 100

Foot, Michael 327

Four Weddings and a Funeral
21

Free French Officers’ Club 253–4

Freeman, Thomas (ancestor) 30

Friese-Green, Molly 267, 268–9, 271

Galbraith, J.K. 261

Gardner, Evelyn (Waugh) 97, 109

General Strike (1926) 118, 131–2

George V, King 130

Germany

and Bertie Mitford (grandfather) 32–3, 44

and David (Lord Redesdale) 67–8

and Diana 33, 147–8

visits to 160–2, 245

First World War 44–5

Jews and anti-Semitism 161

and Tom Mitford 159–60

and Unity 33

see also
Anglo-German fellowship; Hitler, Adolf

Gibson, Milner 36

Gillies, Jean 229, 230

Glyn, Elinor 130

Goebbels, Joseph 8, 172, 176

governesses 56–7, 122

Graham, Katherine 255

Graham, Sheilah 73

Green, Henry 111

Guinness, Bryan 149, 198, 228–9

and Biddesden 124, 125, 126

Desires and Discoveries
112

divorce from Diana 143–4, 150

marriage to Diana 93–4, 102, 111–13

breakdown of 119–21, 128, 135–8, 139

Singing out of Tune
144

Guinness, Desmond (Diana’s son) 113, 120, 126, 228–9, 273

Guinness, Jonathan (Diana’s son) 112, 118, 119–20, 228–9, 241

Guinness, Lady Evelyn 93, 94

Guinness, Walter
see
Moyne, Lord (Walter Guinness)

Ham Spray 126–7

Hammersley, Violet 9, 18, 203, 245, 246, 251, 253, 292

Hanfstaengl, Putzi 157, 160, 161, 167

Harrod, Billa 270

Hartington, Lord (Billy) 278–9

Harvey, Sir Oliver 318

Hastings, Warren 95

Helleu, Paul César 89–91, 94, 98, 142

Henderson, Sir Nevile 170

Henie, Sonja 72

Hesketh, Roger Fleedwood 101

High Wycombe, Old Mill Cottage 43, 81, 176, 212

Highland Fling
(Nancy Mitford) 36, 75, 81, 101, 103, 105–6, 108, 125

Himmler, Heinrich 166, 168, 170, 235, 283

Hitler, Adolf 2, 32, 50

Anschluss
5, 192–3

and Bertie Mitford 32

and the British aristocracy 6, 169, 191

and Diana Mitford 11, 167, 176, 205, 232, 233–4, 235, 236

Mein Kampf
147

and Mosley 171, 173, 205, 226, 227

Night of the Long Knives 166

and Pamela Mitford 9, 48

sexuality 156

and Stalin 179

and Sydney (Lady Redesdale) 14, 65, 175, 191, 192, 193, 217

and Unity 8, 45, 99, 160–2, 164–71, 174–5, 186, 192, 193–5, 220

Unity’s attempted suicide 204–6, 210

Hoare, Sir Samuel 72, 173

Hons and Rebels
(Jessica Mitford) 12, 17, 50, 51–2, 56–7, 108, 199, 307, 308, 330–1

and Esmond Romilly 184, 185–6

and Sydney (mother) 52, 61

Unity in 127, 155

Howard, Brian 92, 108, 109, 111

Hozier, Blanche 35, 47, 63

Hussey, Miss (governess) 56, 122, 123

Inch Kenneth (Redesdale home) 203–4

David at 218

death of Unity at 309–13

and Jessica 284–5, 328, 332

Unity and Sydney at 225–6, 271–2, 282

Jackson, Derek 156, 197, 337

divorce 314

marriage to Pamela Mitford 156–7

and the Mosleys’ release 272, 274

and Nancy’s betrayal 245, 246

in the RAF 242, 257

James, Clive 139, 147, 161

Jebb, Gladwyn 244–5

Jews and anti-Semitism 92

and the BUF 146–7, 163

and Diana 235

in Germany 161, 171

Nancy and Jewish refugees 246

and Tom Mitford 159

and Unity 155

John, Augustus 117–18

Joyce, William (‘Lord Haw-Haw’) 166, 223

Kee, Janette 314

Kennedy, John F. 26, 196, 345

Kennedy, Kathleen ‘Kick’ 278, 344–5

Kray, Ronald 88

Labour government (1945) 15

Labour Party

and Mosley 131–3

The
Ladies of Alderley
(Nancy Mitford) 34, 203

The
Lady
magazine 36, 37, 43, 45, 103

Lamb, Henry 125, 135, 142

Lancaster, Nancy 344

Lancaster, Osbert 117, 118, 270, 271

Laroche, Baroness 164

Lawrence, T. E. 72

Lees-Milne, James 39, 41, 52, 66–8, 76, 104, 111, 117, 268

and Diana 67–8, 76, 89, 90, 129

and Mosley 134

and Nancy 280

and Tom Mitford 68, 89, 159–60, 280

and Unity 269, 270–1

Lenya, Lotte 111

Lindemann, Frederick 82

Lloyd George, David 119, 140

London

houses 37–8, 42–3, 44

Rotherhithe 2, 198–201

Londonderry, Lady 96–7, 170, 191

Londonderry, Lord 6, 85, 97, 171, 191, 222

Losch, Tilly 70

Love in a Cold Climate
(Nancy Mitford) 2, 16–17, 47, 51, 85, 149, 300, 304, 313

Cedric Hampton character 110

and society debuts 95–6, 97

and Tom Mitford 72

Lubbock, Adelaide 149, 150, 251

MacDonald, Ramsay 6, 86, 97, 119, 131, 133–4

McGee, Willie 319, 320, 321

Macmillan, Harold 345, 346

Macmillan, Lady Dorothy 88

Memories
(Bertram Mitford) 31

Messel, Oliver 108, 109

Metcalf, Alexandra ‘Baba’ 130, 144, 145, 160, 166, 228

Mitford, Bertram (grandfather) 30–4, 35, 36, 40, 44

death 46

London house 37–8

Mitford, Bertram (uncle) 51–2, 337

Mitford, Clement (uncle) 29, 39–40

death 44, 45, 46

Mitford, Clementine (cousin) 7, 45, 164, 168, 192

Mitford, David, Lord Redesdale (father) 29, 30, 31, 73–87

and Asthall 54–5, 75, 78

at Inch Kenneth 282

in Canada (prospecting for gold) 44

character 40, 51, 75–7

as characters in Nancy’s novels 13–14, 30, 40, 70, 73–4, 75–6, 84–5, 90, 106, 189–90, 218, 219, 296

daughters’ relations with 41–2, 74–5, 76–7

death 324–5, 327–9

and Deborah 265

and Diana 94, 283, 284

and the First World War 45–6

and Inch Kenneth 203–4, 215, 218

and James Lees-Milne 67–8, 76, 89, 90, 111

and Jessica 7, 41–2, 76, 325

elopement 184–5, 188, 189–90

marriage to Sydney 39–47

and money 77–8, 81–4

and Nancy 106–7, 111

and politics 84–7

pro-German 170–1

speech on Hitler in the House of Lords 6, 193–4

and Swinbrook House 78–80, 175–6

and Unity 123, 212, 213–14, 216–19

death of 311–12, 312–13

Mitford, Deborah 43–4, 264–7, 278–9, 343–6

appearance 180, 196

character 180, 196, 346

and Chatsworth House 2, 26, 314–16, 343–6

childhood 39, 52–3

children 266, 279

and David (father) 74, 75

death 2, 346

and Diana 94, 232

in Holloway prison 238, 239, 240

and
Hons and Rebels
52

and Inch Kenneth 204

and Jessica 4, 7–8, 50, 158, 180, 265, 321

elopement 185

marriage to Andrew Cavendish 196–8, 221, 265

miscarriages 24

and the Mitford phenomenon 2–3, 18, 20–1, 23–4, 26

and Nancy 295, 303

and Pamela 49, 336, 337

politics 6, 21, 85, 86, 87, 157, 178

pregnancies 264, 266, 302

and publicity 10

and skating 72–3

society debut 5, 195–6

and Swinbrook House 14, 78–9, 79–80, 176

and Sydney (mother) 64, 65

and Unity 122, 202, 221, 240, 271

Wait for Me!
(autobiography) 21

war work 264

Mitford, Diana 2, 88–94, 228–44, 338–41

abortion 145

appearance 82, 98, 129

and Batsford House 48

biography (
A Life of Contrasts
) 240, 338

car crash 228

character 11, 91–2, 102, 112, 119–21, 140–2, 171–3, 230–3, 249–50

childhood 54, 55

and Churchill 275–6

and David (father) 41, 74

death 340–1

and Deborah 197, 232

on
Desert Island Discs
10, 11, 26, 339

and the Eatonry 136, 142

and Esmond Romilly 182

and Germany 33, 147–8

grave 13

and Hitler 11, 167, 171–3, 176, 205, 232, 233–4, 235, 236

on the Holocaust 339–40

and
Hons and Rebels
52

internment

in Holloway prison 17, 23, 237–44, 268

interrogation 233–7

and Nancy’s betrayal 244–50

release under house arrest 10, 248–9, 272–6

and James Lees-Milne 68, 89

and Jessica 62, 94, 155, 161, 186, 244–5, 249, 254–5, 259, 277–8, 305–6, 335, 342

and
Love in a Cold Climate
72

and Lytton Strachey 125–7

marriage to Bryan Guinness 93–4, 102, 111–13

breakdown of 119–21, 128, 135–8

divorce 143–4, 150

and the Mitford phenomenon 3, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26

and Mosley 9, 11, 127, 135–42, 294, 305

Astor dance (1928) 88, 93

death of 338

first meeting 127, 128–9, 135

leave Britain 316–18

love for 9, 11, 135–42, 231–2, 243–4, 274

postwar years 297–300

wartime detention of 227, 242–4

wedding in Germany 176–7

and Nancy 11–12, 15, 25, 62, 98, 103, 137, 151–2, 242, 299, 300–8, 317–18, 338

betrayal and detention of Diana 244–50

and Pamela 337

in Paris 89–91

politics 7, 8, 9, 11, 87, 118–19, 133–4, 146–9, 231–3

and Sydney (mother) 64–5, 91, 138

and Tom (brother) 4, 71

death of 283, 284

and Unity 4–5, 154, 164–5, 168–9, 220, 271, 272

attempted suicide of 206

death of 310–12

visit to Germany 160–2

views on democracy 235–6

Mitford family history 29–39

The
Mitford Girls’ Guide to Life
19