The Mitford Sisters | 1 : life of the week
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Hello and welcome to Life of the Week, where leading historians delve into the lives of some of history's most intriguing and significant figures, from ancient Egyptian pharaohs and medieval warriors to daring 20th century spies. For much of the 20th century, six sisters from Britain's minor aristocracy Aristocracy had a knack for making headline after scandalous headline. They were Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah Mitford. Now, the sister's incredible shared story has been adapted into a TV drama called Outrageous, based on the best-selling biography by Mary S.
Lovell. Speaking to Danny Bird across two episodes, Mary recalls her own personal encounters with several of the Mitfords, and in this first of two episodes, she explores the sisters' lives up to the end of the Second World War in 1945. They cover the hedonistic 1920s, the ideological rupture between fascism and communism of the 1930s, and how the sisters seemed to be on the front line of history wherever it was happening. Mary, thanks for joining us on the History Extra podcast to discuss the lives of the six Mitford sisters, Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah. But before we get into their lives, perhaps we could start with their parents.
Who were they? Well, their parents were Lord and Lady Reedsdale, so they're minor British aristocracy, very well connected. They called the father Favre and the mother Move, so I'll call them Move and Favre, because that's how I remember them. They were cousins of Winston Churchill. They lived in rural Oxfordshire, and they were Victorians, basically, because they I think they were both born around about 1880.
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