What I'm Reading Now

Decca, Debo, Bobo, Wooms, and Honks are some of the family nicknames on display in The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters, edited by Charlotte Mosley. An insider's view of this controversial family (at least one of whom was a fervent Nazi), with commentary by the daughter-in-law of Diana, who was jailed during World War II, partially based on information supplied to the British government by two of her sisters. A review of the book in today's New York Times notes that the youngest, and only surviving sister, Deborah, emerges as the book's heroine, mainly for staying out of politics altogether, and also for being the only one who remained on speaking terms throughout with the entire family. These letters show that Nancy's droll wit, as previously evidenced in such novels as The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, is shared by all the sisters. In turns, engaging, maddening, passionate, witty, and never, ever, boring.