Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of DevonshireCritiques

Yet another glimpse--but perhaps the last firsthand account--into the lives of the Mitford sisters.

This has been sitting on my shelf for years! Deborah Devonshire was the youngest of the famous Mitford daughters and after marriage to the 11th Duke of Devonshire she became a Duchess, moving into Chatworth House on the Duke gaining his inheritance. After reading this lovely reminiscent collection of stories I’m a fan. She writes with a relaxed friendly style and name drops with appalling ease about various Lords, Ladies, Dukes and Earls with nary an ounce of snobbishness. All these aristocrats were her friends and acquaintances, just part of her life and no one else could probably write about the problems of wearing a tiara and make it sound normal. I got the feeling that Deborarh Devonshire would have been (she died in 2014) a delight to know in person. She was well read, intelligent, funny, thoughtful and had that special quality of being able to talk with anyone about anything and make that person feel important. There are some black and white sketches which add a nice touch and there’s a very personal introduction by Alan Bennett which I recommend everyone read!

This is an entertaining exchange of correspondence, in many ways, because Paddy Leigh Fermor loved books but obviously hated sitting down to write them, whilst Deborah, youngest Mitford sister and Duchess of Devonshire in her day job, always professed to loath books(*) but rather enjoyed writing them. He knew as little about death-watch beetles, the National Trust and diseases of sheep as she did about literature and Byzantine art, so their letters, which span five decades, never get bogged down in professional gossip, but range freely over the oddness of the world, the strange ways their respective lives have panned out, and the many interesting people they both know.

Being who they were, between the two of them they mixed with just about everybody who was anybody in the mid-20th century (not just in England and Greece, either: Deborah was sister-in-law to the Kennedys, and Paddy knew most of the ex-aristocrats of Central and Eastern Europe). Royalty, landowners, politicians, spies, travel writers and SOE types, artists and sculptors, Hollywood, the queerocracy, the Bloomsburies, and all the rest. So the names do tend to drop thick and fast, but of course they aren't trying to impress each other, it's more like an amused fascination with the way all these connections drop into place.

Often, too, they seem to use their letters as a safe space to try out material for articles or speeches they are working on: it's quite odd sometimes to read Paddy's long and detailed accounts to Deborah of trips to remote places he's been on with her husband.

Charlotte Mosley (daughter-in-law of Deborah's sister Diana) had the great advantage when she was editing this book that both participants were still around to answer questions, and she has included their comments in the footnotes where something is obscure from the letters. Other than that, her own notes are brief, unintrusive and usually enough to help you to keep up with all the idiosyncratic nicknames.

As with almost all letter collections, the main drawback is that the last part of the book leaves you on a depressing note of old age, illness, and a steady stream of funerals. Maybe the trick would be to start at the end and work backwards in time?

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(*) This was so notorious that when Evelyn Waugh sent her a presentation copy of his latest book in 1959, he arranged for it to be bound with all the pages blank to see if she would notice.

I have so much admiration and respect for Deborah's devotion to Chatsworth. Historic homes are so demanding of upkeep and financial resources that it's questionable if Chatsworth would be in its present condition without her years of dedication and hard work. Even though I'm not likely to visit it (Kelmscott and Red House, the residences of William Morris, are already at the top of my list, as well as the spectacular Leighton House Museum in Kensington, and Tower House, if only Jimmy would invite me over, sigh) I hope it continues to stand beautiful and full of art treasures for many more years to come.

A wonderfully varied collection of memories from a member of one of England's Great Families. Such chapter titles as 'Lagopus lagopus scoticus and its lodgers' (an essay on the Red Grouse's parasites) gives an idea of the fare on offer. There are chapters on everything from marriage to auction catalogues, and almost everything in between. A wonderful little read from a charming lady.

A fascinating read for anyone with an interest in the Mitford sisters (Deborah, or Debo was the youngest Mitford). Gives a different perspective on the sister's upbringing and early adulthood between the wars and then segues into Deborah's life as Duchess of Devonshire, chatelaine of Chatworth, wife of a diplomat and friend of the "great and good" in the UK and the USA (connected by marriage and tragedy with the Kennedys). There's an arresting mixture of candour interspersed with a lack of understanding of how entitled her life was - even after the punitive death duties levied when her husband inherited the Dukedom they were left with more wealth than most of us would dream of. However she also experienced more than her fair share of personal tragedy and I am reminded that all the wealth and privilige in the world cannot protect you from grief and loss. Worth a read if you are interested in the Mitfords and class in the UK.½

I find the subject matter (The Mitfords) very interesting, but the Duchesses style of writing and flitting from topic to topic makes the narrative distracting and hard to immerse yourself in.

I loathe most of what DD represents - hunting and shooting, appalling snobbery, and having tea with Hitler - but I can't help having a sneaking liking for her.½

A wonderful window on a friendship that has stood the test of time. Reading these letters makes me want to give up email and go back to writing physical notes! PLF's travel writing is exactly what I like to read - descriptions of the flora and fauna, logistics of how one gets to various places (I hate it when people "magically" whisk from one continent to another and never mention HOW they travelled!), people, architecture, history etc, all with self-deprecating humor. Just reading about all his mountain hiking made me exhausted! And Debo's charming stories about estate matters, livestock, books, people and doings are warm and gossipy and interesting.

These two lived through an amazing amount of history - and continue to do so today. Their take on it all is another side of conflicts and personalities one might not have heard or known about before.

I've put on hold at my library all their books that are available, I do hope their other writing is as good as their letters!

Pleasant memoir by the youngest Mitford sister with the usual amusing family anecdotes. Some sad family stuff - Decca/Jessica never really forgave her family for not accepting her early marriage, and she and Deborah weren't close as adults. As the two youngest they'd been inseparable when young. Nancy (the novelist sister) told the authorities that Diana (the Fascist sister) was a danger to England, which was one reason they chose to imprison her. Deborah says she was baffled by this.

Deborah married Lord Andrew Cavendish who became the Duke of Devonshire and became the public face of Chatsworth, the seat of the dukedom. Before and during her marriage she knew a lot of interesting people and has stories about them all. She also writes a lot about the running of Chatsworth where she and her husband lived after the war. I liked her a lot even though she's pro fox hunting.

Sweet and funny and just a little sad.

I skipped some of the sections on hunting.

Not a gardening book in the usual sense but a tour of Chatsworth landscape. The Duchess describes the changes that have been made to the garden since the first Cavendish bought the land in 1549 providing a glimpse of history as well as the magnificent garden now encompassing 105 acres.

!n 1980 the family granted a 99 year lease at a rent of £1 per year for Chatsworth House, the contents, garden, park and woods to a charitable foundation with the object being the preservation of Chatsworth for the benefit of the public. An endowment fund was created from the sale of works of art from the private side of the house and family resources. The income from the endowment goes towards the upkeep of the house, garden and park. The Cavendish family still live in the private part of the house.

In 1547 when Bess Hartwick married Sir William Cavendish, Treasurer to the Chamber of Henry VIII, she persuaded him to buy property in Derbyshire including the land where Chatsworth now stands. There was an inconveniently-placed house on the site so Bess started building Chatsworth. The history of the family in relation to the house is fascinating. Nowadays the house is planned to accommodate visitors and family without either groups crossing paths. The house was home to the author Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire from 1950 until her death in 2014. A remarkably interesting and beautiful book.

I've heard snippets about the six Mitford sisters over the years but not enough to create a cohesive picture, probably because the scandalous sisters were so diverse. In 2010, when she was ninety years old, the youngest, Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire wrote her biography that includes details about her family and involves much of the history of the last century. Practically everyone of note from the era makes an appearance from movie stars to world statesmen, art and literary luminaries, royalty, the Kennedy family, even Hitler. Her husband's elder brother who would have inherited the title, was married to Kick Kennedy, the sister of childhood friend Jack Kennedy. The Devonshires attended President Kennedy's inauguration and funeral, described in two appendices. She was amazed at how Americans handled the inauguration so informally compared to the minute planning of Queen Elizabeth's coronation.

Her life was interesting, with many achievements. The deaths of Andrew's elder brother in the war and his father not long afterwards, incurred enormous death duties that were not fully paid until 1974. They transformed Chatsworth into a profitable business, now one of the biggest tourist attraction in Britain and employing 600 locals.

I suspect Debo wrote this frank detailed biography to provide the last word on her life and family, thus curbing inaccuracies in other renderings. It's a complex story arranged by topic rather than chronology, giving it depth although it appears to jump around. It is not simply name-dropping on her part but a history of the world she knew and naturally, the people involved. This is Downton Abbey on a grand scale, combined with an international Who's Who of the 20th century.

Among her other books are Chatsworth: the house and The Garden at Chatsworth both of which I've also enjoyed browsing as companion reading.

Bitty and annoying. Paddy LF is one of the great travel writers but here he just rushes around like a mad-arsed fly, meeting hundreds (literally) of jolly people, mostly titled and seems unable to sit still. The occasional flash of wit sparkles through the murky waters, but his elegant style and lightly worn scholarship, so delightful in "Time of Gifts" and other masterpieces, don't get a look in among the crowds.

Deborah Devonshire began life as the youngest of the (in)famous Mitford sisters, but she unexpectedly became the duchess of Devonshire when her husband, Andrew Cavendish, inherited the duchy from his brother. Patrick Leigh Fermor was a travel writer who became a war hero by kidnapping the commanding German officer on the Nazi-occupied island of Crete. (The movie "Ill Met by Moonlight" is a fictionalized account of his experience.) The two first met when Deborah was still a young debutante, but they eventually formed a deep friendship, as well as a correspondence that would last for more than half a century. Although "darling Paddy" and "darling Debo" lived through many political upheavals and personal tragedies, their letters to each other always remained upbeat, humorous, and cheerful.

I usually find nonfiction very slow going, but this book was a pleasure to read. Both "Debo" and "Paddy" wrote in a lively conversational style that's very easy to read, and I felt truly immersed in their day-to-day lives. Patrick often wrote about the various exotic places he visited, including the little town in Greece where he and his wife eventually settled. Deborah largely stayed on the Devonshire estates in England and Ireland, where she waxed poetic about sheep breeding and various fox-hunting excursions. The book also provides some fascinating insights into the psychology of the British upper classes: for example, Deborah mentions, with the utmost casualness, dining with President Kennedy several times. Though there's not much in-depth discussion of the historical events through which they lived, anyone who is interested in reading a firsthand account of the 20th century should pick up this book! I'd also recommend it for fans of the Mitfords or early 20th-century British literature in general.

I have no real interest in British royalty but this book contains numerous character sketches that are enjoyable. I do enjoy reading about the effect WWII had on British life and this book is a great document of that time period from the 20s to current era.

You wouldn't think the memoirs of a fusty aristocrat could be so gripping. But the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire - formerly Deborah, youngest of the notorious Mitford Sisters - has led a life marked by extremes of rarefied privilege and crushing tragedy. A great read.½

Deborah Cavendish, better known as the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire and the last remaining Mitford sister, has lived a life so eventful that it almost seems mythical. From her oft-discussed childhood with her five sisters to tea with Hitler and helping to revive the ailing fortunes of the famed Cavendish estate, there is much in Debo’s life that has yet to be covered by the numerous biographies, memoirs of her sisters and collections of letters that have packed the shelves. Unfortunately, “Wait For Me!” manages to achieve the impossible by being insufferably dull. Cavendish’s writing lacks the wit and skill that her sisters Nancy and Jessica seemed to pull off with ease, with random vignettes of plodding prose in place of a sturdier narrative. While there are moments of genuine wit, Cavendish’s storytelling priorities seem questionable. More time and attention is given to recounting her days of fox hunting and debutante balls than to tea with Hitler and attending John F. Kennedy’s inauguration (an event which shockingly made her miss the beginning of hunting season). An unashamedly conservative figure, the reader’s mileage may vary when it comes to Cavendish’s outrage over having to sell a few Rembrandts to pay inheritance tax, as well as her uncomfortable defence of her Nazi sympathising sisters Diana and Unity’s politics. The book earns some points with Debo’s stoic but heart-breaking account of becoming the last remaining Mitford, but “Wait For Me!” is oddly lacking in insight and one for hard core Mitford devotees only.

I suspect that this is precisely the wrong place to start with the Mitfords. I was thrown willy-nilly into a confusing jumble of nicknames (each person has several), titles and anecdotes. I retire bloody and beaten.

Mitford aficionados, I'm open for advice.

This was my introcuction to the Mitford sisters, and to PLF, as well as to many other things. Reading any correspondence that spans over 50 years would be interesting,but the fact that these two have very interesting lives, makes it a fascinating read in deed! Even though I am sure there are things that have been edited away, it is a privilage to share somebody´s thoughts and follow their lives and I feel that Debbo and Paddy both had a lot to say. I was spellbound and thoroughly enjoyed this book. And as usual, this book alone resulted in a much expanded wishlist.

Having visited Chatsworth many times over the years, this book held a particular interest for me. However, the bits regarding Chatsworth are only a small part of Deborah Devonshire's story. Having been born a Mitford gives her a wealth of interesting stories of childhood and early family memories, and then she moves seamlessly through her life, telling the reader about all the major events and twists and turns that have taken place.

I found this to be a very readable memoir of a fascinating lady. I wasn't so bothered about hearing about all the people she had come into contact with, but I enjoyed her stories of her sisters, her mother and father, her marriage, and her time at Chatsworth, including the establishment of the Orangery shop, farm shop and restaurant.

Recommended for an easy to read, friendly memoir.

This was a very interesting set of letters between two friends that span more than fifty years. One friend is a world renowned travel writer, the other a Duchess and the former mistress of one of Britain's most famous grand houses. Together their letters are a joy to read. As the years progress, the letters take on a sad tone, as friends and relations die, but these two writers keep on sharing with each other the joys of life. A wonderful read.

This was an excellent little book by Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, about her memories of her late husband. The book is more of a photograph album with captions than an actual biography. The photographs are really wonderful and include some that are rarely seen. This is book is a treasure for anyone interested in the Devonshire's.