Andrew Devonshire (1920–2004)
Auteur de Accidents of Fortune
A propos de l'auteur
Crédit image: Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire
Œuvres de Andrew Devonshire
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Nom légal
- Devonshire, Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, 11th Duke of
- Date de naissance
- 1920-01-02
- Date de décès
- 2004-05-03
- Lieu de sépulture
- St Peter's Churchyard, Edensor, Derbyshire, England, UK
- Sexe
- male
- Nationalité
- UK
- Lieu de naissance
- London, England, UK
- Lieu du décès
- Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, England, UK
- Lieux de résidence
- Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, England, UK
Lismore Castle, County Waterford, Ireland
London, England, UK - Études
- Cambridge University (Trinity College)
- Professions
- politician
army officer - Relations
- Devonshire, Deborah (wife)
Mitford, Nancy (sister-in-law)
Mitford, Jessica (sister-in-law) - Organisations
- British Army (WWII)
- Prix et distinctions
- Military Cross (1944)
Knight of the Garter (1996)
Deputy Lieutenant
Privy Councillor
Membres
Critiques
Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 3
- Membres
- 42
- Popularité
- #357,757
- Évaluation
- 3.6
- Critiques
- 4
- ISBN
- 3
The Dukes of Devonshire - Cavendish family - should not be considered in the same class as the "Downton Abbey" people - they are a few levels above that. Definitely "silver spoon" category. But the Cavendishes of the 20th century made a series of very interesting marriages, so the 11th Duke has a wide variety of diverse and unexpected relations to write about.
He himself married Deborah "Debo" Mitford, the youngest and best-adjusted of the Mitford girls. Sadly, in the book he doesn't really address what it was like to have married into such a well-publicized, talented, and often quarrelsome family. "Debo" wrote a number of memoirs from her own perspective, but it would have been interesting to hear from her husband Andrew's point of view.
On the positive side, he does write short vignettes about most of his own relatives. Enjoyment of this book is helped by a mastery of twentieth century British genealogy - or, lacking that, ready access to Wikipedia. His mother was a Cecil, a daughter of the 4th Marquess of Salisbury, and sister to famous biographer and literary maven Lord David Cecil.
One of his paternal aunts, Lady Dorothy Cavendish, was the unhappy wife of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Moreover, his paternal uncle Lord Charles Cavendish married Fred Astaire's sister and dance partner Adele.
Andrew's older brother "Billy" Hartington married Kathleen Kennedy, the oldest daughter of US Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, and sister of political siblings John, Bobby, and Ted.
And his sister, Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, became the "long-term companion" of Britain's Poet Laureate John Betjeman.
The 11th Duke's gentle humor is one of the best things about his book. There are frequent "one-line" asides that epitomize classic British understatement or irony. I frequently laughed out loud at his wry observations. For example, of his time during World War II at Sandhurst, Britain's prestigious officer training college, Devonshire writes: "Though the PT [physical training] and drill sessions were not my idea of fun, much of the other work was interesting. We were taught military strategy and tactics, which involved exercises riding bicycles through the Surrey countryside and finishing up at a pub."… (plus d'informations)