Reviews for Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford

The average rating for Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-08-26 00:00:00 Joshua Swedis Funny thing about the six famous Mitford sisters, all were beautiful, but the two evil ones, the Hitler lover Unity and the Fascist Diana, had no talent and didn't write. The other four, Jessica, Nancy, Pamela and Deborah, were all good people and talented writers. But only Jessica, Decca, wrote hard-hitting sociological books (and funny ones about class - Hons and Rebels and U and Non U). I've read four of her books so I'm looking forward to this one. Emails are so ephemeral and so casual that it's a case of write, read, archive a while, delete. I can't see emails ever being collected in a huge tome as an example of good and interesting writing and social commentary. Those days have gone. It's sad really, but then emails and texts are so fast easy, no hour spent writing, then looking for a clean envelope, having to pop out for a stamp to the post office and then waiting at least a week for a reply, if one every came. It's another world now, this electronic one and letters belong to a past century not this one.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-10-08 00:00:00 Brian Dirk Like many, I am fascinated by the Mitford sisters. Books-wise, so far, I have only read "Hons and Rebels" by Jessica Mitford. Having read "Hons and Rebels" I was interested to find out more about her. Perhaps a 700 page plus book of her letters, and that covers her entire life, was a bit too ambitious. I cannot pretend to have read every letter contained in the book however I managed to read plenty, and I came away from the book even more impressed by Jessica (aka Decca) than I had expected. Despite far more than her fair share of tragedy and upheaval, what emerges is a woman who faced life with courage, humour, conviction and honesty. From a very early age she rebelled against her aristocratic background, running away to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and then America, where she married radical lawyer, Robert Treuhaft, having joined the Communist Party during the McCarthy era, which also signalled decades of civil rights activism. The letters in this book cover her very early years up to her death. I was most interested in the letters she exchanged with her mother and sisters, and realised as I worked through this book that I might have been better off reading a biography about the family. Indeed I think this book would be most suitable for someone who has already got a good understanding of Jessica's own story and that of her family. That said, Peter Y. Sussman who edited this book, provides a helpful introduction to each section, in addition to numerous useful explanatory footnotes - it must have taken him ages! This book contains many wonderful letters which are well worth reading if you are interested in Jessica Mitford, and it is probably most suitable for readers who have already read her other works and want to dig deeper.