Take Six Girls: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters

I so enjoy Laura Thompson's writing that I have now ordered all of her books on the Mitfords as well as books written by Jessica and, especially, Nancy Mitford. One cannot put down "Take Six Girls" - it is almost like fiction, reading how unique each of the 6 sisters was. Of course, Diana seemed to me to be almost insane with her unswerving Nazi support of Hitler and his henchmen. She, to me, was beauteous on the outside and hideous in her rancid, dangerous beliefs and actions. Nancy is my favorite (nd the real talent of the Mitford family) and I am now awaiting Life in a Cold Climate by Laura Thompson.All in all, the 6 Mitford girls are the antithesis of the 5 Misses Bennet as written by Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice. Laura Thompson is a spellbinding, clear-eyed author whose books are well researched - such diverse examinations of mysterious personages such as Lord Lucan and the disappearance for a while, of the much beloved Agatha Christie.

A dispassionate review of the strange lives of the 6 Mitford sisters and their rather odd parents. Very interesting and easily readable

Highly entertaining and readable book about an amazing group of sisters.

Interesting lives

Great read!!

A delightful group biography of Diana, Nancy, Jessica, Unity, Pamela and Deborah, in short: The Mitford Sisters. I have read most of Nancy’s work in the 70’s and recently re-read the Pursuit of Love. It lost nothing of its charm. Being familiar with Nancy’s novels and Jessica’s ‘fictionalised’ memoir Hons and Rebels, makes the reading of Laura Thompson’s book a much richer experience. But even newcomers to the subject will find it an interesting portrait of an era and the six sisters’ role in it.Thompson places the girls in their impoverished aristocratic background, paints a portrait of the marriage and parents of the brood – there also was a brother Tom -. She goes onto describing each girl’s debutants ball and then devotes the rest of the book to what happened when those girls entered English society, at a time when the world around them slowly, but irreversibly descended into World War II.Thompson tells their story with verve and objectiveness, never trying to exonerate their choices. The background information the reader needs to navigate the lives of these girls, is seamlessly woven into the story. For her research she interviewed the two then living sisters Diana and Deborah and some of the Mitford sister’s children. She makes use of these interviews by incorporating them in the story, together with quotes from the copious correspondence between the sisters. This enlivens the text with gems of Mitford witticisms.The book makes for compelling reading and I would recommend it to anyone even slightly interested in the Mitfords.

An interesting book but hardly attractive to a wide audience.

I found myself very non U when reading this. I have not read any books written by the Mitford sisters so I was unable to understand a lot of the references. THis book is aimed at the 'in crowd' who already know a lot about them. I've valiantly struggled to 7% of the book but am giving up now. THere is no clear continuity of thought as far as I can see and I am not a stupid woman.I foolishly expected, somewhere in the first few chapters a setting out of who the Mitfords were and a little about their backgrounds. Seems to me to be just a vehicle for the author to show off how well she knew them - which I couldn't care less about.Don't waste your time reading this if you are just interested in finding out who they were and how they related to each other and their period of time.

I knew very little about the Mitford sisters before I read this book but now I'm hooked on them. Laura Thomson writes with a witty, balanced and entirely readable style. There is a wealth of information about these extraordinary girls and the times they lived in. Each one of the Mitfords was amazing in their own right but together they were incredible. Debutants, Facists, Communists and Duchesses all life is here, not to mention the young sister who fell in love with the monster who was Hitler. Some of their choices make uncomfortable reading but this is such a compelling biography. I highly recommend it.

It was fascinating to lean more about these iconic sisters. Over the years I have heard many references, usually with subtle innuendos but only now has it all become clearer. (Not crystal clear but at least clearer) It was a difficult story to tell but I think it made it more difficult to read because it seemed to jump about a lot, both between the sisters and through time. Several times I had to turn back to find out which sister I was reading about and I would have preferred it to be more chronological.

Laura Thompson has taken a fascinating subject and managed to make it as dull and lifeless as possible. This book entirely lacks any "joie de vivre"and colour, it's just a grey list of names, places and dates.

Started off wondering if I was going to enjoy this book, but after the first introductions I loved it. Well written, deeply researched and taking all aspects of the siblings and there outlook on events in context of each other made me rethink a lot of what I have read from the sisters themselves. I loved hearing more about the early years and the lesser known Pamela,and Jessica. The relationship with their mother was fascinating too.Highly recommended to any Mitford fan or anyone looking to know the family behind the headlines