I’m always in search of a good book, and today I’ve got a few to recommend.  The last time I visited my grandmother she put me on the plane with my suitcase loaded significantly heavier than when I arrived and in the possession of quite a few more books.  Chief of them being The Mitford Girls by Mary S. Lovell.  The Mitford’s were/are an aristocratic English family who were particularly scandalous during the World Wars and on into the 50’s and 60’s. The sisters included Nancy, Diana, Pamela, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah; who grew up to become (respectively) a romance novelist and historian, a fascist, a secret lesbian, a great friend of Hitler, a communist and American journalist, and the Duchess of Devonshire.  In my opinion most anything about them or authored by them just makes for a fascinating read.  Prolific letter writers their lives, Nancy, Jessica and Deborah have all written best selling novels, biographies, and memoirs.

Nancy Mitford became famous for The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, which are thinly veiled descriptions of their childhood.  Later she wrote histories of Madame Pompadour and Louis XIV (I’m just about to finish this one) which are written in a breezy and not exactly politically correct voice.

Jessica, the communist; also wrote a memoir recounting their childhood, Hons and Rebels.  She then moved on to her masterpiece expose, The American Way of Death which recounts the rather crooked practices of funeral hoes and the trumped up charges the directors force on surviving loved ones.

Deborah, the youngest and only surviving sister is now the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire and has become widely respected for shrewdly running her estate, Chatsworth; as well as writing a series of books  both on the home itself and her life.

So if you need a good read on the train all of these will keep you interested (and interesting looking) until your stop.

Happy Monday, XO Matt