Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The MItford Sisters

Episode Date: February 20, 2025

In the early 20th century, David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife Sydney Bowles had seven children, six girls and one boy.  The sisters all achieved notoriety for entirely different reasons. They were, how can I say, different from each other. Very different. Several of them found themselves associated with some of the most important individuals of the mid-20th century. Learn more about the Mitford Sisters and their very different lives on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Mint Mobile Cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/eed Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Stitch Fix Go to stitchfix.com/everywhere to have a stylist help you look your best Tourist Office of Spain Plan your next adventure at Spain.info  Stash Go to get.stash.com/EVERYTHING to see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and to view important disclosures. Subscribe to the podcast!  https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the early 20th century, David Friedman Mitford, the second Baron Resdale, and his wife, Sidney Bowles, had seven children, six girls and one boy. The sisters all achieved notoriety for very different reasons. They were, how can I say, very different from each other. Very different. Several of them found themselves associated with some of the most important individuals of the 20th century. Learn more about the Mitford sisters and their very different. They're very different. They're very different lives on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may

have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. I think you'll see that by the end of this episode, that the Midford sisters were different. There really aren't any heroes in this story. At best you can say the Midford sisters led interesting lives. What makes them interesting and worthy of an episode is how six different sisters managed to grow up to be so different.

The story starts in England with Baron Redesdale David Freeman Mitford. Born in 1878, he married Sidney Bowles in 1904. They proceeded to have seven children, six daughters and one son. The story of this family has been used as inspiration for many stories, and I think you'll soon see why. In 2007, an article written by the journalist Ben McIntyre in the London Times described them as, quote, Diana the fascist, Jessica the Communist, Unity the Hitler lover, Nancy the novelist, Deborah the Duchess, and Pamela the unobtrusive poultry connoisse. sewer. Each of the Milford sisters led a very different life, so the logical place to start would be

with the oldest sister, Nancy. Nancy Mitford was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist known for her sharp wit, social commentary, and satirical depictions of British aristocracy. Born on November 28, 1904, she was the eldest of the infamous Mitford sisters. Nancy was raised in a privileged yet unconventional household in England, with minimal formal education, but a strong intellectual curiosity. Unlike some of her politically extreme sisters, she leaned towards liberal and socialist views. Nancy gained fame for her comic novels satirizing upper-class British life, particularly The Pursuit of Love, published in 1945, which was a semi-autobiographical novel that became a bestseller, and Love in a Cold Climate, published in

1949, which was another witty portrayal of aristocratic eccentricities. Her novels, known for their humor and social critique, remained a classic of 20th century British literature. She also wrote several historical biographies, including Madame de Pompadour in 1954, Voltaire in love in 1957, and The Sun King in 1966 about Louis XIV of France, reflecting her deep fascination with French history. Nancy spent much of her later life in France, living in in Paris from the 1940s onward.

She never married, but had a long, complicated romance with Gaston Polowski, a French diplomat. She died on June 30, 1973, from Hodgkin's lymphoma, leaving behind a legacy of literary brilliance and biting social satire. If Nancy was an only child, then I probably wouldn't be doing this episode. The next oldest daughter was Pamela Midford. Pamela was born in November 25, 1907. Unlike her siblings, Pamela preferred a quieter life, earning her the family nickname the Rural Midford. She developed a love for country living, animals, and farming, spending much of her life engaged in agricultural pursuits.

She married physicist Derek Jackson in 1936, a wealthy and eccentric scientist with a passion for horse racing. However, their marriage ended in divorce and Pamela never remarried. Unlike her sisters, Pamela remained largely apolitical, maintaining a reserved and private existence. Later in life, she had a long-term companionship with the Italian equestrian Judita Thomas. Pamela lived a contented life in the English countryside, enjoying her passion for farming and rural traditions. She passed away on April 12, 1994, remaining the least controversial yet quietly intriguing of the Midford sisters.

I'm going to skip ahead now for the purpose of building anticipation to the youngest sister, Deborah Mitford. Deborah Mitford, later known as Deborah Duchess, of Devonshire, was born on March 31st, 1920, the youngest of the Milford sisters. Unlike some of her more politically extreme siblings, she embraced a life of duty, tradition, and quiet resilience. In 1941, she married Andrew Cavendish, who unexpectedly became the 11th Duke of Devonshire in 1950. As Duchess, she played a crucial role in transforming Chattworth House, the family's grand, but financially struggling a state, into a thriving

cultural and commercial success. She modernized its management, opened it to the public, and developed businesses such as a farm shop and tourism initiatives that secured its future. Deborah had a deep love for the countryside, animals, and traditional British aristocratic life. She was also a writer publishing memoirs and books on Chatsworth, as well as collections of letters exchanged with her sisters. Although often seen as the most conventional Midford, her sharp wit and natural charm made her a beloved public figure. She remained active at Chatsworth well into her later years, passing away on September 24th, 2014, at the age of 94. Now things are starting to get interesting.

The second youngest sister was Jessica. Jessica Midford was born on September 11th, 1917, and became the most politically radical of the Midford sisters. Unlike her aristocratic upbringing, she rejected privilege and embraced communism and activism, leading to a life marked by rebel. and social justice work. As a teenager, she eloped with her cousin, Esmond Romley, a committed socialist and nephew of Winston Churchill, fleeing to Spain during the Spanish Civil War. After Romilly's death in World War II, she moved to the United States, where she married Robert Troyhaft, a civil rights lawyer. Together, they were active in progressive politics, including the civil rights movement, and joined the American Communist Party, although they later left it.

Jesse became a renowned investigative journalist, famous for her expose, the American Way of Death in 1963, which critiqued the exploitative practices in the funeral industry. She also wrote an autobiography, Hans and Rebels in 1960, chronicling her break from her aristocratic family, as well as other works on corporate corruption and social issues. She remained politically active until her death on July 22, 1996. The final two sisters are the ones, that have gotten the most attention and couldn't be more different from their siblings. The third oldest sister was Diana. Diana Midford, later known as Diana Mosley, was born on June 17, 1910, and became one of the most controversial figures amongst the Midford sisters due to her fascist sympathies and close ties to Nazi Germany.

A renowned beauty and socialite, she first married Brian Guinness, heir to the Guinness Brewing Fortune in 1929. However, she left him in the early 1930s for Sir Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists. Their relationships scandalized high society and they married in 1936 in a private ceremony in Joseph Goebbelshaus in Berlin with Adolf Hitler as a guest. Oswald Mosley was a British politician and the founder of the British Union of Fascists. Initially a conservative MP, he later joined the Labor Party before embracing fascism in the 1930s. Influenced by Benito Mussolini, he promoted authoritarian nationalism and anti-Semitic rhetoric. During World War II, Diana and Oswald Mosley were seen as potential threats to Britain due to their political beliefs and association with Nazi Germany. In 1940, they were interned without trial under wartime regulations and spent over three years in Holloway prison before,

being released in 1943. After the war, they lived in France, maintaining friendships with figures like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and continuing to express admiration for Hitler and fascist ideals, which kept Diana as a divisive figure. Despite her political notoriety, she remained a literary figure, writing autobiographies and essays on aristocracy and culture. Her books included a life of contrast in 1977 and the pursuit of laughter in 1988. Diana lived a long life remaining defiant about her past and died on August 11, 2003 at the age of 93.

She remains one of the most controversial British women of the 20th century due to her political views and Nazi associations. Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists will be the subject of a future episode. Before I get into the last and probably most historically interesting daughter, Unity, I should take some time to address the one Mitford's son. Thomas Mittford. Thomas Mifford, born in 1909, was the only brother of the famous Mifford sisters. Unlike his more notorious siblings, he remained relatively private and didn't engage in public controversy.

Educated at Eaton and Oxford, he pursued a career in law before serving in World War II as a soldier in the Coldstream Guards. Despite his aristocratic background, Thomas was known for his loyalty to his family, particularly his fascist-leaning sisters, Diana in Unity. He allegedly shared some pro-fascist sympathies, although never as openly as they did. Because of his fascist leanings, he refused to serve in Europe and was sent to Burma to fight in the war.

He was killed in action in Burma in 1945 during the final months of World War II. And because of his death in the war, compared to his sisters, he left Little Legacy. The final daughter, and perhaps the most infamous, was unity. If Diana was committed enough to fascism to marry Oswald Mosley, then unity was hyper-committed. Unity Valcary Mitford was born on August 8th, 1914. From a young age, she exhibited an intense fascination with Germany and its rising fascist movement. Her middle name, Valky, reflected her parents' admiration for Germanic culture, and she later became the most extreme in her family's political leanings, outdoing even her communist and fascist sisters.

In the 1930s, Unity moved to Munich, where she deliberately positioned herself to meet Adolf Hitler, often frequenting his favorite cafes. Her persistence paid off, and she became a close acquaintance of the Nazi leader. According to some, she developed a romantic relationship with Adolf Hitler. In modern parlance, she became a Hitler groupie. She idolized him and was seen regularly at Nazi gatherings, developing a deep admiration for Hitler and his ideology. Her family, particularly her sister Diana, who also supported fascism, encouraged her political innings. When Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, unity was devastated. Unable to reconcile her loyalty to both countries, she attempted suicide in Munich by shooting

herself in the head. She survived but suffered severe brain damage. After months in a German hospital she was sent back to England where her family cared for her. Unity lived in a semi-vegetative state, unable to fully recover from her injuries. She spent her final years in seclusion in England before dying on May 28, 1948, from complications related to her injuries. I've had the Midford sisters on my list of episode ideas for a long time. What finally spurred me to do this episode was the January 2025 public revelations of Unity Mitford's diary. These leather-bound journals spanning from 1935 to 1939 had been lost for eight decades before the remarkable discovery.

The diaries meticulously document 139 meetings between Mitford and Hitler, starting with their initial encounter in February 1935 at Munich's Osteria Bavaria restaurant. In her entries, Midford describes this meeting, as, quote, the most wonderful day of my life, highlighting her profound infatuation with Hitler. Throughout the journals, she consistently refers to him as the furor and capitalized the pronouns he and him. Beyond chronicling, their numerous interactions, the diaries reveal Midford's intense anti-Semitic beliefs and her unwavering support for Nazi ideology. They also shed light on the complexities of her relationship with Hitler, including the jealousy it sparked in his

companion, Ava Brown. Mitford's final diary entry coincided with Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939. The final epilogue to this story of the very different sisters is the fact that despite their very different beliefs, they corresponded with each other throughout their entire lives. A 2007 book titled The Midford's Letters Between Six Sisters published a selection of the over 12,000 letters sent between the sisters over their lifetimes. Despite their obvious differences, their letters reveal deep sisterly affection, lively gossip, and reflections on literature, politics, and aristocratic life. The Midford Sisters, because of their extreme spectrum of beliefs from communist to fascists,

have fascinated people for decades. There's a miniseries scheduled to be released by the BBC around June 2025 about the Misford Sisters called Outrageous. It appears the Midford Sisters continue to captivate historians, writers, and the public due to their extraordinary influence on 20th century British culture and politics. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Oaken and Cameron Kiefer. Today's review comes from listener Leah 2978 over on Apple Podcasts in the United States. They write,

Catching up on my general knowledge. I grew up in different countries, having different sets of priorities in their history classes, and most of my time was spent learning their languages and not understanding a lot of it. So I have a few gaps in my general knowledge repertoire. This podcast is exactly what I need to bridge some of those gaps in an effective and efficient way while raising a new baby. I look forward to my spouse asking me what I learned on Gary's podcast and sharing my newly obtained knowledge of interesting things.

Love the format, content, and vibe. Keep it up. Well, thanks, Leah. I'm glad that you're filling in the gaps in your knowledge. If what you know are bricks in an intellectual building, then let this podcast serve as the mortar. Remember, if you leave a review or send me a boostogram, you too can have it right on the show.