It's hard to believe there was woman alive on Tuesday who at 17, along with a sister named Unity, had tea with Hitler in Munich in 1937 and wrote home "...seen all the sights." But certainly not was about to come.
The sister, in love with Hitler and apparently second in his affections only to Eva Braun, tried to commit suicide when England declared war on Germany and died 10 years later with the bullet still lodged in her head.
The Mitford sisters were the Edwardian Kardashians. It's almost too bad we didn't get them in the era of texting and video phones. Their legacy would have been better shared by millions. A reality show with the Mitford girls would have been more global. In addition to Unity in love with Hitler, there was Diana, a fascist who married Oswald Mosley, England's fascist leader, with Goebbels and Hitler as witnesses. Tiny Tim getting married on the Tonight show with Johnny and Ed and all of us as witnesses shows you how popular a show would have been on the Mitfords.
Diana and Oswald were thrown in England's Holloway hoosegow for the duration of WWII. Whether they were in orange is not known. Deborah visited her sister in prison.
In today's NYT the print world catches up with the death of the Dowager Duchess of Devenoshire. In Britain of course, The Telegraph has produced its recognition of the Duchess.
We learn a good more about the family than be did through yesterday's BBC video/print mix of an obituary.
We knew about Nancy the writer, Unity and the Fuhrer, Diana the fascist, and Jessica the communist, who eloped with a nephew of Churchill. We additionally learn sister Pamela as a child wanted to be a horse. She married a famous jockey, and the belief is he always had a mount, at least until be became a physicist. The brother Thomas was killed in action in WWII. The family alone could keep Rupert Murdoch from ever going out of business.
Deborah was more sedate. She saw herself as a "housewife," even if the joint does have 32 kitchens and 68 bathrooms. It's always the kitchen and bathroom that define a place anyway.
Duchess Deborah and her husband turned his family estate, Chatsworth, into a tourist attraction, while also producing branded food and gift items for sale. The Duchess became highly knowledgeable about chickens, and kept many varieties on the grounds, free-range in the most literal sense.
Some of the items they put on sale at Chatsworh were "Duchess Marmalade" and the "Duke's Favorite Sausage." Think Jimmy Dean Sausage hawked by a guy in a WWII officer's uniform who looks like he's going to invade Poland, and I think you get the picture of how enterprising she and her husband became to keep the family estate from crumbling. The businesses continue to pay the bills.
Another example of the Duchess's marketing prowess was to produce a cook book titled "The Chatsworth Cookery Book" in 2003 with the introduction, "I haven't cooked since before the war." Imagine Kelly Ripa or Kathie Lee Gifford compiling recipes and telling us they don't cook. The book would probably sell as well as the Duchess's. Titled authors and celebrities sell.
Comparing the two print obituaries, Robert McFadden's piece identified a son Peregrine and two sisters as immediate survivors. The Duke passed away in 2004. The Telegraph says the son's name is Stoker. You have to hand to the English when they name their kids.
Peregrine and Stoker are probably the same person. If not, then we need Agatha Christie's Miss Marple to find the birth certificate for what is probably an out-of-wedlock birth. The reality show might still continue.
In 1999 Deborah Dowager Duchess of Devonshire was made a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (DCVO) by Queen Elizabeth for her work in preserving a heritage.
There is nothing like a dame.
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