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Home to Roost: And Other Peckings
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Product Description
Review
’The Book is peppered with humorous and affectionate tales of the country, in addition to providing a rare insight into some of the more momentous world events of the last century...endearing...candid and down to earth style...an intriguing window into the key events of a bygone era...all delivered as if to a friend, with a high degree of honesty and humour’
(Derby Evening Telegraph, Lynne Brighouse )‘Debo’s is a voice from a vanished Golden Age ... the Duchess herself embodies these noble and conservative values and she personally is a wonderment and an inspiration’
(Sunday Express )‘Her latest has an introduction from Alan Bennett, so you get two national treasures for the price of one ... she’s a wonderful writer’
(Reader’s Digest )‘The dowager duchess treats us to more of her musings...her profile is high following the success of In Tearing Haste’
(Bookseller )‘This collection of wit and wisdom from the Duchess of Devonshire (and last surviving Mitford girl) just dances off the page ... funny and insightful ... whatever te subject, playfulness and a love of life spill from the page, and there are no words wasted. Perfect for dipping into, this book is bound to touch and tickle anyone’s heart’
(Waterstones Books Quarterly )‘Behind the wit and quips, there is something else stronger and more rigorous ... a small, cumulative but revealing self-portrait ...this is a book about manners, how to behave, and being funny as a form of civilisation’
(Spectator )‘This prolific writer needs no introduction ... this small book is a brilliant selection. I read it with such enjoyment, sometimes laughing aloud, sometimes pausing to think “Goodness! How right she is”. It is remarkable not only for its style but also for the grear clarity, sympathy , conciseness and humour ... brilliant’
(Country Life )‘Affectionate, shrewd and uproariously funny’
(Western Morning News )
‘All her writing is characterised by incisive observation and unfailing humour ... this blend of sagacity and wit proves very appealing.’
Books of the Year 2009, 'an appealing blend of incisive observation and unfailing humour'
(Good Book Guide )Product Description
‘My father would not have wasted time reading – a trait I have inherited from him.’ The unmistakeable voice of Deborah Devonshire, the youngest of the Mitford sisters, rings out of this second volume of her occasional writings.
As broad and eclectic as her long and eventful life, the pieces range from a ringside view of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration and funeral, a valedictory for her local post office, the 1938 London season, Christmas at Chatsworth and the hazards of shopping for clothes when your eyesight is failing.
Affectionate, shrewd and uproariously funny, her no-nonsense, bang-on-the-nail observations are as good as any antidepressant.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
65 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Once again, Deborah Devonshire delights, entertains, amuses and moves with this second compilation of her sharp, elegant, self-effacing writings. Comprising everything from the text of after-dinner speeches to diary entries and magazine columns, Home To Roost gives the lucky reader another little glimpse into the fascinating life of a fascinating woman. The Dowager Duchess's immensely charming real-life anecdotes involve a cast of characters that a fiction writer would consider fantastical, from JFK to the Queen Mother via the fearsome head agent at Chatsworth, all of whom Deborah Devonshire treats with equal respect regardless of title or status.
And herein lies the beauty not just of Deborah Devonshire's prose but of the lady herself: that in recounting experiences of an extraordinary life, born into privilege and then elevated through marriage to one of the highest titles in the land, there is no sense whatsoever of entitlement and never, ever any sense of being one iota better or more important than anyone else. If there is anything wrong with this book it is that, like Counting My Chickens, there is so tantalisingly little of it. A volume several times as long would still not be too much of this wonderful writer's wonderful work.
And herein lies the beauty not just of Deborah Devonshire's prose but of the lady herself: that in recounting experiences of an extraordinary life, born into privilege and then elevated through marriage to one of the highest titles in the land, there is no sense whatsoever of entitlement and never, ever any sense of being one iota better or more important than anyone else. If there is anything wrong with this book it is that, like Counting My Chickens, there is so tantalisingly little of it. A volume several times as long would still not be too much of this wonderful writer's wonderful work.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What a fantastic life and what a wonderful lady! Not a full-on gripping read, but a book to pick up during a coffee break. An intimate taste of a privileged life but always with a down-to-earth address. Give this a go and hopefully it will lead you on to explore the amazing Mitford sisters.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This little book from Debo Devonshire is similar to her wonderful book of memories "Counting My Chickens and other home thoughts" published in 2001. She is a famed author, diarist and letter writer, especially those to and from her sisters (she is the youngest and only surviving of the Mitfords). These reminiscences are culled from her extraordinary life and edited by her niece by marriage, Charlotte Mosley with an affectionate forward by Alan Bennett. Although she does not enjoy reading, you will really enjoy this book and wish you could sit down with the author for a quiet dinner and many hours of conversation afterwords.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
PEACE IN OUR TIME
I bought this for my wife. She is enjoying it so much that I am left in peace and quiet. It must be good.
Published 1 month ago by Ian
thoughtful and amusing
I bought this after reading Wait for me which took me a while to get into , then halfway through I started to enjoy it. Read more
Published 5 months ago by annie36
Another great book from this author
I really enjoy reading the musings of Deborah Devonshire. She writes so well and you can get lost in her writing. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Fletch
Home to Roost
The most amazing thing about this book is that it's written by the last survivor of the Mitford sisters: 'Debo'. Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2009 by Derrick F. Donovan
A Mitford sister best
Light hearted entertaining writings . A perfect present for grandparents & as a guest bedside table
Published on 5 Aug 2009 by Elspeth
Entertaining read
It packs a lot of entertainment into a small book. I bought it as a present for my mother and it kept her chuckling for days.
Published on 17 Jun 2009 by S. Floyd
Fun in Home to Roost
Once again the Dowager Duchess entertains us with her collection of memories, bon mots, name droppings and entertaining thoughts. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2009
Home to Roost by Deborah Devonshire
A lovely little book - full of significant and amusing episodes in the author's life. What a pity that there are not many more people around who possess her wit, common sense and... Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2009 by P. Manchester
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