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Review
'Packed with gossip, creaky jokes and gadding about...all but the most inverted of snobs will enjoy a cheery time in these pages' -- The Independent, Christopher Hirst 'Highly engaging exchanges of mutual joie de vivre' -- The Times 'Altogether delicious ... Charlotte Mosley's editing of these letters is erudite, mischievous and unflawed' -- Sunday Telegraph 'Part of the charm of this impeccably edited correspondence is a sense of the lacrimae rerum, of a vanished world of high romance' -- Daily Telegraph 'This marvellous correspondence celebrates two of the most important things in the world, courage and friendship' -- Spectator 'Sparkling' -- The Times 'An impressive array of personalities and dramas' -- Good Book Guide 'Captivating collection ... Deborah's life [is] brilliantly encapsulated -and parodied- in her more succinct letters ... their exchanges achieve the goal of all good correspondents: to bring out the best in one another' -- Anglo Hellenic Review 'Last autumn's literary non-fiction hit' -- Bookseller 'Highly entertaining ... as full of fizz and conviviality as a glass of champagne' -- Metro 'The effect is intensely touching' -- The London Review of Books 'Age never withers the mischievous, bantering pleasure of these letters' -- Observer Review 'Bursting with wit and conviviality' -- The Observer 'Highly engaging exchanges of mutual joie de vivre' -- The Times 'Highly entertaining...as full of fizz and conviviality as a glass of champagne' -- Metro 'Last autumn's literary non-fiction hit' -- Bookseller 'The effect is intensely touching,' -- The London Review of Books 'Age never withers the mischievous, bantering pleasure of these letters,' -- Observer Review 20090726 'Celebrates everything positive about life and friendship' -- Independent on Sunday 20090726 'A feast for reading... An enchanting book' -- Irish Examiner 20090726
Review
'Packed with gossip, creaky jokes and gadding about...all but the most inverted of snobs will enjoy a cheery time in these pages'
(The Independent, Christopher Hirst )'Highly engaging exchanges of mutual joie de vivre'
(The Times )'Altogether delicious . . . Charlotte Mosley's editing of these letters is erudite, mischievous and unflawed'
(Sunday Telegraph )'Part of the charm of this impeccably edited correspondence is a sense of the lacrimae rerum, of a vanished world of high romance'
(Daily Telegraph )'This marvellous correspondence celebrates two of the most important things in the world, courage and friendship'
(Spectator )'Sparkling'
(The Times )'An impressive array of personalities and dramas'
(Good Book Guide )'Captivating collection ... Deborah's life [is] brilliantly encapsulated -and parodied- in her more succinct letters ... their exchanges achieve the goal of all good correspondents: to bring out the best in one another'
(Anglo Hellenic Review )'Last autumn's literary non-fiction hit'
(Bookseller )'Highly entertaining . . . as full of fizz and conviviality as a glass of champagne'
(Metro )'The effect is intensely touching'
(The London Review of Books )'Age never withers the mischievous, bantering pleasure of these letters'
(Observer Review )'Bursting with wit and conviviality'
(The Observer )'Highly engaging exchanges of mutual joie de vivre'
(The Times )'Highly entertaining...as full of fizz and conviviality as a glass of champagne'
(Metro )'Last autumn's literary non-fiction hit'
(Bookseller )
'The effect is intensely touching,'
'Age never withers the mischievous, bantering pleasure of these letters,'
'Celebrates everything positive about life and friendship'
(Independent on Sunday )'A feast for reading... An enchanting book'
(Irish Examiner )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you have read and loved Charlotte Mosley's wonderful Mitford Letters this will definitely not disappoint!!
Their writing styles, and indeed life styles are markedly different - Paddy's erudite, descriptive, precise and exuberant letters serve to remind us why he is often considered the greatest travel writer of our time. His wonderful descriptions of his adventures bring to life so many different places - from Devon to the Andes to Eastern Europe and back to Derbyshire. He tells stories about upsetting Somerset Maugham with his stammering jokes; about his feat of swimming across the Hellespont aged 69; about rounding up wild horses in Chagford; and about his time building his home Kardamyli with his wife Joan.
DD writes a shrewd description of life as a Duchess restoring Chatsworth. She never fails to raise a smile with her insightful and honest accounts of a whirlwind of social engagements with such a wide variety of well-known twentieth century figures. From Evelyn Waugh, whom on one occasion sends the famously self-professed illiterate DD a proof of his new book, The Life of Robert Knox with the inscription "You won't find a word in this to offend your Protestant sympathies" - the pages were in fact completely blank. She describes he friendship with "The Loved One" (John F Kennedy) and dinners with the characterful Bohemian Iris Tree. Intimate encounters with the Royal Family - including one such "cotton dress" chance meeting with The Queen Mother - who Debo famously refers to as 'Cake' - at the Tate Gallery. Interspersed with these engagements she writes to Paddy with stories of her family - Andrew and her three children and certainly her Sisters and of course, she details her incredible renovation of the beautiful Chatsworth House. Despite leading such an incredible life, she always remains so down to earth - on one occasion Mario Testino arrives at Chatsworth to do a photo shoot for Vogue's 90th birthday. DD is photographed with her granddaughter Stella Tennant, she describes the shoot:
" [Stella's] Hair skewbald/piebald, all colours & stuck up in bits. THEN they produced "shoes" with 6 inch heels. More stilts - she could hardly put one foot in front of the other, wobbling & toppling.
We looked just like that Grandville drawing of a giraffe dancing with a little monkey. I was the monkey."
The truly charming thing, however, about this excellently edited collection, is the genuine love and friendship that is so abundant in these letters. Mosley describes DD and PLF as sharing "youthful high spirits, warmth and generosity". This comes across in the letters so wonderfully. This book is a lovely account of two such different characters who share a marvellous appetite for life and an even greater friendship.
Their writing styles, and indeed life styles are markedly different - Paddy's erudite, descriptive, precise and exuberant letters serve to remind us why he is often considered the greatest travel writer of our time. His wonderful descriptions of his adventures bring to life so many different places - from Devon to the Andes to Eastern Europe and back to Derbyshire. He tells stories about upsetting Somerset Maugham with his stammering jokes; about his feat of swimming across the Hellespont aged 69; about rounding up wild horses in Chagford; and about his time building his home Kardamyli with his wife Joan.
DD writes a shrewd description of life as a Duchess restoring Chatsworth. She never fails to raise a smile with her insightful and honest accounts of a whirlwind of social engagements with such a wide variety of well-known twentieth century figures. From Evelyn Waugh, whom on one occasion sends the famously self-professed illiterate DD a proof of his new book, The Life of Robert Knox with the inscription "You won't find a word in this to offend your Protestant sympathies" - the pages were in fact completely blank. She describes he friendship with "The Loved One" (John F Kennedy) and dinners with the characterful Bohemian Iris Tree. Intimate encounters with the Royal Family - including one such "cotton dress" chance meeting with The Queen Mother - who Debo famously refers to as 'Cake' - at the Tate Gallery. Interspersed with these engagements she writes to Paddy with stories of her family - Andrew and her three children and certainly her Sisters and of course, she details her incredible renovation of the beautiful Chatsworth House. Despite leading such an incredible life, she always remains so down to earth - on one occasion Mario Testino arrives at Chatsworth to do a photo shoot for Vogue's 90th birthday. DD is photographed with her granddaughter Stella Tennant, she describes the shoot:
" [Stella's] Hair skewbald/piebald, all colours & stuck up in bits. THEN they produced "shoes" with 6 inch heels. More stilts - she could hardly put one foot in front of the other, wobbling & toppling.
We looked just like that Grandville drawing of a giraffe dancing with a little monkey. I was the monkey."
The truly charming thing, however, about this excellently edited collection, is the genuine love and friendship that is so abundant in these letters. Mosley describes DD and PLF as sharing "youthful high spirits, warmth and generosity". This comes across in the letters so wonderfully. This book is a lovely account of two such different characters who share a marvellous appetite for life and an even greater friendship.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The amusing surviving Mitford sister recounts her day to day life against Paddy Leigh Fermor' scholarly & sometime military mind. The result is entertainment of the best. Having read the book thro' it then becomes a joy to dip in & out.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am steadily working my way through all the volumes of the Mitford letters after having devoured Letters Between Six Sisters last year. Deborah is probably my favourite correspondent of all the Mitfords. Her sense of humour is wonderfully dry and her refusal to be intimidated by her intellectual sisters or her aristocratic peers is a breath of fresh air. Her short, witty epistles make a lovely contrast to the letters of Leigh Fermor who writes elegant, beautiful letters about his travels and acquaintances that are perfectly evocative of time and place. I have never read any Patrick Leigh Fermor, but on the strength of these glimpses into his remarkable life I will be hunting out his travel books and indulging myself further.
There are hundreds of lovely gems in this book but the two that stand out for me are Deborah waxing lyrical about the humble gooseberry and finding a wonderful quotation about them being the 'perfect ambulant fruit', and Leigh Fermor recounting his experience of swimming the Hellespont in his seventies. It really is a wonderful book.
There are hundreds of lovely gems in this book but the two that stand out for me are Deborah waxing lyrical about the humble gooseberry and finding a wonderful quotation about them being the 'perfect ambulant fruit', and Leigh Fermor recounting his experience of swimming the Hellespont in his seventies. It really is a wonderful book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
In Tearing Haste: Letters Between Deborah Devonshire and Patrick...
Wonderful. Very entertaining. Two people of great renown sharing thoughts and ideas. It is a privilege to be allowed to share them. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Graham Jefferies
Aesthetic Epistles of Eternal Friendship
This book is an absolute delight - for those who enjoy revelling in this kind of thing. It goes without saying that in the brave new world of e-mail and instant messaging the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. Nichols
wonderful!
As along time fan of Patrick Leigh Fermor I was prompted to buy this by his recent death.The discovery of his close and long connection with the Devonshires came as a surprise and... Read more
Published 9 months ago by viuda
In Tearing Haste
Although I had read "Ill met by Moonlight" by Paddy Leigh Fermor (PLF) many years ago,I only knew snippets about him and was intrigued that he had struck up a correspondence with... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Boatman
Wonderful letters from wonderful lives
I bought this because I like both correspondents, and wondered how their two styles would be when writing to each other. It is a joy to read, developing stories and jokes (eg. Read more
Published 11 months ago by ebookwoman
Debo Devonshire is fascinating
Through a sequence of letters over a period of some 50 years, this book chronicles the lives and times of Deborah Devonshire (the last of the Mitford Sisters) and Paddy Leigh... Read more
Published 15 months ago by R. I. Gilliver
Loved this item - well written and insightful testament of a forgotten...
Have been a fan of the Mitford Girls since I saw Love in a Cold Climate. Since then they have been an interest to me. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Kevin Bransbury-jones
Another lovely read
This charming correspondence between old friends is delightful, Paddy Leigh Fermor is a favourite traveller writer of mine and so is Debbie Devonshire quirky outlook on life -I... Read more
Published on 24 Mar 2010 by AP Mcgilvery-davis
IMO
I must be in the right age group for this work.
Just an absolutely wonderful read.
Just an absolutely wonderful read.
Published on 22 Jan 2010 by A. Freese
A delight
These letters provide a fascinating look at the very interesting lives of the writers, but also a snapshot showing how history effects the lives of people who are involved with it. Read more
Published on 30 Oct 2009 by Jane Wolfe Ta Press
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