Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford (Hardcover)

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• This item: Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford by Peter Y. Sussman

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• The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters by Charlotte Mosley

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• The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

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The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters by Charlotte Mosley 4.2 out of 5 stars (23)  £5.93

Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  £5.99

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett 4.4 out of 5 stars (76)  £3.49

The Mitford Girls by Mary S. Lovell 4.3 out of 5 stars (23)  £7.69

The House of Mitford by Jonathan Guinness 2.3 out of 5 stars (3)  £6.49

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ROBERT GWYN PALMER, THE RESIDENT
"revealing and witty collection..."

Review
'Jessica Mitford has been my heroine since I was 14 years old... Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford gives, as letters usually do, a much fuller picture of the writer than either of her own autobiographies, and I finished reading feeling even fonder and more admiring of her than before... Decca's letters sing with the qualities that first made her so attractive to me. Incurably and instinctively rebellious, brave, adventurous, funny and irreverent...

Peter Sussman has done a masterly job of editing these letters.. His footnotes are exemplary, illuminating at least one relationship that had eluded me though 27 years of reading about the Mitfords.'

"Having read my way through it, I'm already wishing there was a second volume. Peter Y Sussman is a sublime editor of one of the funniest, most enthralling and gloriously honest collections of contemporary letters I have yet read.... Here is a book to be savoured and revisited impure and undiluted pleasure, from start to finish." (MIRANDA SEYMOUR SUNDAY TIMES )

"Of the myriad fascinating and unexpected things that Decca's letters reveal, it is her recovery from childhood resentment that moves me most." (THE TIMES )

'Edited by Peter Y. Sussman, Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford (Knopf) captures history's most charming muckraker, from her friendships with Katharine Graham and Maya Angelou to her devotion to civil rights, which led to a subpoena to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee-an experience she later listed under Honors, Awards, and Prizes on her resume.' (Vogue )

"this book, a labour of love and admiration, is... a great treat and a deserved treat." (SPECTATOR )

"These letters are a treat; not so much a collection of of correspondence as an extended conversation on which the reader is invited to eavesdrop... as an example of what a woman can do once she has rid herself of, or at least decided to ignore, the expectations of others - family, men, society - Jessica Mitford will always take some beating." (ANNE CHISHOLM OBSERVER )

"Sussman guides the reader through long footnotes... He was an old friend, and his is a labour of love. Jessica Mitford inspired devotion." (VICTORIA GLENDINNING THE DAILY TELEGRAPH )

"wonderfully interesting... Decca possesses all the characteristics of a great letter-writeer; she is honest, she is gossipy, she has a good ear, she gets out and about and she keeps bumping into famous people, among them Hilary Clinton, Guy Burgess, Liberace and Martin Luther King." (CRAIG BROWN THE MAIL ON SUNDAY )

"a funny, enthralling and gloriously honest collection." (THE SUNDAY TIMES - YOU REALLY MUST READ )

"Having heard one fifteen minute excerpt, from what is a much longer book, I know I simply have to own it." (SCOTT PACK THE FRIDAY PROJECT.CO.UK )

'For sheer pleasure-just to sample the breadth of an extraordinary existence-the book of the season has got to be Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford, edited by Peter Y. Sussman.' (The New York Observer )

"The letters are a treasure" (NEW YORK TIMES )

"A reader of Decca, her newly collected letters, can only marvel" (THE NEW YORKER )

"This is a superb collection of letters, and editor Peter Y Sussman deserves the greatest possible praise and gratitude. His introduction, connecting essays and extensive notes supply all the biographical and historical information a reader needs. Being witty as well as scholarly, he is precisely the right guide through life in the letters of the most astonishing Mitford girls." (MICHAEL DIRDA WASHINGTON POST )

"revealing and witty collection..." (ROBERT GWYN PALMER THE RESIDENT )

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4 Reviews 5 star:  (4) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   8 of 8 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Decca; The Letters of Jessica Mitford., 17 April 2007 By  Mr. Adrian J. Gardner - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Jessica, known in the family as Decca, was the fifth daughter of Lord and Lady Redesdale and one of the Mitford sisters whose lives have become the stuff of legend.From an early age she rebelled against her life of privilege and at a young age eloped with her cousin Esmond Romilly to join the republican faction then fighting in the Spanish Civil War.The couple eventually moved to America where they lived a hand to mouth existence rather shamelessly using privileged contacts there to get by.At the outbreak of WW2, Esmond joined the Canadian Air Force but was lost during an aircraft sortie.Decca eventually moved to California where she met and married a left wing lawyer Bob Treuhaft by whom she had three children in addition to her surviving daughter from her first marriage.The couple were both members of the Communist Party but eventually left. The letters in this book cover her very early years up to her death and show her to have been a fearless campaigner for left wing causes often overcoming her targets through her corruscating wit as much as through the courts of law.She proved herself to be an investigative journalist of some genius, her most famous book being 'The American Way of Death' by which she almost single handedly detroyed the cant surrounding the American funeral industry. This is a long book but a total page turner and even when writing about people and subjects unknown to me kept me enthralled.However, I found the letters she exchanged with her sisters the more interesting reflecting her ambivalent attitude towards her English family. These are wonderful letters from a woman who faced life without fear and I found the ones she wrote when she knew she was dying particularly moving. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Wonderful, 29 Nov 2007 By  Nick Sydenham - See all my reviews This review is from: Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford (Paperback) I bought this book on the basis of the comments on the cover, during a browse through the '3 for 2' offers in Waterstones. I'd heard of the Mitford sisters of course, and assumed they all leant very firmly to the right. I certainly wasn't aware of Jessica (Decca), who was a member of the communist party for a number of years. This collection of Decca's letters is an absolute delight, starting from her young days and her elopement with Esmond Romilly, right through to her death in 1996. The overall feeling you get is that she was a tremendous character, full of fun, who delighted in gossip with her friends and family. The book is over 700 pages, but don't let that put you off. It's great bed-time reading as you can read as many or as few of the letters as you like. I have already added her book 'Hons and Rebels' to my Christmas list. My favourite book this year. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable, 15 Jan 2008 By  Mr. R. D. M. Kirby "Dick Kirby" (Suffolk, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford (Paperback) Any book containing letters written by any of the Mitford family are well worth reading and this one, skilfully edited by Peter Y. Sussman is no exception. Most of the Mitford sisters (with the exception of the Duchess of Devonshire) had very strong views - and often ones which were diametrically opposed to their siblings - which led (in Mitford-speak) to talkers and non-talkers, speakers and non-speakers between the family. Decca - Jessica Mitford - certainly possessed the most intractable views, especially on those whom she referred to as `Negroes' - one incredible reference was made by her in respect of the OJ Simpson murder trial, in which she felt that he was guilty of the charge but welcomed the verdict, saying, `serves the cops right'. But irrespective of what anybody feels about her politics, these letters are terrifically well-written and (for the most part) enormously funny. Because so many family members and friends are referred to by often obscure nicknames, Mr. Sussman has thoughtfully directed the reader's attention to the real identity of the recipient of the letters, which is very helpful - so many editors of letters, don't. A thoroughly enjoyable book and well recommended. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 4 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Warm, witty collection I'm shocked this book hasn't had more reviews! I came to it after reading Nancy Mitford's letters and biographies of the other Mitford sisters and was expecting it to be not as... Read more Published 18 months ago by T. Bently Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 4 customer reviews...

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