The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict


Probing the torrid political climate in the lead-up to World War II and the ways that seemingly sensible people can be sucked into radical action, The Mitford Affair follows Nancy's valiant efforts to stop the Nazis from taking over Great Britain, and the complicated choices she must make between the personal and the political.

The Mitford Affair

My rating

4  / 5

Author

Marie Benedict

Publisher

Sourcebooks Landmark

Genre

Fiction / Historical Fiction

Number of Pages

352 pages

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My Review

The perfect book for a book club. I picked this book because the author comes highly recommended in powerful historical stories featuring women. I wasn’t disappointed.

The Mitford family is one of the elites in England. The six sisters and a brother make up a formidable pack. Youth, beauty, and brilliance, there’s no stopping the sisters. But how do two of these sensible siblings fall for some extremely powerful fascist leaders?

The story is told through narratives of three sisters Diana, who divorces her wealthy husband to marry Mosley a Fascist leader. Unity, who follows Diana to Germany and ends up becoming very close and personal with Hitler. Nancy, who is a writer of books and who grows increasingly suspicious of her sisters’ trips to Munich and Berlin.

Ultimately she decides to disclose enemies of her country to the government even though they are her sisters after she finds shocking and incriminating evidence.                

I went into the story not knowing anything about the plot. Initially a few chapters I thought I was reading something like the Bridgertons with wealthy people’s annual balls and pursuit for suitors so I felt disinterested. But once Diana began her pursuit of Mosley, I was hooked. Three-quarters into the book and I couldn’t help but look up the Mitford sisters on the internet. The writing was so convincing and detailed. And true enough the sisters very much existed and did have powerful connections with German leaders before the World War.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC and happy publishing day to Marie Benedict and the publishing team for The Mitford Affair.

Final Verdict

Dominant characters, a fascinating war story and scandalous family dynamics make up for a very original and engaging read. The only hiccups were some glaring grammatical errors that should be corrected in the paperbacks but otherwise, readers who are not aware of the Mitfords will thoroughly enjoy this story. 

Who Should Read This

Readers looking for brilliant historical fiction that is character-oriented and more so women need not look any further.


Marie Benedict

Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than ten years' experience as a commercial litigator at two of the country's premier law firms. While practicing as a NYC lawyer, Marie dreamed of a fantastical job unearthing the hidden historical stories of women -- and finally found it when she tried her hand at writing. 


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