Might have mentioned this on an earlier thread, but I read Hons and Rebels, Jessica Mitford's autobio. It's an experience! She came across as quite sheltered and naive, which I suppose she was thanks to her cloistered upper-class childhood. I also got the sense that she skipped over tragic life events because she didn't want to dwell on them. It's completely understandable, but obviously not ideal in an autobiography where you want to hear about all aspects of the writer's life.
She writes very well about her eccentric upbringing. I enjoyed the humour (there's a lot of humour), and the digs at the conventions of her social class. It was interesting to read a first-hand account of a debutante going to Buckingham Palace to be 'presented' to the Queen. Really a snapshot of a different age. Sometimes the humour leads to problems with the tone; there's a lot of racism in the book, not from Jessica herself, but from the people around her. Unity Mitford, her sister, was a fervent Nazi who inserted herself into Hitler's social circle and ended her life when the war was declared. That's heavy stuff and the breezy tone sits uneasily alongside these sections.
These criticisms probably make it sound as though I didn't enjoy the book, but it was a good read and I'd recommend it to others. Definite content warning for racism and all kinds of prejudice though.
read it for a book club a couple of years back. A bit of tear jerker.
