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Muv: The Story of the Mitford Girls' Mother
'
[A] clear-eyed portrait of the woman whose lot it was to be the mother of the rebellious Mitford daughters
' – Daily Mail (Book of the Week)
' Intriguing and informative ' – Nicky Haslam, The Oldie
'Rachel Trethewey has done the seemingly impossible in a book about the she has found something original to say, thanks to her excellent scholarship, and has written Muv's story exceptionally well.' – Simon Heffer, author of Sing As We Britain Between the Wars
Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, these are the flamboyant Mitford Girls, the Bright Young Things who defined their era. The trials, tribulations and outrageous escapades of these six controversial sisters continue to fascinate us. Yet what about the seventh and arguably most vital Mitford woman of them all – their mother?
Sydney Redesdale, known as 'Muv', is often portrayed as different from her daughters – outside of that exclusive girl gang. Without doubt, she was a divisive character, her daughters squabbling about the 'real Muv' for even longer than they argued about their political differences. They could never was she a scapegoat or saint, mother or manager? Even later biographers couldn't quite pin her just who was this elusive woman who nurtured such colourful children?
How could these exceptional daughters have sprung from such apparently ordinary parents? In reality, Sydney was far from 'ordinary': she was the original Mitford girl, from whom much of her daughters' legendary strong will, self-confidence and extremism was born. Set against the backdrop of a country and a family divided, the story of her life – one of eccentricity, tragedy and resilience – is told here in full for the first time.
' Intriguing and informative ' – Nicky Haslam, The Oldie
'Rachel Trethewey has done the seemingly impossible in a book about the she has found something original to say, thanks to her excellent scholarship, and has written Muv's story exceptionally well.' – Simon Heffer, author of Sing As We Britain Between the Wars
Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, these are the flamboyant Mitford Girls, the Bright Young Things who defined their era. The trials, tribulations and outrageous escapades of these six controversial sisters continue to fascinate us. Yet what about the seventh and arguably most vital Mitford woman of them all – their mother?
Sydney Redesdale, known as 'Muv', is often portrayed as different from her daughters – outside of that exclusive girl gang. Without doubt, she was a divisive character, her daughters squabbling about the 'real Muv' for even longer than they argued about their political differences. They could never was she a scapegoat or saint, mother or manager? Even later biographers couldn't quite pin her just who was this elusive woman who nurtured such colourful children?
How could these exceptional daughters have sprung from such apparently ordinary parents? In reality, Sydney was far from 'ordinary': she was the original Mitford girl, from whom much of her daughters' legendary strong will, self-confidence and extremism was born. Set against the backdrop of a country and a family divided, the story of her life – one of eccentricity, tragedy and resilience – is told here in full for the first time.
373 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 18, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 2, 2025
For anyone with interest in the Mitford girls, this is a must read. I patiently await “Farve”!
February 8, 2026
The infamous Mitford Girls have had numerous outings, both in fiction and non-fiction, but this is the first biography dedicated to their mother, Lady Redesdale (born Sydney Bowles) and it helps to fill in the background to the extraordinary chequered lives of her infamous six daughters.
The book’s cover shows “Muv”, as she was called by her family, as a young woman. There is much to be gleaned from the haughtiness of that image; this was not a woman to be messed with, someone who had fixed ideas about social behaviour and, as it turns out, was uncompromising, hypercritical and rigid in her political opinions. In turn, one learns about her father, Thomas Bowles, a man of his own convictions, self-made, successful and also a “maverick”, and the greatest influence on her life.
Muv married the eccentric David Freeman-Mitford (“Farve”), who later inherited the baronage of Redesdale, and they had six daughters and just one son. The couple were parodied by three of their daughters in a number of famous novels but they also created controversy through their support of fascism in Europe, and a close connection to Adolf Hitler.
For anyone who has read extensively about the Mitford Girls, much of this will already be familiar territory, but it is interesting to observe the dynamics of a family that clashed violently with one another over a range of extremist views, be it racism, antisemitism, communism, or fascism.
Although there were estrangements, it is extraordinary to see how Muv did her best to juggle her unruly family. Unity – whom she looked after for several years after a failed suicide attempt - is perhaps the most tragic figure. Given the full name of Unity Valkyrie Mitford and conceived at a place called Swastika, Ontario, Canada, it seems she was doomed by some bizarre fate to be linked to Hitler!
Muv isn’t likeable, and her unwavering support of Hitler, her views on “ugly” Jews and poor people can make one wince. One might even think of her as stupid when she simply refused to ever have her mind changed by events, even the deaths of two of her children linked to the Second World War. As the author states:
“Sydney was not stupid; it was her judgement not her intelligence which was at fault. Her obstinate refusal to reassess situations in the light of incontrovertible evidence, alongside her entrenched prejudices and her misguided loyalty, made her hold onto pernicious attitudes which had proved catastrophic on both a global and personal scale. As so often in her life, she only saw what she wanted to see and tightly shut her eyes to anything which might contradict her worldview.”
A most intriguing woman, and a book definitely recommended for anyone with a curiosity about who influenced the Mitford Girls and made them into such memorable figures.
(My only quibble is the naming inconsistency in the narrative, with paragraphs calling her Muv in one sentence, Sydney in the next, and Lady Redesdale in the following.)
https://www.marinamaxwellauthor.com/b...
The book’s cover shows “Muv”, as she was called by her family, as a young woman. There is much to be gleaned from the haughtiness of that image; this was not a woman to be messed with, someone who had fixed ideas about social behaviour and, as it turns out, was uncompromising, hypercritical and rigid in her political opinions. In turn, one learns about her father, Thomas Bowles, a man of his own convictions, self-made, successful and also a “maverick”, and the greatest influence on her life.
Muv married the eccentric David Freeman-Mitford (“Farve”), who later inherited the baronage of Redesdale, and they had six daughters and just one son. The couple were parodied by three of their daughters in a number of famous novels but they also created controversy through their support of fascism in Europe, and a close connection to Adolf Hitler.
For anyone who has read extensively about the Mitford Girls, much of this will already be familiar territory, but it is interesting to observe the dynamics of a family that clashed violently with one another over a range of extremist views, be it racism, antisemitism, communism, or fascism.
Although there were estrangements, it is extraordinary to see how Muv did her best to juggle her unruly family. Unity – whom she looked after for several years after a failed suicide attempt - is perhaps the most tragic figure. Given the full name of Unity Valkyrie Mitford and conceived at a place called Swastika, Ontario, Canada, it seems she was doomed by some bizarre fate to be linked to Hitler!
Muv isn’t likeable, and her unwavering support of Hitler, her views on “ugly” Jews and poor people can make one wince. One might even think of her as stupid when she simply refused to ever have her mind changed by events, even the deaths of two of her children linked to the Second World War. As the author states:
“Sydney was not stupid; it was her judgement not her intelligence which was at fault. Her obstinate refusal to reassess situations in the light of incontrovertible evidence, alongside her entrenched prejudices and her misguided loyalty, made her hold onto pernicious attitudes which had proved catastrophic on both a global and personal scale. As so often in her life, she only saw what she wanted to see and tightly shut her eyes to anything which might contradict her worldview.”
A most intriguing woman, and a book definitely recommended for anyone with a curiosity about who influenced the Mitford Girls and made them into such memorable figures.
(My only quibble is the naming inconsistency in the narrative, with paragraphs calling her Muv in one sentence, Sydney in the next, and Lady Redesdale in the following.)
https://www.marinamaxwellauthor.com/b...
Review of advance copy
Lady Sydney Redesdale, formerly Sydney Bowles, was the mother of the Mitford brood. I would say Mitford girls, but there was one son, who sadly died in WWII. Married to David Mitford, they had a large family: Nancy, Pamela, Thomas, Diana, Unity, Jessica (Decca), and Deborah.
Nancy was, of course, a famous novelist, while Diana and Unity were infamous supporters of the Nazi party, and Jessica was a communist. With Oswald Mosley as a son-in-law, interned during the war with Diana, and Unity shooting herself when England and Germany went to war, Sydney became all too familiar with notoriety. Even after reading this biography, I am still unsure whether Sydney was a committed fascist herself or whether she just tended to go with whatever was easiest to keep the peace. She seemed able to have tea with Hitler one minute, then applaud Jessica's efforts to support Civil Rights the next and claim she liked everyone she met. She certainly had some outlandish ideas about vaccinations, about education and politics.
Whatever the real truth, it is fair to say that Muv kept some poor company and made some poor choices. Still, this was a really interesting look at the matriarchal figure of the Mitford clan and her often difficult family relationships.
Nancy was, of course, a famous novelist, while Diana and Unity were infamous supporters of the Nazi party, and Jessica was a communist. With Oswald Mosley as a son-in-law, interned during the war with Diana, and Unity shooting herself when England and Germany went to war, Sydney became all too familiar with notoriety. Even after reading this biography, I am still unsure whether Sydney was a committed fascist herself or whether she just tended to go with whatever was easiest to keep the peace. She seemed able to have tea with Hitler one minute, then applaud Jessica's efforts to support Civil Rights the next and claim she liked everyone she met. She certainly had some outlandish ideas about vaccinations, about education and politics.
Whatever the real truth, it is fair to say that Muv kept some poor company and made some poor choices. Still, this was a really interesting look at the matriarchal figure of the Mitford clan and her often difficult family relationships.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
This is another "out of my comfort zone" books. It is a biography, and non-fiction - so, Brava to me! Now, why pick this biography? Because I know quite a bit about the Mitford Girls and their very unusual lives, but none of the biographical, historical fiction books about them seem to include all that much about their mother. So, I was curious to learn more about the woman who raised them. Well, it was fascinating.
My full review can be found here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2026/02/1...
My full review can be found here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2026/02/1...
December 26, 2025
As the famous "Mother of the Mitford sisters" Sydney had quite a bit to live up to. This is a straight old-school biography, might have worked better as narrative non fiction. I skipped the last couple of chapters, since I was not fully engaged, just too many citations and "...as her granddaughter-in-law described her..." passages
September 2, 2025
A fantastic portrayal of a very unique and complicated women. The writer gives an honest and yet sympathetic account of her life and family. A wonderful read.
October 3, 2025
Fascinating! Full of new details about the famous Mitford family. One feels sorry for "Muv" at times, at other times one is angry at her, but she's brought alive on the page, and it's wonderful to read about historical events via Muv's letters and decisions.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews