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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
6 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 2, 2025
For anyone with interest in the Mitford girls, this is a must read. I patiently await “Farve”!
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.
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 - 5 of 5 reviews