Review: "The Mitford Affair," Marie Benedict

Diana Mitford was the “it girl” of high society in 1930s Britain. Regarded as a great beauty, she had married Bryan Guinness who was not only an heir to the ale fortune, but the Second Baron Moyne. Diana had two lovely sons and moved in the poshest circles.

But she was infatuated with Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists. Though he was married as well, she was by his side at his many raucous rallies. Eventually, they would marry—in Joseph Goebbels’ living room.

Her younger sister, Unity, tall and awkward, becomes equally enamored of the movement and eventually moves to Germany, where she becomes part of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle.

Meanwhile, a third sister (there were six), Nancy, pokes fun at the fascists in her novels. As World War II begins, she becomes increasingly concerned about Diana and Oswald’s clandestine activities. Clementine Churchill is the women’s cousin, and Nancy relates her fears to Winston. He convinces Nancy to seize the evidence that will stop her sister and brother-in-law from endangering British security.

You’d be right to think you can’t make this kind of stuff up. “The Mitford Affair” is a novel, but it is solidly based on the truth.

The attraction of fascism to Britons (and many Americans) during this time is understandable. Most people feared communism, and fascism was its antithesis. The Great Depression had ruined so many lives. Mosley offered a way out, a supposed path to economic security. Those who flocked to the BUF rallies did not have the benefit of hindsight; they didn’t know where German fascism would lead.

Still, the lengths to which Diana and Unity went in pursuit of love, power and identity is mind-boggling. Not surprisingly, it did not end well for them.

Marie Benedict writes historical novels about well-known women. I thoroughly enjoyed her “The Mystery of Mrs. Christie,” which was based on the Queen of Crime’s disappearance for several days in 1926. Dame Agatha likely left home because she was distraught over her husband’s affair with another woman. Love is a powerful and complicated emotion—as Diana and Unity demonstrate with fascinating but deplorable aplomb in “The Mitford Affair.”