I am usually not one to fall at the altar of author-personality cults but here we are. I absolutely relished every letter in this mammoth collection of Mitford's correspondences, the combination of her sense of humour and social justice is perfection. I love her writing, her general flippancy and attitudes towards her family and friends, and her weird, pure, innocent love for Esmond (how did all those nicknames come about!?). If there is any biography on her, don't bother, this collection is all you need for the most complete portrait of Decca with all her humour, humanity and complexity. It's definitely on my list of desert-island books, neverendingly entertaining and informative.

Aside: a note of praise to the editor Sussman, whose mini chapter biographies of Mitford and historical background notes really help contextualise her letters. ( )

Like many, I am fascinated by the Mitford sisters. Books-wise, so far, I have only read "Hons and Rebels" by Jessica Mitford. Having read "Hons and Rebels" I was interested to find out more about her. Perhaps a 700 page plus book of her letters, and that covers her entire life, was a bit too ambitious. I cannot pretend to have read every letter contained in the book however I managed to read plenty, and I came away from the book even more impressed by Jessica (aka Decca) than I had expected.

Despite far more than her fair share of tragedy and upheaval, what emerges is a woman who faced life with courage, humour, conviction and honesty. From a very early age she rebelled against her aristocratic background, running away to Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and then America, where she married radical lawyer, Robert Treuhaft, having joined the Communist Party during the McCarthy era, which also signalled decades of civil rights activism.

The letters in this book cover her very early years up to her death. I was most interested in the letters she exchanged with her mother and sisters, and realised as I worked through this book that I might have been better off reading a biography about the family. Indeed I think this book would be most suitable for someone who has already got a good understanding of Jessica's own story and that of her family. That said, Peter Y. Sussman who edited this book, provides detailed a helpful introduction to each section, in addition to numerous useful explanatory footnotes - it must have taken him ages!

This book contains many wonderful letters which are well worth reading if you are interested in Jessica Mitford, and it is probably most suitable for readers who have already read her other works and want to dig deeper. ( )

Quite interesting, even if spending five hundred pages with one person's point of view is a little much, particularly when that one person is pretty sure she never made a mistake. Still, her intelligence and humor and basic joy in life is pretty inspiring, and I laughed out loud every couple of pages.

25 Dec 2007 - from Matthew

A lovely big book of collected letters, starting with those of her childhood self and going right up to one sent after her death. Amusing, forthright, stoical and moving, they reflect her fascinating and glittering personality. The editing is excellent, with just enough information in the chapter introductions and footnotes to make sure we know what is going on in the background, but are not swamped with extraneous information - a difficult balance to achieve. Some lovely photographs too. ( )

The letter on page 302 of the hardback American edition (to Virginia Durr) is a must read for most Americans. She points out that we waste too much time "feeling personally let down." And follows up with "Why bother?" Will try to re-read the letter often. ( )