Andrew Devonshire (1920–2004)

Charming, affable, and short - not in any sense a full memoir of the 11th Duke of Devonshire, but rather sketches from his interesting and varied life (1920-2004).

The Dukes of Devonshire - Cavendish family - should not be considered in the same class as the "Downton Abbey" people - they are a few levels above that. Definitely "silver spoon" category. But the Cavendishes of the 20th century made a series of very interesting marriages, so the 11th Duke has a wide variety of diverse and unexpected relations to write about.

He himself married Deborah "Debo" Mitford, the youngest and best-adjusted of the Mitford girls. Sadly, in the book he doesn't really address what it was like to have married into such a well-publicized, talented, and often quarrelsome family. "Debo" wrote a number of memoirs from her own perspective, but it would have been interesting to hear from her husband Andrew's point of view.

On the positive side, he does write short vignettes about most of his own relatives. Enjoyment of this book is helped by a mastery of twentieth century British genealogy - or, lacking that, ready access to Wikipedia. His mother was a Cecil, a daughter of the 4th Marquess of Salisbury, and sister to famous biographer and literary maven Lord David Cecil.

One of his paternal aunts, Lady Dorothy Cavendish, was the unhappy wife of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. Moreover, his paternal uncle Lord Charles Cavendish married Fred Astaire's sister and dance partner Adele.

Andrew's older brother "Billy" Hartington married Kathleen Kennedy, the oldest daughter of US Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, and sister of political siblings John, Bobby, and Ted.

And his sister, Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, became the "long-term companion" of Britain's Poet Laureate John Betjeman.

The 11th Duke's gentle humor is one of the best things about his book. There are frequent "one-line" asides that epitomize classic British understatement or irony. I frequently laughed out loud at his wry observations. For example, of his time during World War II at Sandhurst, Britain's prestigious officer training college, Devonshire writes: "Though the PT [physical training] and drill sessions were not my idea of fun, much of the other work was interesting. We were taught military strategy and tactics, which involved exercises riding bicycles through the Surrey countryside and finishing up at a pub."… (altro)

This was an excellent little book. Written by the 11th Duke of Devonshire, it details the life he has lived from being the second son of the 10th Duke to eventually becoming Duke of Devonshire, and responsible for some of the most beautiful countryside in Britain.

In the book, the Duke talks about his battle with alcoholism, his army days, and his political career. It's all written very candidly and a touch of wit is thrown in here and there.

All in all, it was very enjoyable reading.… (altro)