Admirers and detractors use the same words to describe Jessica Mitford: subversive, mischief-maker, muckraker. J.K. Rowling calls her her &#... read full description
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Oct 27, 2011
Audra (Unabridged Chick)
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In a high school journalism class, I read some excerpts from Jessica Mitford's amazing book The American Way of Death, an expose and exploration of the American funeral business (her book was said to have influenced Robert F. Kennedy's coffin choice for his brother). It was much later that I learned this Mitford was related to that other Mitford I knew, Nancy.
Born in 1917, Jessica was the sixth of seven children born to an English baron and his wife. Jessica's childhood was influen More...
Born in 1917, Jessica was the sixth of seven children born to an English baron and his wife. Jessica's childhood was influen More...
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Sep 24, 2011
Amy
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Jessica Mitford (called "Decca" by family and friends) was the sixth of seven children born to David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron of Redesdale and wife Sydney. She grew up a very privileged child in a series of country houses in England. She didn't have much of a formal education as her mother did not believe in sending girls off to school but, Decca was a dedicated reader. Two of her sisters, Unity and Diana were well known English supporters of Adolf Hitler and her father and mother
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Nov 23, 2010
Richard
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The Book Report: A chronological retelling of the strange life and exciting times of America's finest 20th-century muckraker, from her aristocratic Fascist upbringing to her time in the Communist Party USA, then her years of fame and glory after writing The American Way of Death, her most lasting contribution to literature. Her heartbreaking family life is presented with as many warts as can be expected; her relationships with her equally famous sisters Nancy Mitford, Lady Diana Mosley, Her Grac
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Dec 20, 2011
Nick
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I am as devoted to the Mitfords as anyone, but I found this biography a little boring. As much as I agree with Jessica Mitford's politics more than any of her sisters (and certainly more than Unity, who was friends with Hitler, or Diana, who married the British fascist leader, Oswald Mosley), Decca in this telling also comes off as pretty insufferable at times. Of course one does not have to like the subject of a biography in order to like the biography, but this account of Mitford's life is a
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Sep 23, 2010
Margaret
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I wish I could give this more stars, but I wasn't all that impressed by it. Brody seems to have done her homework and offers many quotations from Decca herself and from friends and families, but the book is all just narrative, offering little analysis of Decca's thoughts or actions: not what I look for in a biography. She tries for a clever, witty tone, appropriate to such a witty subject, but I found it self-conscious and annoying. This, for example:
"Suddenly, [Decca and her fi More...
"Suddenly, [Decca and her fi More...
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Jan 05, 2012
Patty
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I received this book through the giveaway program here at Good Reads. I especially appreciate this program because it introduced me to a wonderful book about a woman that I knew very little about.
I was aware that Jessica Mitford was a writer, whose book, The American Way of Death, had caused a great deal of fuss when it was published. I also knew that Jessica Mitford was somehow related to Nancy Mitford and they had several other famous or infamous relatives. My sense of history is More...
I was aware that Jessica Mitford was a writer, whose book, The American Way of Death, had caused a great deal of fuss when it was published. I also knew that Jessica Mitford was somehow related to Nancy Mitford and they had several other famous or infamous relatives. My sense of history is More...
Oct 20, 2010
Jaylia3
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A welcome book, long overdue. Besides her own memoirs, which are limited in scope, we could only catch glimpses of Jessica in earlier books that are more about her sisters. Jessica is fascinating, a droll gadfly and jester who used her wits and endless energy to promote civil rights, uncover corruption and generally help the downtrodden, but even into adulthood latent communist sentiments meant she didn’t mind stealing—jiggery pokery she called it—from people or institutions she felt had more th
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Oct 17, 2011
Dana
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Confession time - before I was introduced to this book, I had no idea who Jessica Mitford was. Having read the book, I am sad I have spent so long without knowing her. What an interesting, energetic and involved character she was! Leslie Brody has done an amazing job of capturing Jessica (or Decca, as she was called). There is nothing dry or boring about either the woman or the book. This biography is well written, easy to follow and read, and interesting. There are also pictures. I happen to lo
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Aug 15, 2011
Pamela
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I'm fascinated by the Mitford family--they're all such strong personalities, and Jessica definitely was one of the strongest. I read this last year, along with their book of letters--that's one I'll definitely read again and again. Their relationships are so complex, none more so than those between Jessica and her sisters. She was definitely a rebel--left home to elope with her cousin and ended up living in America the majority of her adult life. I would have loved knowing her--Irrepressible
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Apr 08, 2011
Cynthia
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I loved this book - the Mitford sisters are fascinating and I have been drawn to Jessica Mitford, her politics and her pluck for a long time. But as a resident now of the Bay Area and in particular Oakland, her story and that of husband, Bob Treuhaft and her children resonated highly.
It's a quick and energetic read and I thank the author greatly for this insightful and delightful biography.
It's a quick and energetic read and I thank the author greatly for this insightful and delightful biography.
Feb 23, 2011
Nancy
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A Mitford book, how could I resist? This isn't a very satisfactory one, however. No sparkle, no insight, workmanlike prose, and sufficient errors of the type that cast doubt on the quality of the research (just as an example, the author thinks Evelyn Waugh converted later in life; he was 27). Still, it fills out the picture of Decca's later years; however, I'd go to the source rather than read this.
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Sep 29, 2010
Alisa
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This book lives up to its subject! Mitford was a muckraker, a raconteur (raconteuse?), and a total party-girl of the party. There will doubtless be scholarly biographies galore within the next few years that will turn her into some kind of mouthpiece for something or other, but this one accesses the essence of a woman who lived in the moment. Mitford was great good company, and so is this book.
Jul 18, 2011
Katie
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A fascinating woman from a fascinating family. Decca is my favorite Mitford girl, and this very readable biography does an excellent job of revealing this recovered aristocrat, communist activist, writer, and mother as an independed individual rather than yet another cog in the Mitford Empire. http://kathrynfunk.squarespace.com/journ...
Feb 15, 2012
Susan
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I waited to finish reading The Sisters about all the Mitford daughters before I completed this biogrphy of Jessica, who was certainly my favorite of the clan. Despite an aristocratic English upbringing, she ran away to join the International Brigade to fight the fascists in the Spanish Civil War with the man who was to be her first husband; after his death in WW II joined the Communist Party, became an American citizen and married a Harvard-educated lawyer(his was the law firm that gave Hillary
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Jan 20, 2011
Kat
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Yesterday I slurped up Leslie Brody's "Irrepressible: The Life and Times of Jessica Mitford." Splendid, superb, brilliant.
There's much that can go wrong with biography: too much detail, not enough detail, inability to detect unappealing attributes in the subject, tendency to over-focus on subject's unappealing attributes; lack of professional notes and sourcing and more. Brody is just right: not too much, not too little, well balanced, impeccably sourced notes, and mo More...
Apr 05, 2011
Maureen
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I've been fascinated by the Mitford sisters for years. This is a great biography about Jessica, who wrote the ground breaking expose of the funeral industry, The American Way of Death, a book that created the genre of exposes and literally changed the landscape of American public policy and consumer protection in America.
Apr 05, 2011
Claudia
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Very interesting biography of Jessica Mitford. I have read several books about the Mitfords but Jessica is usually covered in just a few paragraphs: she ran away to fight in the Spanish Civil War, she was a communist and moved to America. While all of that is correct, there is a lot more to her story.
Jun 03, 2011
Lisa
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This biography is well written and interesting. Despite these attributed, however, my attention waned. I'd had no previous knowledge of Jessica Mitford and I didn't feel the need to plow through to learn more. I gave it a whirl based on a positive review of the book.
Apr 05, 2011
Sigrid
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An engaging biography of Jessica "Decca" Mitford's life. Since her life was incredibly interesting, there's a lot that goes by quickly. Much as, I suspect, Decca would have experienced it herself.
Apr 05, 2011
Benjamin Lettuce
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It is all about my mommy and daddy. It is quirky but a spectacularly told story. You should be so lucky as to have Leslie Brody write a book about yours.
Apr 05, 2011
Lisa
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An enjoyable read about an interesting person. I especially liked the Bay Area history aspects.
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