Muv

The story of the 'seventh Mitford woman' told in full for the first time. Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, Deborah: 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 agree: was she a scapegoat or saint, mother or manager? Even later biographers couldn't quite pin her down: 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.

Muv is authored by Rachel Trethewey, who read History at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where she won the Philip Geddes Prize for student journalism. During her journalistic career, she wrote features for the Daily Mail and Daily Express, and subsequently reviewed history books for The Independent. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has previously written The Churchill Girls (2021) about Winston's daughters. She lives in Devon.

32 illustrations