For those who like period dramas, there is the recently released movie, The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley, to see in the theaters. For those readers who like to read biographies of interesting and influential women, this movie is based on the book, Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman. Her sister, Harriet, is featured in the more recent biography, Privilege and Scandal: The Remarkable Life of Harriet Spencer, Sister of Georgiana by Janet Gleeson. Much of the publicity for the movie seems to focus on parallels between the Duchess and her more recent relative, Princess Diana (most recent book, The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown), since both are members of the Spencer family.
Winston Churchill was also a Spencer, his parents being Jennie (Jerome) Churchill and Lord Randolph Spencer Churchill, second son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough. Jennie led quite an eventful and colorful life as told in American Jennie:The Remarkable Life of Lady Randolph Churchill by Anne Sebba and The Titled Americans:Three American Sisters and the British Aristocratic World Into Which They Married by Elisabeth Kehoe.
Another prominent, wealthy, famous or infamous, British family, is the Mitfords (who also have Winston Churchill in their family tree), six sisters and one brother. The Sisters:The Saga of the Mitford Family by Mary S. Lovell tells the story of Nancy, Pam, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah. Brother Tom is a lesser player in the family. The sisters were prolific writers of correspondence, particularly to each other, some of which is collected in The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters edited by Charlotte Mosley. Nancy became a writer (A Talent to Annoy: Essays; Articles and Reviews, 1929-1968, edited by Charlotte Mosley). Diana married British Fascist leader Oswald Mosley (Diana Mosley, Mitford Beauty, British Fascist, Hitler’s Angel by Anne DeCourcy). Unity was enamored with the Nazis and a friend of Adolph Hitler and came to a tragic end. Jessica also became a writer (The American Way of Death Revisited). Pamela seems to have led the quietest life of all. However, it is Deborah, the youngest, who brings this blogpost full circle. You see, Deborah, (whose biography is Counting My Chickens…and Other Home Thoughts) through her marriage to Lord Andrew Cavendish, was, until recently, the Duchess of Devonshire. And just an extra little tidbit of trivia – Chatsworth House, home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, was the house used for Mr. Darcy’s home, Pemberley, in Pride and Prejudice, also starring Keira Knightley.
Submitted by Gayle Stratton.