MUV

The mother of the clan.

Biographer Trethewey offers a well-researched life of the mother of the six famous Mitford sisters, Sydney Redesdale (1880-1963), who was, the author argues, “as eccentric, opinionated and ultimately misguided as her more extreme daughters.” Drawing on family papers, biographies, and interviews with some of Sydney’s descendants, she reveals a stubborn woman whose unwavering support of Hitler and lifelong antisemitism were prominent among her disturbing opinions. Married in 1904 to David Mitford, the second son of an aristocratic family, the couple did not expect much in the way of inheritance, but when David’s older brother was killed in action during World War I, followed by the death of his father, David and Sydney became Lord and Lady Redesdale. Unfortunately, the elevation in status did not come with an adequate income, and money problems, exacerbated by David’s bad business ventures, dogged the couple as their family expanded to seven children. With her own life circumscribed by societal expectations, Sydney, an ambitious woman with a keen business sense, was unable to contribute to shaping the family’s economics. As for mothering, some of her daughters praised her understanding and patience; others found her stifling, lacking “the imagination to think her daughters might be most fulfilled by living a life that was drastically different from her own.” Trethewey recounts familiar details of the sisters’ eventful lives, with Sydney rushing to support whichever daughter most needed her. Facing tragedy, upheaval, and rebelliousness, Sydney’s most salient quality, according to Trethewey, was an ability to develop “blind spots about anything unpleasant; it meant she saw what she wanted to see and edited out the negative parts.” Trethewey admires her “courage and resilience” while remaining baffled by her political views.

A sympathetic biography of a complex woman.