A Tale of Two Sisters - Diana and Jessica Mitford

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening depending on when you are reading this blog post.  Today I am looking at a documentary about the Mitford Sisters.  Particularly this documentary is about two sisters: Jessica and Diana.  The run time for this documentary is 44:25 and is part of the Tale of Two Sisters series.  This documentary is called A Tale of Two Sisters: Diana and Jessica Mitford. 

Jessica and Diana Mitford were two aristocratic young women who were part of the famous Mitford family.  There were four other sisters in the family and the sisters were fiercely competitive.  Jessica and Diana were separated by only a few years but they had wildly different political views.  Jessica would become a communist and Diana was a fascist.  Europe was divided at the beginning of the 20th Century and was full of political tension and citizens were forced to decide what political views they wanted to adopt.  This is the story of the two sisters and their political beliefs.

The Mitfords were an aristocratic family in England.  There were six sisters and one brother.  Their names were Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah.  They were the most famous sisters in all of England.  They were witty, beautiful, and eccentric.  The sisters were primarily home schooled and were highly competitive with each other.  They each sought out their own identities leading to many clashes in the family.  Their world was isolated in a house in the countryside.  They grew up in a changing world.  One historian describes them as feral.

The family did not have great wealth, and so the family constantly sold off land and houses.  Eventually, they settled in a house in the country.  Growing up Jessica idolized Diana.  The girls were home schooled and were not sent to a public school.  Often times their schooling was piecemeal.  From time to time, they were taught by governesses, however for the most part they were self-educated.  They were fiercely intelligent and had the run of the library.  Jessica wanted to go to school like the other children, but it was forbidden.  This would hint at future rebellions.

Diana in the meantime wanted to leave home and she was considered a society beauty.  She would eventually marry Bryan Guinness.  He was handsome, intelligent, and wealthy.  He adored her and they would eventually marry.  They would have two children together.  Unfortunately, Diana would discover her husband was quite boring.  She would grow bored with this marriage and realize that the world was much bigger than she imagined.  However, this marriage would fall apart when she met Oswald Mosley.  He was the leader of the British Fascists.  Mosley was a stark contrast to Guinness, and she gave up everything to follow Mosley.  This affair would stun the Mitford family.

Jessica would follow a different path.  She was disturbed by the raging unemployment and thought Britain was going downhill.  Her idolization of Diana would end and she would turn against Diana and her sister Unity.  Unity would become obsessed with the Nazis as well.  Unity would move to Germany and would often stalk Hitler in the restaurants he frequented.  She charmed the dictator and she was invited to many different occasions.  Diana would eventually come over and the pair would go to Germany together.  Unity was Hitler’s close companion and she was ingrained in the Nazi Party.  Jessica was repulsed by Unity and Diana’s action.  She would elope with Esmond Romilly in Spain to participate in the Spanish Civil War.  Romilly would fight on the side of the revolutionaries during the Spanish Civil War.  What would Jessica face in the Spanish Civil War?  What would prompt her to move to the United States?  Would the sisters ever reconcile their differences?  To learn more about Jessica and Diana continue to watch this documentary. 

I rather enjoyed AN Wilson’s participation in this documentary.  He is very thoughtful in his analysis of the two sisters.  I also found Hope Whitemore and Laura Thompson’s commentary very interesting and equally thoughtful too.  Hope was rather measured with her presentation while Laura was more boisterous with her presentation.  I enjoyed them both.  This is a fascinating look at the dynamics of one family and the politics of the world between World War I and World War II.  This would be one very good documentary to show to a history class because of the interwar year dynamics.