Did the final chapter make you reassess the chapters attributed to Diana and Unity throughout the book?

In the final chapter, Nancy suggests that she may have misapprehended her sisters' actions and the reasons underpinning them. Did this make you reassess the chapters attributed to Diana and Unity throughout the book? Is it possible that those accounts do not reflect what actually transpired (in the fictional world of The Mitford Affair) but instead Nancy's presumptions and projections about her sisters' activities based on her own, very personal beliefs?

I found myself questioning Nancy throughout, not just in the final chapter. Since her chapters are the only ones in the first person, I guess I leaned toward believing this was her account, and consequently some bias would creep into the narrative.

Not really. Ultimately, her sisters actions spoke for themselves and, if anything, it became clearer that they did not seem to have much remorse. Nancy does acknowledge that "...in the narrative that runs through my mind, I've stitched together the threads of my sisters' lives together to form a tapestry that is flattering to me, one that supports my decision."

I think that can be said for all of us - that we create our own reality, one where we are in the right. This is probably as much of a defense mechanism as it is a flaw.

I liked that self-questioning section. It highlighted the difficulty of knowing people's real motivations. Where does the truth of a situation lie? I especially liked the use of "conjured" here: "What if the story I conjured in my thoughts— the one that propelled me forward in my spying— turned out to not be true? What if Diana wasn’t a woman of her own mind, but instead was exploited by her husband, and that influence clouded her mind as to the harm she was doing?"

Nancy, as a novelist, a spinner of stories, always seemed like a confident, self-assured woman who didn't question herself, so it was good to see this other side of her. Maybe if her self-doubt had emerged earlier, she might have seemed more multi-dimensional. At its best, historical fiction raises the question, Who has the "true" story?

No. If anything it confirmed what I had come to believe about the sisters. Nancy will continue to reflect and question while Diana is certain of her course. Unity’s situation is of course the most disturbing. The end reflects the journey each took.

No, I do not think Nancy attitude changed in the last chapter. Perhaps, it was a personal reflection of her attitude towards Diana in particular but I think it is more of her strength as a writer being displayed to the reader.

I did not think that Nancy changed in the last chapter. I think she was looking for the reader to agree with her decision to Turn in her sister. I think on some level Nancy was jealous of Diana, who seemed to have a charmed life, a husband she discarded, children which Nancy wanted, admirerers. It was as if she was telling us her reasons and asking us to agree with her as if to say, "I'm the one doign the right thing here" I'd be interested if in real life she ever saw Diana again.

I read the book as being narrated by Nancy, thus being seen in her eyes. If this is what the author wanted us to believe, no because we really do not get a chance to truly know her sisters.

I think Nancy is looking for affirmation of her choices and decisions. Her love of country would lead her to do the same. She never wavered in her beliefs throughout the story. Knowing how it all played out for her family, it is not surprising that Nancy should ponder the results.

I’m sure Nancy carried a lot of guilt for what happened to her sisters and her part in it. It’s possible some of her point of view was an attempt to justify her actions

Absolutely not- the reasons for actions may mitigate punishment, but do not change the underlying facts of the dangers of Diane’s actions during the Second World War.

Nancy questioned herself and her own actions, as well as the actions of her sisters throughout the book. It is hard to say if we had a reliable narrator. I think paulak was right in quoting Nancy. I agree that this is true of all our lives.

I also felt Nancy had to feel very guilty of what she did and of course what happened to Unity - she thought was opting out of it but that was not to happen - sometimes we pay our penance in other ways. It is one of the reasons to read more of them and find out how it all started and became what they were.

I think it was inevitable that Nancy would doubt herself and what she did - it was her family and she loved them very much. And I’m sure she was looking for affirmation, at least the author posed it that way. But I do think Nancy was a stronger character than either of her sisters and did the right thing. Either way, either decision would be hard to live with.