Overall, what do you think of "The Mitford Affair" (no spoilers)

Overall, what do you think of "The Mitford Affair"? (no spoilers in this thread, please)

Short answer, first thoughts: I liked it very much. Benedict did a fine job with difficult characters like Diana and Unity who come (for some readers) with a heavy load of baggage. I appreciated the author's insight into the personal and political dynamic of the entire Mitford family--we could see how and why the two sisters evolved into the fascist/Nazi affiliations while the third sister stood apart. And using Nancy as the point-of-view witnessing character gave us an intimate look into their sisterly commitments to one another, and made their several betrayals even more painful. Overall, excellent!

I love all of Marie Benedict's books and this was one of my favorites. I loved History Class in school and so many more students would too, if it were not presented as a list of dates and battles. I love historical fiction ( if accurate) because it puts the "story" in history. The parallels to what is going on in the world today are chilling and illustrative.

I loved the book and liked the way each character's point of view was introduced.The writing was excellent and easy to read. It was an interesting time in the political views of the United Kingdom. I kept asking myself why the sister's were fascinated with Fascism and Communism. People were unhappy with the current government. From our current day view this is surprising but at the time maybe not so much.

I love historical fiction and I love Marie Benedict's work. This book was easy to read, informative and well researched. It was, however, a painful read for me. I was shocked at how easily the aristocrats were able to be swayed to the lure of fascism, how easily they could ignore the danger of Hitler and his evil plans. I do not understand why anyone of means and education would think fascism would serve them -most of them would lose their wealth and power - no dictator would allow those Lords any real voice!
The adulation of Mosley was horrifying to me, my father-in-law was present in his home on Cable Street watching as Mosley's fascists, protected by the police, marched through the streets of the East End. He and his friends rolled marbles into the road to trip the horses on which the police sat. He watched as the residents, unionists and others tried to fight back against these people who wanted them "gone". He saw them beaten, stomped and trampled. That anyone thought this was acceptable is horrifying and depressing.
It is however, important to read this book and know that it is not merely the uneducated who can fall under the spell of a charismatic leader. We are seeing it time and again in present days.

I love Marie Benedict's works. I was expecting the usual; an unknown female contribution to history, science, or the world uncovered with her incredible storytelling. What I learned was a darker story of England in pre-WWII. I was not aware of how prevalent fascist and communist feelings were in England. I began to explore the USA during this time period and discovered there were similar feelings here as well. Obviously, I am no student of history. It was a learning experience.

I loved The Mitford Affair. I have read quite a bit about the Mitfords, have read many of Nancy Mitford's books and yet with this book I still learned quite a lot. I remain baffled how the Mitford sisters could be so politically dissimilar considering their upbringing and social standing.

I liked “The Mitford Affair.” Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and through this book one sees a snapshot of pre-World War II politics and events in Great Britain and Germany from the perspective of three of the Mitford sisters (and by extension their family and loved ones). While I found the book an interesting and easy read, I did feel the story moved a little slowly through the middle part of the book. However, I was totally engaged by the end. Definitely a book I will recommend…and next up for me (because of this book)is Marie Benedict’s “Lady Clementine.”

I really enjoyed it. I love reading Historical fiction about strong women who really existed. The sisters were very intriguing!

It was very hard for me to understand the appeal of Hitler and his beliefs. Historically it was informative to learn of how widespread his support was is England.

I really enjoyed reading the Mitford Affair. The sisters and their choices made for an interesting read. I feel I have a greater understanding of why many English people, including Prince Edward, supported Hitler. I can’t help but wonder if Diana and Unity chose powerful men to love and support because they needed the intellectual stimulation and problem solving opportunities Mosley and Hitler could offer them.

I have read several books by Marie Benedict and she seems to have made a niche for herself in mining compelling stories from historical female characters. Looking back it's interesting that I have enjoyed but have never been "over the moon" about any of her books. "The Mitford Affair" probably piqued my interest more than the others with the dilemma it poses when a family finds itself in the midst of social upheaval with family members landing on differing sides of the situation. This was hauntingly similar to what I experienced with some of our more recent political turmoil. In the Mitford case, we have the luxury of 90 years of hindsight to look at the actions of some of the Mitfords and scoff at their foolishness. But closer in, I think each one of us could have fallen prey to some of the same sirens' calls that lured sisters Diana and Unity.

I also have the problem of tying my enjoyment of a book to my sympathy with the characters and, with the exception of Nancy, found it tough coming up with much to like about the others. What the book did convey that while we can look back with the advantage of time, it's not always so easy to see clearly when you are up close against a problem.

I really liked the book. In fact, I'm thinking of reading at least one of the other books the author mentioned which tell the Mitford story. The book gave me a greater understanding of life in England during the time frame. I found it very interesting that one family had a Communist, more than one racist, and a bit of indifference by the others. I did think about the secondary role of women at that time, and that being part of a cause gave them purpose and status, albeit not always for the best. I would recommend this book to others.

I enjoyed reading the book and found the characters to be well researched and engaging. As I read the book I asked myself will they change their vision and purpose they see for themselves and who will continue to support their decisions. Yet, I did find a difficult read because my (Jewish) family suffered in the Holocaust.

Historical fiction is my favorite genre. Recently I've been reading a lot of WWII historical fiction, but many have had the usual plot--hiding or helping Jewish people escape. This period between the wars is so important in understanding why and how Hitler and fascism rose. I'm not sure Benedict helps us understand that. The decade of the 30s included the depression and rapid inflation causing many to look at other types of government. Benedict mentions the family having to downsize houses several times but that's the extent of economic background. In spite of... I found the book fascinating and recommended it to my WWII history buff husband.

I have always found Marie Benedict’s book’s fascinating. She teaches me something every time I read one of her books. She finds pieces of history and brings them to life. Selecting three of the Mitford sisters to do a deep dive into their lives was absolutely engaging and helped educate me even more on this time period.

I have knowledge of the Mitford sisters and have always found them fascinating for one reason or another. Most of the reading I have done about the family has been from the viewpoint of Nancy, who is the sister who has stood the test of time, probably because of her writing which is in the historical record,
What I like about this book was that each chapter illuminated each sister's views and experiences from their individual viewpoints, which I found interesting.
I don't always like Marie Benedict's books, because they can be far reaching in terms of the historical/fiction balance. This book was an exception, which I liked.

I really enjoyed this book, it was an extremely easy read. The topic, of course, was quite disheartening however we need to learn about history so perhaps we will not repeat it. The women, although sisters, were so different and chose different actions for themselves and I am always amazed at that, even with my own family. The fact that we met each one and read from each POV helped the flow. I liken them to a prism, with three different sides. Depending on how the prism is turned will determine what you see.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a fascinating book about very interesting women. And, I learned a lot about the early years of WW 2 especially through the eyes of the British.

I always enjoy Marie Benedict’s work and thought this to be one of her best. The book presents, in the the Mitford sisters a cast of female characters who are at once captivating and disconcerting. The sisters allow Benedict to examine the politics of a turbulent time in Great Britain’s history and she does so with a keen eye. This novel will appeal to students of history as well as lovers of historical fiction.

I have to agree with ruthiea. I enjoy Marie Benedicts books, but I had a hard time sympathizing with Unity and Diana. What was missing in their lives that attracted each to Hitler?? ( He wasn't even good looking!) I found them to be spoiled socialites that I didn't much like. I understand that the British government was being lead by people who wanted "peace at any cost" but what would make these young women so enamored of the facists and Hitler in particular. Were their lives so bad?? Whatg did they think they were missing? I'm not sure that question was answered/

I struggled to read The Mitford Affair. I was glad that the POV sections were short so I could break away from the book as needed. I didn’t find any of the characters sympathetic. The mother was horrible. Diana’s selfish manipulation and Unity’s fanaticism were difficult to read. Benedict mentioned in the author interview that Unity’s sections were difficult for her to write, as well.
I have read another book featuring the Mitfords so I had done a little background research on the family before.

I loved it! I love reading historical fiction, especially about WWII. Marie Benedict has become my favorite author in this genre. Her books are well researched and very informative. It was interesting to read about the other side. Citizens who were not supportive of the war or the government. I have on my list The Nazi Conspiracy - The Secret Plot to kill Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill. Not everyone was in favor of democracy.

After shelving Her Hidden Genius without finishing it, I decided to give the author's work another look. She seems to have a big following and is highly regarded. Unfortunately, though I stuck this one out, I found it just as slow moving and boring in the beginning. The use of present tense and the trop of inserting the reader into the subject's eyes to see what she sees was very difficult. The second half of the book picked up a little but still, the scenes and the characters were so one dimensional. There was no depth to the story, I wanted to know more in each chapter and instead of greater information and more developed story line, the book was repetitive. The same sentences practically repeated--Diana's wide eyed worship of Mosely, her fleeting notice of her " two beautiful boys" , Unity's sitting in the cafe reading. Just a very unsatisfying book

I enjoyed this book a lot even though I found myself cringing over the characters dedication to fascism and Hitler. I did not know much about the Mitford sisters, so after finishing the book I looked up the family, and it seems that Benedict did a pretty good job of staying true to the real-life characters. The fact that I did not find myself sympathizing with Diana and Unity led me to really try to "get in their heads" to figure out why they did what they did and why they were so drawn to the men that they worshipped. I like to read a book such as this that makes me struggle and think.

I was predisposed to like a Marie Benedict book and this one did not disappoint. I read it very quickly and passed it on to friends shortly after reading it. It gave me a fresh, fascinating view of England’s high society in the pre World War II days.

I really liked the book. Before reading this I really didn’t know much about the sisters or the family. I knew Nancy was a writer but that was it. I liked learning about the dynamic among the sisters.Reading this makes me want to read more about them.

I normally enjoy Marie Benedict's books, but not this one. I did find the period before WWII interesting, but did not like the characters nor did I understand their fascination with the nazi cause. It may have been their perception of "power" and being part of it made them think they were doing something useful, but decided I was giving them too much credit.

I loved this book and was very interested in the Sisters. I had never heard of them before and had to look up more information about them. These girls were very intelligent and I believe with more education, would have made even more of a mark on the times.

I am conflicted. It was an easy read and maybe too easy for the complexity of the themes discussed. It was hard to feel sympathy for the subjects and I wonder if this has impacted or not my appreciation of the novel. I do not think so. I was fascinated that the author chose to show the other side of the coin, the dark side and that definitely kept me going. Yet it also felt a bit too romantic taking away from the stark realities maybe. It did get me to think a lot on the subject and I am grateful for that.

Historical Fiction is one of my favorite genres. I thought M Benedict did an excellent job of bringing together the history of the time and the family entanglements. Each chapter really went into the further development of each sisters' character. It was very well written.

I really enjoy reading Historical Fiction esp when it is something I have no knowledge of. There is so many great books on WWII, but this one has a totally different look on people in that time.

It was not one of my favorite Marie Benedict books, but it did cause me to research the history of this family and their influence on the direction of Great Britain before the war. I love how Marie Benedict gives voice and dialogue to the characters making the historical events more personal and endearing.

Marie Benedict is an amazing writer of historical fiction. I love how she weaves facts into the fiction and makes you feel like you are living in that time period. That said, I had a hard time liking any of the sisters. I wanted to like someone. Nancy eventually grew on me but I would have enjoyed the book more if she had been more sympathetic earlier on. Benedict probably accurately portrays the sisters, who all seemed to feel entitled and came across as spoiled. She does a marvelous job of unfolding the family dynamics and the concept of familial loyalty. I would have liked to have understood each woman's motivations a bit better, though. Were they truly interested in politics or were they merely pursuing the passion of the day? Why specifically were they drawn to the different political points of view? Taking on all these points of view was a monumental undertaking.

What I didn't like in the book was simply Unity and Diana who are easy to dislike. I always enjoy learning more about different time periods in different countries, and Marie Benedict did a good job of bringing us into the Hitler era. It is hard to love a story about people that it is easy to dislike but I came away feeling that I had learned a lot and that is valuable to me.