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

I appreciate an author who works hard researching because I tend to think that I am learning something as I am reading. Saying that, I do not want to think that something I read is being written as historical fiction and is totally made up. I believe that Marie Benedict does her research and weaves facts into her historical fiction books. I enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it.

I loved this book. Marie Benedict is an awesome author of historical fiction. I am amazed that she authors one or two books a year with the amount research necessary for historical fiction. I also find the Mitford sisters fascinating and will read more books with Mitfords as the topic.

The "Mitford Affair" is an intriguing, memorable, and thought-provoking Historical fiction novel that I would highly recommend.

When I first started reading what prior subscribers had posted, I thought I'd be in the minority with my opinion, but there are many who have similar thoughts as I do. I am a big fan of Marie Benedict, but this book was not one of my favorites. The short paragraphs made it easy to start and stop and helped get me through to the end. Although I found it interesting to learn about the Mitford sisters and this period of history, I could not feel any attachment to the characters. None of the sisters were likeable in fact, Diana and Unity were despicable. As previously stated by alertlinz, I could not understand why Diana and Unity were so drawn to Hitler. Their minds were completely closed to the reality of what was going on around them. I would have liked to see some introspection as to why they thought this way. Maybe it would have made the characters seem more human. I did not feel much emotion reading this book and it did not draw me in as other books have done. However, the writing is good, as is the author's extensive research.

I liked the book, but then I like anything about English history and WWII. I thought the Mitfords were fascinating and quirky, like many of the upper classes in that era. Several people have said they find it hard to understand Diana and Unity’s fascination with the nazis and fascists. I think that partly is hindsight. We know the evil Hitler would unleash. Many of their contemporaries felt the same early on, but most changed when the war with Hitler began. I don’t like their behavior, but it’s a historical fact.

I think I have read every book Marie Benedict has penned. (My book club can’t seem to pass them up.) Apart from the one about Hedy Lamar, this is my favorite.

I had seen some books around regarding the Mitfords but had not read any of them until Marie Benedicts The Mitford Affair I did like the book and found it very interesting. In fact I intend to find some of the other books regarding them. I'd like to read more about them. I honestly cannot say that I like some of them but then we don't always like everyone we meet etc.

I am a part of the group above who love reading historical fiction and have enjoyed several of the author's previous books but struggled with this book. I almost gave up before reaching the halfway mark and I never do that! Don't assume I do not want to read the tough stuff or about this subject because I was a teacher of literature and helped to create an award winning curriculum about this era. However,I am having a hard time identifying what felt off and off putting to me about this book. When I pick up a Marie Benedict book I assume it will be about strong women who I will admire and want to spend hours of my time with...this was not the case here. I was not sure why the author was fascinated by this disfunctional family. Another off-putting element was the jumpy style of the first half of the book. Without previous familiarity with this family story , it was a confusing mix of romance novel and memoir. That said, I will be thinking about the disturbing parallels between then and now for a long time.

In general, I enjoyed the book. However, as many have said, it was a difficult read primarily because it was hard to find sympathy for any of the characters. I could not relate to their points of view. Their motivations often seemed strange and were hard to understand.

I was glad to learn the history of the Mitford sisters, and their story was compelling. That said, I didn't enjoy this novel. Certainly it's the clarity of hindsight, but Diana and Unity were rendered both ugly and ridiculous by their political endeavors. Maybe there was no good way to tell the story of people with unlimited money and power making terrible mistakes while the rest of the world suffers.

I thought the book was an interesting, if not fascinating, look into the Mitford family, of which I had heard but did not know much about. However, throughout the book, I kept waiting for something “big” to happen, although I’m not sure what. Not that the political aspirations and doings of the Mitford wasn’t “big,” but I thought there would be some kind of event that the book was building toward. Overall though I enjoyed it and learned a lot about the family and plan to research them more online.

All of Marie Benedict's works follow the same formula. While I acknowledge that most people find her books enjoyable, I am tired of the same thing, over and over, just telling a different story. The subject matter of this book just made it that much harder to read.

The Mitfords were highly privileged socialites who became sympathetic to the Nazi cause, and this alone made it hard for me to identify with the characters. Most of the sisters seemed aloof and superficial. As I found myself holding out hope that the book would pick up speed and offer a meaningful story, I had to dredge on through the book and couldn't wait to get it over with. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the book.

I loved The Mitford Affair. I am particularly interested in the interwar period, especially in Europe, and have read history, biographies, and historical fiction about the period, including books by and about the Mitford sisters. Marie Benedict does an outstanding job of exploring what was going on both personally and politically with Nancy, Diana and Unity Mitford. The author's method of writing from the perspective of the 3 women at the same time in different chapters was a masterful way of exposing their very divergent motivations and activities.

It appears that I am in the small group of readers who had a rough time with this book. While I have enjoyed Marie Benedict's books in the past, despite this one being her usual high level of writing & research, I'm not sure I can justify the romanticizing & repetition of the rhetoric of Hitler, Mussolini, Mosley, Goebbels, SS Guards, etc when SO MANY innocent lives were disrupted or quite literally destroyed through the cruel inhumane acts these power-mongers perpetrated. To give their voices a positive spin, even if it was meant to show the fallacies in the Mitford family members positions, did not sit well with me.

I read and enjoyed Her Hidden Genius and The Other Einstein. I like historical fiction and I have two other Benedict books on my TBR list. This was not a page-turner for me, but I am glad I learned about the Mitfords and that time period. I did not find the characters very likeable, although their drama and the history were enlightening and kept me reading. I wondered how Diana and Unity were first drawn to their political views and activities. When the book ended I was left to research my curiosity about their later lives. I wanted more information.

I enjoyed reading The Mitford Affair. Marie Benedict did a wonderful job of giving the reader a glimpse into the Mitford family and this time period of history. I felt the material was well researched and a lot of thought and care was given while presenting such difficult historical events. While I was satisfied with the ending, the novel also left me with a desire to research more into the Mitford family ~ in other words, well done!