"A Life of Contrasts A Life of Contrasts is the autobiography of Diana Mitford (sister of novelist Nancy Mitford, journalist Jessica Mitford, and memoirist Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire) that was first published by in 1977. In 2002 she released a revised edition of the book. In the autobiography, Mitford recounts her colourful past, including her marriage to Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists, her association with Nazi figures and her subsequent three-year internment under Defence Regulation 18B. She also recounts her friendships with leading literary figures Evelyn Waugh, Harold Acton, John Betjeman and Lytton Strachey. In"
"Hon. Monica Margaret Grenfell, and they had four children: In 1974, after a divorce, Mosley married secondly Verity Elizabeth Raymond, daughter of John Raymond, and had one son: Nicholas Mosley Sir Nicholas Mosley of Ancoats, 3rd Baron Ravensdale, MC, FRSL (25 June 1923 – 28 February 2017), was an English novelist. He was born in London in 1923. He was the eldest son of Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet, a British politician, and his first wife, Lady Cynthia Mosley, a daughter of The 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary). In 1932 his father, Sir Oswald"
"of Sir John Slade, 1st Baronet, by his wife Cicely Neave, daughter of Sir Digby Neave, 3rd Baronet. They had two children: William Kenyon Mitford Colonel William Kenyon Mitford, (1857–1943) was a British Army officer, landowner and courtier. Mitford was the son of William Townley Mitford (1817–1889), a Conservative member of parliament from Sussex, by his wife Hon. Margaret Emma Kenyon (1836–1927), daughter of the 3rd Baron Kenyon. The Mitford family of Pitshill in Tillington was descended from the Mitfords of Mitford in Northumberland whose lineage begins with Sir John Mitford who died in 1409. William Mitford (1699-1777) came to"
"first marriage, spending the summer of 1945 getting the harvest in and shooting at Crowood Farm, near Ramsbury, Wiltshire. In 1950, the Mosleys bought houses in Ireland, and in Orsay, near Paris. They spent the year moving around Europe, spending the spring in France and the autumn and winter in Ireland, where Mosley was keen on riding and hunting. His aunt Nancy Mitford, in letters to Evelyn Waugh, recalled Sir Oswald and his family cruising the Mediterranean Sea on the family yacht. On one such trip they visited Spain and were entertained by Sir Oswald's friend, General Franco. At the"
"and his beliefs. After it was published in 1935 relations between the sisters became strained to non-existent and it was not until the mid-1940s that they were able to get back to being close again. The couple rented Wootton Lodge, a country house in Staffordshire which Diana had intended to buy. She furnished much of her new home with much of the Swinbrook furniture that her father was selling. The Mosleys lived at Wootton Lodge along with their children from 1936 to 1939. In 1934 Mitford went to Germany with her then 19-year-old sister Unity. While there, they attended the"
"Lady Cynthia Mosley Lady Cynthia Blanche Mosley (23 August 1898 – 16 May 1933), nicknamed ""Cimmie"", was a British politician of Anglo-American parentage and the first wife of the British Fascist and New Party politician Sir Oswald Mosley, who was a Member of Parliament in the Conservative and Labour parties. Born Cynthia Blanche Curzon at Kedleston Hall, she was the second daughter of Hon. George Curzon (later Marquess Curzon of Kedleston) and his first wife, Mary Victoria Leiter, an American department-store heiress. As the daughter of an Earl (and later a Marquess), she was styled Lady Cynthia beginning in 1911."
"having no sympathy for his move towards fascism. She died in 1933 at 34 after an operation for peritonitis following acute appendicitis, in London. Lady Cynthia Mosley Lady Cynthia Blanche Mosley (23 August 1898 – 16 May 1933), nicknamed ""Cimmie"", was a British politician of Anglo-American parentage and the first wife of the British Fascist and New Party politician Sir Oswald Mosley, who was a Member of Parliament in the Conservative and Labour parties. Born Cynthia Blanche Curzon at Kedleston Hall, she was the second daughter of Hon. George Curzon (later Marquess Curzon of Kedleston) and his first wife, Mary"
"called into question his father's motives and even Oswald's understanding of politics. The book contributed to the Channel 4 television programme ""Mosley"" (1998), based on Oswald Mosley's life. At the end of the serial, Nicholas is portrayed meeting his father in prison to ask him about his national allegiance. Living in London, he was a half-brother of Max Mosley, former President of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Mosley married twice and was the father of five children. On 14 November 1947 he married firstly Rosemary Laura Salmond (divorced 1974, died 1991), daughter of Sir John Maitland Salmond and the"
"July 1996), and Deborah (31 March 1920 – 24 September 2014), later the Duchess of Devonshire. The Mitford children lived at Asthall Manor in Asthall, Oxfordshire, and Unity was educated at St Margaret's School, Bushey. Diana Mosley’s biographer, Jan Dalley, believes that, ""Unity found life in her big family very difficult because she came after these cleverer, prettier, more accomplished sisters."" While another biographer, David Pryce-Jones, added: ""If you come from a ruck of children in a large family, you've got to do something to assert your individuality, and I think through the experience of trying to force her way"
"Sir Oswald Mosley, 4th Baronet Sir Oswald Mosley of Ancoats, 4th Baronet (25 September 1848 – 10 October 1915) was a British baronet. Mosley was born in Staffordshire in 1848 the eldest son of Sir Tonman Mosley, 3rd Baronet, of Ancoats (9 July 1813 – 28 April 1890), who succeeded to the title of 3rd Baronet Mosley, of Ancoats, on 24 May 1871, and wife Catherine Wood (died 22 April 1891), daughter of The Reverend John Wood of Swanwick, Derbyshire and Emily Susanna Bellairs (daughter of Abel Walford Bellairs and Susannah Lowley). His younger brother was Tonman Mosley, 1st Baron"
"William Kenyon Mitford Colonel William Kenyon Mitford, (1857–1943) was a British Army officer, landowner and courtier. Mitford was the son of William Townley Mitford (1817–1889), a Conservative member of parliament from Sussex, by his wife Hon. Margaret Emma Kenyon (1836–1927), daughter of the 3rd Baron Kenyon. The Mitford family of Pitshill in Tillington was descended from the Mitfords of Mitford in Northumberland whose lineage begins with Sir John Mitford who died in 1409. William Mitford (1699-1777) came to Sussex and started the Pitshill branch. Mitford was commissioned in the 8th Hussars in 1876, served in the Second Anglo-Afghan War 1879–1880,"
"Sir Oswald Mosley, 2nd Baronet, of Ancoats Sir Oswald Mosley of Ancoats, 2nd Baronet (27 March 1785 – 24 May 1871) was a British politician and writer. Oswald Mosley (17 March 1761 – 27 July 1789), son of Sir John Parker Mosley, 1st Baronet, of Ancoats (1732 - 29 September 1798), created 1st Baronet Mosley, of Ancoats, in the Baronetage of Great Britain, on 8 June 1781, and wife (married 7 April 1760) Elizabeth Bayley (died 15 October 1797), daughter of James Bayley of Withington (1705–1769) and Anne Peploe (1702–1769), daughter of Samuel Peploe. John Parker Mosley was the son"
"was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for his service in the war. After his return to the United Kingdom, he was appointed one of His Majesty's Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms on 1 December 1900, and served as such until 1940. Mitford was a Justice of the peace (JP) and a Deputy Lieutenant of Sussex. He was colonel and Aide-de-camp for Yeomanry to King Edward VII from 1904 to 1910 and to King George V from 1910 until 1924. Milford married, in 1886, Cicely Maud Slade (b.1864), daughter of Wyndham Slade (1826–1910), son"
"cousin, Esmond Romilly, who was recuperating from dysentery caught during a stint with the International Brigades defending Madrid during the Spanish Civil War. Romilly was a nephew (by marriage) of Winston Churchill. The cousins immediately fell in love and decided to elope to Spain, where Romilly picked up work as a reporter for the ""News Chronicle"". After some legal difficulties caused by their relatives' opposition, they married. They moved to London and lived in the East End, then mostly a poor industrial area. Mitford gave birth at home to a daughter, Julia Decca Romilly, on 20 December 1937. The baby"
"the political enthusiasms of Mitford's sister Diana Mosley, and her links with some Italians in Great Britain who promoted the British Union of Fascists of Oswald Mosley. Furthermore, the announcement of Benito Mussolini's decision to side with Adolf Hitler's Germany in spring 1940 had a devastating effect. By order of UK Parliament all ""aliens"" were to be interned, although there were few active fascists. The majority of the Italians in Great Britain had lived in this country peacefully for many years, and had even fought side by side with British soldiers in the First World War. Some had married British"
"Boodle, of Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, London, who died at her son's house, Weston Lodge, Hampstead, on 25 December 1886, aged 92, and was buried at Hampstead cemetery on 29 December. The marriage was not happy. Their only child, Robert Henry Mitford, was born on 24 July 1815, and married at Wellow, Somerset, on 12 August 1847, Anne, youngest daughter of Lieutenant-colonel William Henry Wilby, their eldest son being Robert Sidney Mitford of the Home Office. John Mitford (priest) John Mitford (1781–1859) was an English clergyman and man of letters. Related to Attorney General and politician Lord Redesdale, who became"
"to her daughter, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), as ""Shirley"", as in Shirley Temple. The Duchess bitterly resented the denial of the royal title and the refusal of the Duke's relatives to accept her as part of the family. Within the household of the Duke and Duchess, the style ""Her Royal Highness"" was used by those who were close to the couple. According to the wife of former British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosley, Diana Mitford, who knew both Queen Elizabeth and the Duchess of Windsor but was only friendly with the latter, the Queen's antipathy toward her"
"as the father of the famous Mitford sisters. He was also a member of the Right Club, founded by Archibald Maule Ramsay. His only son, the Hon. Thomas Freeman-Mitford, was killed in action in Burma in 1945. Lord Redesdale was therefore succeeded by his younger brother, the third Baron. He was High Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1935. He died childless, and on his death in 1962 the title passed to his younger brother, the fourth Baron. He also died childless, and was succeeded by his nephew, the fifth Baron. He was the son of the Hon. Ernest Rupert Bertram Ogilvy"
"Mitford family The Mitford family is a gentry (minor aristocratic) English family whose main family line had seats at Mitford, Northumberland. Several heads of the family served as High Sheriff of Northumberland. A junior line, with seats at Newton Park, Northumberland, and Exbury House, Hampshire, descends via the historian William Mitford (1744–1827) and were twice elevated to the British peerage, in 1802 and 1902, under the title Baron Redesdale. The Mitford sisters were William Mitford's great-great-great-granddaughters. The sisters, six daughters of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and Sydney Bowles, became celebrated, and at times scandalous, figures that were caricatured, according"
"1943, and, politically disgraced by his association with fascism, he moved abroad in 1951, spending the majority of the remainder of his life in Paris. He stood for Parliament twice in the postwar era, achieving very little support. Mosley was born on 16 November 1896 at 47 Hill Street, Mayfair, Westminster, He was the eldest of the three sons of Sir Oswald Mosley, 5th Baronet (1873–1928), and Katharine Maud Edwards-Heathcote (1874–1950), daughter of Captain Justinian H. Edwards-Heathcote of Apedale Hall, Staffordshire. He had two younger brothers: Edward Heathcote Mosley (1899–1980); John Arthur Noel Mosley (1901–1973). The family traces its roots"
"and fellow models Kirsty Hume and Jodie Kidd. Her range largely included knitwear; including cardigans, skirts and sweater dresses. Guinness is the great-granddaughter of Diana Mitford (The Honourable Lady Mosley), who was one of the Mitford sisters, and her first husband Bryan Guinness, later the 2nd Lord Moyne. Her paternal grandfather, the Hon. Desmond Guinness, is a conservationist specialising in Georgian and classical architecture, while her paternal grandmother, Mariga Guinness, was born Marie-Gabrielle, Princess of Urach. She is 2260th in the Line of Succession to the British throne. The Desmond Guinnesses were cofounders of the Irish Georgian Society. Guinness's maternal"
"On 11 May 1920, Cynthia married the then-Conservative politician, Oswald Mosley. He was her first and only lover. They had three children: After both joined the Labour Party in 1924, she was elected Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-on-Trent in 1929, her husband having been elected MP for Smethwick in 1926. Frustrated with the ruling Labour Party's complacent and conservative response to high levels of unemployment, Oswald Mosley formed the New Party on 1 March 1931 which his wife also joined. The party failed to win any seats at the 1931 general election. After that Mosley started his move"
"in the 1960s. Oswald Mosley who bought the land on which the hall was built in 1609 from the Byrons of Clayton Hall, was a nephew of Sir Nicholas Mosley. The house was sequestered by Parliament after Oswald's son Nicholas Mosley supported the king in the Civil War, but was returned after payment of a £120 fine. The house remained in the family until Sir John Mosley inherited it from a cousin in 1779 and preferring to live on his estate in Staffordshire, sold it. For a period the embalmed body of Hannah Beswick (known as the Manchester Mummy) was"
"Tom Mitford Major The Honourable Thomas David Freeman-Mitford (2 January 1909 – 30 March 1945) was the only son of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, all other children being the daughters collectively known as the Mitford Sisters. Tom Mitford was killed in action during World War II. Mitford was born on 2 January 1909, the only son of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale. He attended Eton College. He had relationships with several students there, among whom were James Lees-Milne and James Alexander Wedderburn St. Clair-Erskine (later engaged to his sister Nancy). In the late 1920s, Mitford studied law in Berlin"
"years in prison, she was afflicted by regular bouts of migraines. In 1981, she underwent a successful surgery to remove a brain tumour. She convalesced at Chatsworth House, the residence of her sister Deborah. In the early 1990s, she was also successfully treated for skin cancer. In later life she also suffered from deafness. Mitford attended the funeral of René de Chambrun, the son-in-law of Vichy France Prime Minister Pierre Laval, in 2002. Mosley was shunned in the British media for a period after the war and the couple established their own publishing company, Euphorion Books, named after a character"
"at a time when there was little public appetite for lighthearted war satire, and the book was a commercial failure. In April 1940 Mitford suffered her second miscarriage. Shortly afterwards Rodd, who had been commissioned into the Welsh Guards, departed overseas.<ref> Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer and journalist. One of the renowned Mitford sisters and one of the ""Bright Young People"" on the London social scene in the inter-war years, she is best remembered for her novels about upper-class life in England and France and"
"of Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet. Mosley's family were Anglo-Irish. His branch were prosperous landowners in Staffordshire. He was educated at Repton School, Repton, Derbyshire, between 1862 and 1868, and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, between 1868 and 1871 and graduated from the University of Oxford in 1872 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1874 entitled to practice as a barrister-at-law. Anslow unsuccessfully contested Lichfield Division of Staffordshire as a Conservative in the 1885 general election. In 1897 he was appointed Chairman of the Quarter Sessions of Derbyshire, a post"
"with Germany. The younger Mosley was still soon commissioned into the Rifle Brigade and saw active service in Italy, winning the Military Cross in 1945. In 1966, Mosley succeeded his aunt Irene Curzon, 2nd Baroness Ravensdale, his mother's elder sister, as Baron Ravensdale, thus gaining a seat in the House of Lords. On the death of his father, on 3 December 1980, he also succeeded to his father's baronetcy. In 1983, after his father's death, Lord Ravensdale published ""Beyond the Pale: Sir Oswald Mosley and Family 1933–1980"", in which he proved to be a harsh critic of his father. He"
"Nicholas Mosley Sir Nicholas Mosley of Ancoats, 3rd Baron Ravensdale, MC, FRSL (25 June 1923 – 28 February 2017), was an English novelist. He was born in London in 1923. He was the eldest son of Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet, a British politician, and his first wife, Lady Cynthia Mosley, a daughter of The 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary). In 1932 his father, Sir Oswald Mosley, founded the British Union of Fascists and became an open supporter of Benito Mussolini. In 1933, when he was only 10, Nicholas's mother, Lady Cynthia, died and"
"Eustace Reveley Mitford Eustace Reveley Mitford (16 November 1810 – 24 October 1869) was a satirical writer, best known as ""Pasquin"", prominent in the early days of the Colony of South Australia. Mitford was born at St Pancras, London, the third of four sons of barrister John Mitford (1772–1851) of the celebrated Mitford family, and his wife Sarah Mitford née Woodward (1784–1836); his grandparents were the historian William Mitford (1743–1827) and his first wife Frances ""Fanny"" Mitford née Molloy ( –1776). He joined the Royal Navy at an early age, and before long transferred to the Spanish service, and may"
"Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley of Ancoats, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician who rose to fame in the 1920s as a Member of Parliament and later in the 1930s became leader of the British Union of Fascists (BUF). Mosley was never knighted, inheriting the title ‘Sir’ as the sixth Baronet of a title that was in his family for centuries. After military service during the First World War, Mosley was one of the youngest Members of Parliament, representing Harrow from 1918 to 1924, first as a Conservative, then an independent, before"
"Pamela Mitford Pamela ""Pam"" Freeman-Mitford (25 November 1907 – 12 April 1994) was one of the Mitford Sisters. Pamela Freeman-Mitford was born on 25 November 1907, the second daughter of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and Sydney Bowles (1880–1963). John Betjeman, who for a time was in love with her, referred to her in his unpublished poem, ""The Mitford Girls"", as the ""most rural of them all"", due to the fact she preferred to live quietly in the country. They met when she was managing Biddesden in Hampshire, the house of her brother-in-law, Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne. In 1936"
"personal friend she stayed with often at Faringdon House. Prince and Princess Clary, close friends of hers after the Second World War. The final portrait is of her second husband, Sir. Oswald Mosley. The book also features several photographs of the selected subjects. The collection was favourably reviewed by ""The Glasgow Herald"", describing Mosley as ″consistently witty in a generous way that indulges neither in sarcasm not bitterness and her book contains gems of ever-so-English understatement and Mitfordese snobbery.″ This illustration features a detail from Henry Lamb's portrait of Mitford, painted in 1932 when she was still married to Bryan"