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Deborah Devonshire - Counting My Chickens (2nd Hand Hardback)
SKU B002732
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Synopsis
. . . and Other Home Thoughts . . . With an Introduction by Tom Stoppard.
Counting My Chickens is a collection of newspaper and magazine columns by Deborah Freeman-Mitford Cavendish, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire. "Debo" is the youngest and only surviving Mitford Girl, the fabulous daughters of Lord and Lady Redesdale who scandalized and delighted the British and the world from the 1930s onward.
Although this is a very short book cut into many small, fairly unconnected segments, there is nevertheless much that charms. The celebrated Mitford wit, most clearly displayed by Debo's sisters Nancy and Jessica, is in evidence, particularly in the sections that deal with Debo's childhood and early adult years (she once travelled by train from Scotland with a goat, milking it in first class waiting rooms on the way.)
Also in evidence is the extraordinariness of Debo's life as wife of a Duke and as chatelaine of one of England's great mansions, Chatsworth House. She casually drops names like Harold Macmillan and John Kennedy (both of whom were indirectly related to her husband) and at the same time records some of the merriments and aggravations that come with having your home on display to tourists several months each year. Occasionally Debo will drop a barbed comment or two on the silliness of some politicians and visitors, but for the most part she is soft spoken and accommodating.
Few Duchesses have written or revealed much about their lives, so its nice that one has done so now, at a time when the House of Lords is being democratized and the aristocracy must seem more anachronistic than ever.
Details
- Format : Smaller 2nd Hand Hardback with Dust Jacket
- Condition : Very Good
- Category : Non-Fiction - Autobiography & Biography
- Published : 2001 (This Edition 2008 - Long Barn Books - Signed Copy)
- ISBN : 9781902421056
- SKU : B002732
- PPC : LL400gm
- RRP : Unknown
- Quantity Available : 1 only.
External Reviews
"Fabulous book, that I ordered after reading another book of short articles by Deborah Devonshire. She’s a very entertaining and humorous author."
"Counting My Chickens . . . and Other Home Thoughts. Wonderful! What a delightful and beautiful book. Such wisdom and sass!" - Google Reviews.
"A book that will: be a must read for Mitford lovers old and new, anyone who loves things that are typically British and who likes narration that’s wry and has an occasional raised eyebrow. 9/10" - Savidge Reads.
The Author
Deborah Vivien Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, DCVO was an English aristocrat, writer, memoirist, and socialite. She was the youngest and last-surviving of the six Mitford sisters, who were prominent members of English society in the 1930's and 1940's.