"Wait for Me!"

Deborah Mitford, youngest sister of the famous Mitford sisters, and later the Duchess of Devonshire, has written her memoirs, "Wait for Me!"  This was a book my book club chose to read earlier this year and there was a lot of criticism of it.  I didn't get it finished before the book club met but was excited to complete it because we had returned from a visit to see our oldest daughter who lives in  England earlier this year and one of the places we visited was Chatsworth. 

Our interest in Chatsworth lied mostly in the fact that one of our favorite versions of "Pride and Prejudice" had been partially filmed there.  However, in touring the home, we found some interesting facts about the previous occupants which led to my interest in reading these memoirs.

Deborah Mitford married Andrew Cavendish, the second son of the Duke of Devonshire.  His older brother, Billy, married Kathleen Kennedy and, as a result, Deborah and Andrew met and developed life long friendships with the Kennedy family but in particular John and Bobby.  They were invited to (and attended) John Kennedy's inauguration as well as his funeral services.  I found it particularly interesting that they were probably the ones who introduced Jack to Harold Macmillan (known as "Uncle Harold" to Deborah and Andrew) and Kennedy relied heavily on advice from Macmillan in tense situations like the Cuban Crisis.  It made me wish that some of our younger politicians today would be wise enough to rely on advice from older, more experienced statesmen!

Billy was killed during the war and not long afterwards Kathleen died in a plane crash which meant that Andrew was unexpectedly thrust into the position to be the one to inherit the title of the Duke of Devonshire when his father died.  It would appear that it was not a bad thing for Chatsworth and the other family holdings.  Death taxes were enormous but Andrew and Deborah found a way to save much as well as preserve a view of the old ways of life for future generations to enjoy vicariously.

Deborah's sisters were all flamboyantly interesting and each one unique in her own way.  I'd say Deborah was the most "stable" of the bunch and she had many interesting friendships.  Although the book makes it sound like she's "name-dropping" all the time, this appears to have been her life and what an interesting one it has been.  The 93 year old widow's older brother, Tom, and five older sisters (Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, and Jessica) are all deceased.  She herself has retired from her heavy involvement in the every day running of the Chatsworth estate leaving that to her son and his wife these days.  She also has two daughters.

Although I didn't find this the type of book I couldn't put down (so it took me a while to finish it), I did find it very, very interesting.  If you're interested in history from someone who lived it, this is a great read.  Deborah met and had tea with Hitler before the war because he was friends with her sister, Unity.  One of Andrew's uncles was married to Fred Astaire's sister (who had been his dancing partner before her marriage). She had dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor on more than one occasion due to friendships with mutual friends and, although she couldn't see what the Duke saw in his wife, she said it was clear he loved her -- guess that was a love worth giving up a kingdom for!  These are just a few of the interesting people she knew and she was a world traveler, too.  She's packed a lot of living into her 93 years!  pazt