DECADES AFTER THEY STOPPED being regular fodder for the British tabloids, the Mitford Sisters remain fascinating. Enough books have been written about - and by - them to fill several library shelves. They are the subject of a current TV mini-series. They are still unique. This book by Carla Kaplan is the latest addition to the Mitford saga and it is about the Jessica who was least like her sisters. Jessica - or "Decca" - was a rebel, a liberal, and a muckraker journalist, a life force.
Who were her sisters? Diana and Unity were Fascists who befriended Adolf Hitler. Unity shot herself when World War II started and Diana, who married the British Fascist leader Sir Oswald Moseley, was imprisoned by the British during the war. Jessica lived much of her turbulent life in
America. Pamela led the most uneventful life. Deborah became the Duchess of Devonshire and wrote a number of books. Nancy was a highly successful novelist. Their brother Tom was killed as a soldier in Burma in World War II.