Muv

The Story of the Mitford Girls' Mother

Rachel Trethewey

The story of the "seventh Mitford woman," a long-overlooked figure in the Mitford canon—told in full for the first time.

Everyone knows about the six flamboyant Mitford girls but in fact there were seven remarkable women in the famous family—the seventh was "Muv," Lady Sydney Redesdale, the mother of the notorious sisters. Too often portrayed as different from them and outside the girl gang, she was really the original and much of her daughters’ strong will, self-confidence, and extremism came from her.

Sydney Redesdale was a divisive figure both among her daughters and subsequent biographers. Until their deaths, her girls were still squabbling over what she was really like, their differing views of her persisted for even longer than the political divides between them. Each daughter wanted to control the narrative and they wrote competing novels, memoirs and letters to vindicate their perspective. For Nancy and Jessica, she was a scapegoat. For Unity, Diana, Debo and Pam, she was a saint.

Biographers have been equally divided about how she should be portrayed. Many wondered how such exceptional children could spring from such ordinary parents, but was Sydney really so "ordinary?" The story of her life at the heart of one of Britain’s most famous families is told in full here for the first time and is a missing piece in understanding one of the twentieth century's most complex and fascinating families.

Rachel Trethewey read History at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where she won the Philip Geddes Prize for student journalism. During her journalistic career she wrote features for the Daily Mail and Daily Express, and subsequently reviewed history books for The Independent. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and is the author of The Churchill Sisters, about Winston Churchill's daughters. She lives in Devon.

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Endorsements & Reviews

“Trethewey offers a well-researched life of the mother of the six famous Mitford sisters, Sydney Redesdale. Drawing on family papers, biographies, and interviews with some of Sydney’s descendants, she reveals a stubborn woman. A sympathetic biography of a complex woman.” Kirkus Reviews

“Rachel Trethewey’s Mothers of the Mind is an engrossing and magnificently rewarding study of the relationships between three literary women – Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie and Sylvia Plath – and their mothers. In Muv, Trethewey looks with equally clear eyes at the tremendous influence exerted on the celebrated Mitford sisters by their strong-willed and alarmingly fervent mother, Sydney Redesdale. Fascinating stuff from one of our most innovative biographers.” Miranda Seymour, author of I Used to Live Here Once and In Byron’s Wake

“For the first time, the matriarch of the Mitfords emerges as an exciting historical figure in her own right, who was as brilliant and maddening as her six daughters. A treat for Mitford aficionados, this book offers a wealth of new information, re-framing and refreshing the story of the Mitfords as never before. Rachel Trethewey has set a new standard in the Mitford world – a truly dazzling book.” Lyndsy Spence, author of The Mitford Girls’ Guide to Life and Mrs. Guinness

“Rachel Trethewey has done the seemingly impossible in a book about the Mitfords: she has found something original to say, thanks to her excellent scholarship, and has written Muv’s story exceptionally well. Those who think they know all there is to know about the family will find her work a revelation.” Simon Heffer, author of Sing As We Go: Britain Between the Warsaw

“A gripping life of a troubled, troubling, and unjustly neglected woman.” Professor Richard Toye, Professor of History at Exeter University

Praise for Rachel Trethewey

"Trethewey has been able to shed invaluable new light on the tangled and occasionally fraught relationships that Churchill’s three adult daughters each had with Winston, their mother Clementine, their brother Randolph, and each other. She has rightly produced a fine, uplifting work." Andrew Roberts, bestselling author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny

"Winston Churchill’s story has been told many times, but this fascinating book brings the lives of his daughters out of the shadows for the first time. There is sadness and tragedy, but in the end it’s the extraordinary talents and resilience of these remarkable women that shine through. A revelation." Andrew Wilson, author of Beautiful Shadow: The Life of Patricia Highsmith

“Trethewey sheds new and fascinating light on the drama, passion and tragedy surrounding Diana, Sarah, Marigold and Mary, and the pivotal role each played in their father's illustrious political career…[a] richly drawn, gorgeously written group biography.”
Shelf Awareness (starred)

"A thoughtful portrait of the lives of three women on the forefront of history, but most importantly, a poignant story of sisterhood." Catherine Katz, author of Daughters of Yalta

"In this new slant on the family life of Winston and Clementine Churchill, Rachel Trethewey has delivered an absorbing insight into the lives of their extraordinary daughters. With careful research and a sympathetic understanding of her subject matter, an enthralling study of this unconventional trio fills a void that had existed for too long." Shelagh Montague Browne, Clementine Churchill’s Secretary