Rachel Trethewey - Muv

The trials, tribulations and escapades of the Mitford girls - Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah - have been the subject of great fascination and scrutiny over the past century or so, but what of their mother, Sydney, Lady Redesdale, whose life was in many ways just as controversial, tempestuous and tragic as theirs?Sydney was the daughter of magazine proprietor and politician Thomas Gibson Bowles, who founded The Lady magazine, and Jessica Evans-Gordon, who died when Sydney was seven.

In this "intriguing and informative" (Nicky Haslam, The Oldie) biography, Rachel Trethewey paints a vivid portrait of the life of a fascinating, complex and divisive woman, and examines how her life experiences impacted - both positively and negatively - on the lives of her daughters.Muv: The Story of the Mitford Girls' Mother offers a wealth of new information about the Mitfords, including from unpublished sources and conversations with Lady Redesdale's descendants, and is a must-read for any Mitford fan.Trethewey is the author of six books, including The Churchill Girls, and received the Antonia Fraser Grant from the Society of Authors for Mothers of the Mind.