Since I was very young and visited Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, I have been fascinated by the house and those who have lived in it over a very long time.
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Via Wikipedia
I had another visit there when staying with a cousin of my late husband several years ago. It has lost none of its fascination for me. In fact, I think that it increased following that visit.
I had bought and read “Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire” some years ago and again that only served to increase my interest in Chatsworth House and the Devonshires.
And then this morning on our local radio program I heard Deborah the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire being interviewed about her latest book –” Wait for Me”.
The Mitford Family – Wikipedia
Deborah was the youngest of the Mitford sisters. How amazing that six sisters could all have had such eventful and interesting lives. If you are interested in reading more about this family of six girls and one boy click here. and for a recent interview Deborah had with Stephen Moss at The Guardian click here. This 91 year old is yet another example of the active, older ladies I keep coming across.
And I just love this quote from an interview earlier last year. “Being a duchess doesn’t save you from official forms. “When I had to fill in my occupation, I used to put ‘housewife’,” says the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire. “Because that’s what I was: the wife of a house… Well, three houses, as it happened.” How very very refreshing and down to earth.
I am quite sure that Deborah is my favorite of the sisters but if you want some more information on this fascinating family, without traipsing to the library to pick up a book go to Booked All Week
So I am off to the library to pick up, or perhaps reserve a copy of “Wait For Me”.
“The only thing that makes one place more attractive to me than another is the quantity of heart I find in it.” Jane Welsh Carlyle, Scottish Poet 1801-1866
Related Articles
- Blog to watch: The Duchess of Devonshire’s Gossip Guide (jasact.wordpress.com)
- The Duchess of Devonshire: Discreet charm of the aristocracy (economist.com)
- The sisters; Saga of the Mitford Sisters
I choose how I will spend the rest of my life 