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Diana Mosley by Anne De Courcy
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Diana Mosley (edition 2004)

by Anne De Courcy

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266899,908 (3.79)5
Diana Mosley was a society beauty who fell from grace when she left her husband, brewery heir Bryan Guinness, for Sir Oswald Mosley, an admirer of Mussolini and a notorious womanizer. This horrified her family and scandalized society. In 1933, Diana met the new German leader, Adolf Hitler. They became close friends and he attended her wedding as the guest of honor. During the war, the Mosleys' association with Hitler led them to be arrested and interned for three and a half years. Diana's relationships with Hitler and Mosley defined her life in the public eye and marked her as a woman who possessed a singular lack of empathy for those less blessed at birth. Anne de Courcy's revealing biography chronicles one of the most intriguing, controversial women of the twentieth century. It is a riveting tell-all memoir of a leading society hostess, a woman with intimate access to the highest literary, political, and social circles of her time. Written with Mosley's exclusive cooperation and based upon hundreds of hours of taped interviews and unprecedented access to her private papers, letters, and diaries, Lady Mosley's only stipulation was that the book not be published until after her death.… (more)
Member:Bookoholic73
Title:Diana Mosley
Authors:Anne De Courcy
Info:Vintage (2004), Edition: New Ed, Paperback, 448 pages
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Tags:biography

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Diana Mosley: Mitford Beauty, British Fascist, Hitler's Angel by Anne de Courcy

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Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
Excellent and very readable biography about a fascinating but flawed woman. Done with a scholarly approach - this is not a 'tabloiud' biography - and the author is scrupulously neutral rather than being judgemental, although nothing bad is held back. ( )
  ponsonby | Feb 21, 2024 |
I very well written book, and the first I have read of the life of Diana Mosley exclusively, although I have read several books of the wider Mitford family. Compared to many women of her time she did seem to be a good mother to her four sons, certainly more so than Mosley. I liked that she did not seem to be overly extravagant, although of course travel and holidays were always affordable. In terms of her own, and her sister Unity's, relationship with Hitler, there seems to have been an unbelievable naivety, but they did not have the benefit of hindsight that we now have. Although I felt that she was of strong character, her weakness was that she seemed to 'hero worship' both her second husband and Hitler. I felt this was a very readable book, and at times found it hard to put down. ( )
  Carole46 | Jul 17, 2020 |
A rather conflicting read. I've had a long fascination with the Mitford sisters and Diana is very much a Mitford with all the charm and beauty of her class and family, but she was also obsessively dedicated to her fascist second husband Oswald Mosley. Although the author talks of their great love for each other, reading between the lines it becomes obvious that this was a one sided obsession - with Mosely continuing the affairs for which he was notorious, and being extremely demanding to the devoted Diana (even resenting the time she spent at the deathbed of her sister Nancy). Her early married life echoed that of Idina Sackville (The Bolter) who left her husband and two young sons for another man. I enjoyed finding the parallels with Nancy Mitford's fictional characters but I found the politics, in particular her friendship with Hitler, and her anti-semitism profoundly uncomfortable, and a reminder that evil isn't only banal but can be actively charming. A worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in history and early twentieth century politics and with alarming resonances today. ( )
  Figgles | May 26, 2019 |
Absolutely fascinating. I'd run across references to the Mitford sisters in my reading, but really didn't have much knowledge about them. ( )
  liz.mabry | Sep 11, 2013 |
Not bad - though when I put it down because of going on holiday and not wanting to take a mostly-read big hardback with me, it took a while before I could be bothered to pick it up again.

The earlier parts about the Mitford family were quite fascinating; an insight into the sort of milieu that Lord Peter Wimsey and Bertie Wooster moved in, but from a realistic angle. The Hitler years and the war years when Diana was in prison were also very interesting from a historical point of view, as well as in a horrified fascination where you look agog as Diana Mitford disclaims all sorts of Nazo atrocities, spouts racist views, and so forth. ( )
  comixminx | Apr 5, 2013 |
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Exceptional beauty is an attribute which defines its possessor's life.
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Diana Mosley was a society beauty who fell from grace when she left her husband, brewery heir Bryan Guinness, for Sir Oswald Mosley, an admirer of Mussolini and a notorious womanizer. This horrified her family and scandalized society. In 1933, Diana met the new German leader, Adolf Hitler. They became close friends and he attended her wedding as the guest of honor. During the war, the Mosleys' association with Hitler led them to be arrested and interned for three and a half years. Diana's relationships with Hitler and Mosley defined her life in the public eye and marked her as a woman who possessed a singular lack of empathy for those less blessed at birth. Anne de Courcy's revealing biography chronicles one of the most intriguing, controversial women of the twentieth century. It is a riveting tell-all memoir of a leading society hostess, a woman with intimate access to the highest literary, political, and social circles of her time. Written with Mosley's exclusive cooperation and based upon hundreds of hours of taped interviews and unprecedented access to her private papers, letters, and diaries, Lady Mosley's only stipulation was that the book not be published until after her death.

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