THE MOTHER OF ALL MITFORDS

Lady 'Muv' Redesdale was as eccentric and misguided as her six notorious daughters, says biographer RACHEL TRETHEWEY in her new book about the British aristocrat

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FEW SMILES: The Mitford family (top, L-R) mother Lady 'Muv' Redesdale, Nancy, Tom and father Lord 'Farve' Redesdale; (middle) Diana and Pamela; (bottom) Unity, Jessica and Deborah

EVERYONE knows about the six flamboyant Mitford girls, particularly since the release of the sensational TV drama, Outrageous. But there were in fact seven exceptional women in the famous family — the seventh being Sydney Redesdale, known to her notorious daughters as “Muv”.

Too often falsely portrayed being outside the girl gang or notably different from them, Lady Redesdale was really the original member. Much of her daughters’ strong will, self-confidence and interest in politics came from her. Yet Sydney was a divisive figure among her daughters; for Nancy and Jessica, she was often cast as a sinner, and for Unity, Diana, Debo and Pam, more of a saint.

Biographers have been equally divided. Many wondered how such extraordinary children could spring from such ordinary parents — but was Sydney really so ordinary? One thing all her daughters agreed on was that their mother was “so very unusual”.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the publication of Nancy Mitford’s novel, The Pursuit Of Love. Most people only know Muv through Aunt Sadie, the character in the book based on Lady Redesdale. But Sydney was a far cry from this vague, one-dimensional figure.

While the character is forgettable and flimsy compared to her husband, the blustering — raging but hilarious Uncle Matthew — the real woman was far more interesting than the real-life “Farve”, as he was known. Muv was as eccentric, opinionated and as ultimately misguided as her more extreme daughters and, before they were born, she had adventures of her own which rivalled their escapades.