I watched last night, and loved it. So tell me, which part was played by Thaw's daughter? I don't remember the name, so what did she DO? I gather she was neither of the young women: Pamela or Helen.
"Next week will be a place in Devonshire."
Chatsworth! Probably the most fabulous of all the amazing homes in Great Britain. Only it is NOT in Devonshire. It is in Derbyshire.
You see, Queen Elizabeth got mixed up. The first one. The red headed virgin.
She was supposed to tap her sword on this man's shoulders and declare him Duke of Derbyshire. But she slipped and said Devonshire instead. And so there is another inexplicable and fun thing to tell about those wonderful British Isles.
The Dukes of Devonshire have held their estate in Derbyshire for centuries. It was on the top of David's list of things he wanted to see when we went to England in 1971. So we did. We spent the better part of a day there.
I have been fascinated with the six famous Mitford sisters since I read Jessica Mitford's THE AMERICAN WAY OF DEATH in the early sixties. I bought (and own) every book the sisters ever wrote, or was written about them. I have what might be termed an eccentric collection. Some of which I have passed on to my history teaching PH.D. granddaughter, Paige. She will eventually, at my death, receive the whole thing.
Deborah Mitford, the baby of the family, married the 2nd son of the then Duke of Devonshire. Son number one, the adored heir, was killed in World War II. Suddenly Debo was in line to become the duchess. And so she did. And single handedly saved Chatsworth for another generation. No one ever expected her to become an author like her much more famous sisters; but she did. Look her up! She is the Dowager now, and her son is the Duke. Her 5 sisters are all dead.
