suggested that she might learn German and as Tom was studying German in Vienna, she asked her parents if she might do so too. Needless to say, after the Paris debacle, they refused point blank.
The following year, 1928, was Diana’s debutante season and within weeks she had met and fallen in love with Bryan Guinness. Boredom over, she eventually overcame her parents’ opposition on account of their age – she was 18 and he was 22 when they met – and they were married at St Margaret’s church, Westminster, the following year, on 29 January 1929. It was the ‘society wedding of the year’ but it was somewhat marred for Diana by the fact that Decca and Debo, who had looked forward to the event with wild excitement, went down with an unidentified infectious disease and could not be bridesmaids. It was left to 14-year-old Unity, who was very self-conscious about her height and her straight, sticking-out fair hair and who definitely did not want to be a bridesmaid, to represent the family.
Following Diana’s engagement to Bryan, Pam became engaged to Oliver Watney, a member of another brewing family. Nancy, obviously not wanting to be the elder sister ‘left on the shelf’, announced that she was unofficially engaged to Hamish St Clair-Erskine, who was four years younger and unsuitable in many ways, not least because he was homosexual, a fact which Nancy seemed unaware of or simply did not want to admit. Sydney and David were against it, as was Tom, who had had a brief affair with Hamish at Eton before deciding that he preferred women. But Hamish was intensely amusing and to be amused was what Nancy loved best. The ‘engagement’ dragged on for four years but eventually came to nothing.
In 1928 Nancy persuaded her parents to let her attend the Slade School of Art but she lasted there only a month, being told by the director of the school that she had no talent. This upset her greatly and she began to write short gossip pieces instead for glossy magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar . She then talked herself into a job with the family magazine, The Lady , and not long afterwards her first novel, Highland Fling , was published. The Lady Writer was on her way.
Unity was shy and sensitive as a small child. When something which upset her was said at mealtimes she would slide under the table and not come out until she felt like doing so. This was understood and no one took any notice. She also had a strange diet for some time, eating nothing but mashed potatoes. However, a liking for strawberries at the age of 6 got her into real trouble. She and her cousin Christopher Bailey, also given to mischief, once ate all the strawberries in the greenhouse, which were being kept for a special occasion. This was one of the stories, much related, which became part of Mitford family history.
Unity drew well and could memorise reams of poetry by heart, but as she grew up she became very boisterous and had a habit of picking up Miss Dell, one of the many governesses, who was very small, and putting her on the sideboard. As Miss Dell also taught the children the art of shoplifting, she didn’t last long, and Miss Hussey, her successor, was constantly sending Unity to confess her antics to her mother. Miss Hussey suggested that boarding school might be a good idea but in the end it was Unity’s constant nagging that persuaded David and Sydney to send her to St Margaret’s School, Bushey, in January 1929. Although she could be moody and wilful, her parents had little trouble with her as a child and she was loved in the family for her hilarity and sense of humour. In a family of individuals, she was possibly the most eccentric, but this eccentricity did not go down well at St Margaret’s and she was eventually asked to leave, though, according to Sydney, she was heartbroken and always remembered the school with affection.
Her behaviour continued to be somewhat disruptive, however, and legend has it that she took great delight
The following year, 1928, was Diana’s debutante season and within weeks she had met and fallen in love with Bryan Guinness. Boredom over, she eventually overcame her parents’ opposition on account of their age – she was 18 and he was 22 when they met – and they were married at St Margaret’s church, Westminster, the following year, on 29 January 1929. It was the ‘society wedding of the year’ but it was somewhat marred for Diana by the fact that Decca and Debo, who had looked forward to the event with wild excitement, went down with an unidentified infectious disease and could not be bridesmaids. It was left to 14-year-old Unity, who was very self-conscious about her height and her straight, sticking-out fair hair and who definitely did not want to be a bridesmaid, to represent the family.
Following Diana’s engagement to Bryan, Pam became engaged to Oliver Watney, a member of another brewing family. Nancy, obviously not wanting to be the elder sister ‘left on the shelf’, announced that she was unofficially engaged to Hamish St Clair-Erskine, who was four years younger and unsuitable in many ways, not least because he was homosexual, a fact which Nancy seemed unaware of or simply did not want to admit. Sydney and David were against it, as was Tom, who had had a brief affair with Hamish at Eton before deciding that he preferred women. But Hamish was intensely amusing and to be amused was what Nancy loved best. The ‘engagement’ dragged on for four years but eventually came to nothing.
In 1928 Nancy persuaded her parents to let her attend the Slade School of Art but she lasted there only a month, being told by the director of the school that she had no talent. This upset her greatly and she began to write short gossip pieces instead for glossy magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar . She then talked herself into a job with the family magazine, The Lady , and not long afterwards her first novel, Highland Fling , was published. The Lady Writer was on her way.
Unity was shy and sensitive as a small child. When something which upset her was said at mealtimes she would slide under the table and not come out until she felt like doing so. This was understood and no one took any notice. She also had a strange diet for some time, eating nothing but mashed potatoes. However, a liking for strawberries at the age of 6 got her into real trouble. She and her cousin Christopher Bailey, also given to mischief, once ate all the strawberries in the greenhouse, which were being kept for a special occasion. This was one of the stories, much related, which became part of Mitford family history.
Unity drew well and could memorise reams of poetry by heart, but as she grew up she became very boisterous and had a habit of picking up Miss Dell, one of the many governesses, who was very small, and putting her on the sideboard. As Miss Dell also taught the children the art of shoplifting, she didn’t last long, and Miss Hussey, her successor, was constantly sending Unity to confess her antics to her mother. Miss Hussey suggested that boarding school might be a good idea but in the end it was Unity’s constant nagging that persuaded David and Sydney to send her to St Margaret’s School, Bushey, in January 1929. Although she could be moody and wilful, her parents had little trouble with her as a child and she was loved in the family for her hilarity and sense of humour. In a family of individuals, she was possibly the most eccentric, but this eccentricity did not go down well at St Margaret’s and she was eventually asked to leave, though, according to Sydney, she was heartbroken and always remembered the school with affection.
Her behaviour continued to be somewhat disruptive, however, and legend has it that she took great delight
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