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A unique window on an extraordinary life lived with tremendous zest, discrimination, and intelligence
The Duchess of Devonshire is the youngest of the Mitford siblings, the famous brood that includes the writers Nancy and Jessica. Like them, she has lived an unusually full and remarkable life, and like them she has an inimitable expressive gift. In Counting My Chickens, she has gathered extracts from her diaries and other writings to create a multifaceted portrait of her life at Chatsworth, the home of the Dukes of Devonshire, that is pithy, hilarious, wise, and always richly rewarding.
Under the Duchess's inspired supervision, Chatsworth has become one of England's most frequently visited great houses, welcoming over 400,000 visitors a year. The Duchess reveals what it takes to keep such an establishment alive and prospering, tells of transporting a goat by train from the Scottish island of Mull to London, discusses having her portrait painted by Lucian Freud, and provides rich reminisces of growing up a Mitford--along with telling anecdotes about friends from Evelyn Waugh to John F. Kennedy. From Tom Stoppard's adoring Introduction to the author's meditation on the beauty of Elvis Presley's voice, COUNTING MY CHICKENS offers continuous surprise and delight.
- Sales Rank: #444089 in Books
- Published on: 2002-10-15
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.40" h x .79" w x 4.46" l, .65 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 208 pages
From Publishers Weekly
The duchess of Devonshire, youngest of the famous Mitford siblings, is best known for Chatsworth, her historic Derbyshire home, which she keeps open for more than 400,000 visitors each year. Unlike sisters Nancy or Jessica, the duchess is probably a better estate manager than a writer as Stoppard puts it, as "a literary moll, the Duchess is a hoot." This slim volume collects many previously published pieces, however, some of the works are not readily available to American readers (e.g., the British Goat Society Yearbook). Some dwell on the idiocies of modern life: impenetrable packaging, incomprehensible remote control devices for televisions and the ubiquity of consultants. A few revisit Mitford family history, the best being Deborah's account of bringing her goat from the Hebrides to sister Nancy's house in London in 1939, while others discuss obscure British writers. It's when she comes to livestock and gardens that the duchess hits her stride. Her description of the "five stages of gardening" is hilarious: people "begin by liking flowers, progress to flowering shrubs, then autumn foliage and berries; next they go for leaves, and finally the underneaths of leaves." While many of the duchess's pronouncements incite reactionary sentiments e.g., she'd "do away with" women "who want to join men's clubs" and "female weather forecasters," and she'd like to bring back "housewives" and "nurses in uniform" American readers, at least, may find it camp rather than offensive. Reading the duchess is a bit like visiting an old aunt: you swallow the dreary bits politely, knowing there will be a few delightful morsels when you least expect them.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
There is charm here, but it depends on how you respond tosentences such as, "In the 1930s, my parents bought a small island offthe coast of Mull." The duchess is the youngest of the Mitfords, Nancyand Jessica's baby sister. Chatsworth, her family estate, is athriving tourist destination as well as the place where shelives. Borrowing from writings, diaries, and letters, and carefullyfootnoting each person mentioned (Uncle Harold is Harold Macmillan),she decries environmentalists, feminists, and consultants. However,she writes lightly but amusingly about what it takes to make a statelyhome attractive (toilets and a good shop); the glories of a Camelliajaponica Alba Plena that has bloomed at Chatsworth since the 1840s;and how she got a goat from the Hebrides to her sister Nancy's housein London. Her opening page, about how hard it is to start a bookproperly, is worth the price of admission. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"[Counting My Chickens] is more entertaining than anything I could say about it." --P.J. Kavanaugh, The Spectator
"Many distinguished people have known the pleasures of a ducal weekend at Chatsworth--not least Sir Tom Stoppard, who has provided an affectionate introduction. For those of us less fortunate, this charming collection of family stories, portraits of friends, thoughts on this and that, and snapshots of life at the great house is the next best thing. The tales of the Duchess's Mitford childhood come wonderfully fresh-minted . . . 'just the entertainment for a winter's night.'" --Christopher Matthew, The Daily Mail (London)
Most helpful customer reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful.
A Small Jewel From the Last Mitford Girl
By John D. Cofield
Counting My Chickens is a collection of newspaper and magazine columns by Deborah Freeman-Mitford Cavendish, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire. "Debo" is the youngest and only surviving Mitford Girl, the fabulous daughters of Lord and Lady Redesdale who scandalized and delighted the British and the world from the 1930s onward.
Although this is a very short book cut into many small, fairly unconnected segments, there is nevertheless much that charms. The celebrated Mitford wit,most clearly displayed by Debo's sisters Nancy and Jessica, is in evidence, particularly in the sections that deal with Debo's childhood and early adult years (she once traveled by train from Scotland with a goat, milking it in first class waiting rooms on the way.)
Also in evidence is the extraordinariness of Debo's life as wife of a Duke and as chatelaine of one of England's great mansions, Chatsworth House. She casually drops names like Harold Macmillan and John Kennedy (both of whom were indirectly related to her husband) and at the same time records some of the merriments and aggravations that come with having your home on display to tourists several months each year. Occasionally Debo will drop a barbed comment or two on the silliness of some politicians and visitors, but for the most part she is soft spoken and accomodating.
Few Duchesses have written or revealed much about their lives, so its nice that one has done so now, at a time when the House of Lords is being democratized and the aristocracy must seem more anachronistic than ever.
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful.
Last chaper was the best
By A reader
I've given this book only four stars because it wasn't long enough! I would have liked to read more about her childhood from her point of view. Nancy's stories about it were from another vantage since she was 16 when Deborah was born.
I wasn't bored by this book at all. Have been reading about the Mitfords this summer and fall and am interested in their way of life which is so different than mine.
I don't mind the footnotes telling who people are. Some I knew, others I had never heard of. I didn't think the use of footnotes was excessive, but then I read a lot of books that have footnotes so am not concerned about them.
The Duchess has been very successful with managing Chatsworth House and I admire her for that. Her wit and wisdom come through as she writes matter-of-factly about her life. She doesn't sound stuffy at all. I wish I could visit Chatsworth and meet her.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Wonderful! What a delightful and beautiful book
By Xerlan J. Deery
Counting My Chickens... and Other Home Thoughts Wonderful! What a delightful and beautiful book. Such wisdom and sass!
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