¡Esperadme!: Memorias de la duquesa de Devonshire
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- Create Date：2022-12-03 01:18:36
- Update Date：2025-09-24
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- Author：Deborah Mitford
- ISBN：8418800372
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Summary
Unas memorias singularísimas de la familia Mitford， escritas por una de las autoras más conocidas e importantes del siglo xx。
Deborah Mitford， o Debo， como siempre la conocieron todos sus amigos， duquesa de Devonshire， fue la más pequeña de las hermanas Mitford， una de las familias más singulares si no de la historia sí de las últimas décadas con absoluta certeza。 Este libro， un auténtico monumento familiar a los Mitford， ejerce a modo de crónica auténticamente memorable de una vida vivida al límite。 De una infancia singular， cuando menos， pero feliz en la campiña de Oxfordshire， al té en compañía de su hermana Unity y Hitler allá por el año 1937， o su matrimonio con Andrew Cavendish， el segundo hijo del duque de Devonshire。
Escritas con la calidez propia de la nostalgia， estas memorias constituyen un retrato único y certero de una época tumultuosa， esplendorosa y de cambio。 El vestigio de un mundo largo tiempo olvidado。
Deborah Mitford， o Debo， como siempre la conocieron todos sus amigos， duquesa de Devonshire， fue la más pequeña de las hermanas Mitford， una de las familias más singulares si no de la historia sí de las últimas décadas con absoluta certeza。 Este libro， un auténtico monumento familiar a los Mitford， ejerce a modo de crónica auténticamente memorable de una vida vivida al límite。 De una infancia singular， cuando menos， pero feliz en la campiña de Oxfordshire， al té en compañía de su hermana Unity y Hitler allá por el año 1937， o su matrimonio con Andrew Cavendish， el segundo hijo del duque de Devonshire。
Escritas con la calidez propia de la nostalgia， estas memorias constituyen un retrato único y certero de una época tumultuosa， esplendorosa y de cambio。 El vestigio de un mundo largo tiempo olvidado。
Reviews
Margaret Conmey
，
Disappointing I loved Debo’s letters in the collection of letters between the Mitford girls but this lacked the humour of her lettersIt read as a series of ‘lists’ of things done ， places visited etcI was hoping her memoirs would be more revealing if her feelings but the letters （ edited by Charlotte Mosley） were more interesting
Kylie
，
A lot of gardens and pets。 Better of watching Downton。
Hattie
，
Loved the first part of this book （nothing better than weird childhood games etc） but it became less interesting when she becomes a duchess and goes to lots of dinners。 （Although she did meet a lot of famous historical figures）。 She was surprisingly tolerant towards various family members’ love of facism/Hitler。 “Diana was an unwilling girl guide and played the organ in church， putting into practice her theory that “Tea for Two”， if played slowly enough， did very well as a voluntary。”“Nancy appe Loved the first part of this book （nothing better than weird childhood games etc） but it became less interesting when she becomes a duchess and goes to lots of dinners。 （Although she did meet a lot of famous historical figures）。 She was surprisingly tolerant towards various family members’ love of facism/Hitler。 “Diana was an unwilling girl guide and played the organ in church， putting into practice her theory that “Tea for Two”， if played slowly enough， did very well as a voluntary。”“Nancy appeared quite often in this dreary disguise and once took in Mabel， who showed her into the drawing room。”“My father waited for a pause in the conversation and said loudly to my mother at the other end of the table， ‘Have these people no homes of their own？” ““He had noticed that among the children living in London， the Jewish ones were the healthiest， and decided to bring up his own family according to the dietary laws of the Old Testament。”“Once again， the tramp was Nancy”“Yes mr Wyndham is very elusive。 I am looking for him too。”Accepting a job because the guy’s writing paper had a fritillary growing up the side is the kind of thing I would do 。。。more
Caro
，
Despues de haber leído las esplendidas novelas de Nancy Mitford， donde retrata de forma hilarante a su peculiar familia o las estupendas memorias de Jessica Mitford， Nobles y rebeldes， estas memorias resultan un poco frías， quizá debido a la diferencia de edad， ya que Deborah fue la última de las hermanas y sus diez o quince años de diferencia entre las mayores hicieran que su vida infantil， adolescente y juvenil fuese distinta a la de las hermanas。El primer tercio de la obra es bastante similar Despues de haber leído las esplendidas novelas de Nancy Mitford， donde retrata de forma hilarante a su peculiar familia o las estupendas memorias de Jessica Mitford， Nobles y rebeldes， estas memorias resultan un poco frías， quizá debido a la diferencia de edad， ya que Deborah fue la última de las hermanas y sus diez o quince años de diferencia entre las mayores hicieran que su vida infantil， adolescente y juvenil fuese distinta a la de las hermanas。El primer tercio de la obra es bastante similar a lo que cuenta Nancy en sus novelas o a las memorias de Jessica， pero una vez que contrae matrimonio， muy joven， con el futuro duque de Devonshire es una interminable sucesión de cambios de casa， nombres de personajes famosos y realeza con los que se codean， resulta una especie de Quien es quien de la época y bastante agotador。 Le falta el humor y la ironía que hacen gala y tan bien les sale a sus dos hermanas， cierto que tuvo una vida interesante y conocer a personajes importantes de la nobleza， el arte， la literatura… es enriquecedor， pero le falta chispa。 。。。more
Jean
，
Enjoyed it very much。 A complement to other books I've read about the Mitford sisters。 Deborah certainly had a long and productive life of her own， with accomplishments in her own right， particularly her long career at Chatsworth。 It was interesting also to get an inside view of so many other famous people whom she knew well。 Enjoyed it very much。 A complement to other books I've read about the Mitford sisters。 Deborah certainly had a long and productive life of her own， with accomplishments in her own right， particularly her long career at Chatsworth。 It was interesting also to get an inside view of so many other famous people whom she knew well。 。。。more
Jan C
，
Very interesting。 Wasn't aware that I had been reading this for 8 years。 Kind of off and on for most of it。Really didn't appreciate that Kindle stopped showing how much longer was in the chapter or even in the book。 There's probably some secret way to find out but I don't know it。 That didn't detract from the book though。I assumed we were winding up when she told us about her dying sisters and husband。 Enjoyed her talking about Chatsworth and how they brought it back。 Of course， it did mean havi Very interesting。 Wasn't aware that I had been reading this for 8 years。 Kind of off and on for most of it。Really didn't appreciate that Kindle stopped showing how much longer was in the chapter or even in the book。 There's probably some secret way to find out but I don't know it。 That didn't detract from the book though。I assumed we were winding up when she told us about her dying sisters and husband。 Enjoyed her talking about Chatsworth and how they brought it back。 Of course， it did mean having tourists come through and opening stores and things。Appreciated her inclusion of her journal entries relating to the inauguration and funeral of John F。 Kennedy。 I'd been reading this so long I'd forgotten that he was her brother-in-law。 His sister Kick had married Andrew's brother and they had all known each other since at least WWII。 。。。more
Tony Siciliano
，
I was hoping the youngest Mitford sibling would provide some wonderful insight into this outrageously eccentric， brilliant， confusing， disgraceful， tragic family。 There are a few shreds of interesting material， but the book is tedious overall。 One learns about all the rich， famous， powerful people the author has met， the fabulous homes in which she was entertained， and how fabulously fabulous it all was。 Every character is two-dimensional。 The author's sister， Nancy Mitford， said Deborah had the I was hoping the youngest Mitford sibling would provide some wonderful insight into this outrageously eccentric， brilliant， confusing， disgraceful， tragic family。 There are a few shreds of interesting material， but the book is tedious overall。 One learns about all the rich， famous， powerful people the author has met， the fabulous homes in which she was entertained， and how fabulously fabulous it all was。 Every character is two-dimensional。 The author's sister， Nancy Mitford， said Deborah had the mind of a nine year-old。 If it were meant as a compliment， it was much exaggerated。 。。。more
Pam Mezaraups
，
Have always been entranced by the six Mitford sisters。。。particularly their individual passions and life 。 styles and direction。 This is a memoir of "Debo" Deborah Mitford who became the Duchess of Devonshire。 One thing you quickly learn is that being incredibly wealthy ain't all that easy， particularly if you have large pieces of property to care for and farms and a phalanx of employees。 Chatsworth has 279 rooms other castles in Derbyshire， farms and herds of sheep etc。 as well as stores at Cha Have always been entranced by the six Mitford sisters。。。particularly their individual passions and life 。 styles and direction。 This is a memoir of "Debo" Deborah Mitford who became the Duchess of Devonshire。 One thing you quickly learn is that being incredibly wealthy ain't all that easy， particularly if you have large pieces of property to care for and farms and a phalanx of employees。 Chatsworth has 279 rooms other castles in Derbyshire， farms and herds of sheep etc。 as well as stores at Chatsworth。。。。all taking from the budget and needing to be cared for as well as contributing to the budget。 And the Duke and Duchess spent a great deal of time in public service， chairing many associations。 But also there was great fun like Ascot， Balls with costumes， Hunting parties， Horse racing parties。 And there were great and enduring friendships in family and friends。 A good read。 。。。more
Russell
，
Deborah Mitford's memoir reveals her to be one of the more conventional of the Mitford sisters， yet still living a quite interesting life。 Deborah Mitford， later Duchess of Devonshire upon her husband's inheriting the title Duke of Devonshire， came of age in a sheltered community of similarly privileged young men and women。 This made her friends with many famous and infamous people， including "Uncle Harold" （Prime Minister Harold Macmillan）， Cecil Beaton， Evelyn Waugh， John F。 Kennedy， and， not Deborah Mitford's memoir reveals her to be one of the more conventional of the Mitford sisters， yet still living a quite interesting life。 Deborah Mitford， later Duchess of Devonshire upon her husband's inheriting the title Duke of Devonshire， came of age in a sheltered community of similarly privileged young men and women。 This made her friends with many famous and infamous people， including "Uncle Harold" （Prime Minister Harold Macmillan）， Cecil Beaton， Evelyn Waugh， John F。 Kennedy， and， not least， her own sisters。 As she recounts it， she tried to use her privileged position to do good things in the world， including helping to rescue the great Chatsworth estate from ruin， turning it into the self-sustaining tourist draw it is today。 。。。more
Kristen
，
Interesting first hand bits of history， but hard to follow at points if you aren’t familiar with the figures she is referencing。 Would have been great to read more about her relationship with Andrew and her children/grandchildren。
Susan Long
，
This book takes you to a rarefied world and time and how fate played such a huge part in transforming the author’s life。 Sadly， she and a majority of those mentioned have passed， but her insights are enthralling and don’t miss the two appendix entries。 Having owned this book for years， so glad I found it again on my shelves and finished it。
Christine
，
Do you seek the authentic voice of mid-century English aristocracy？ Enquire within。
Joanie November
，
The autobiography of the youngest Mitford sister who was also the Duchess of Devonshire。 Due to her， the Devonshire’s grand houses made it through the period of huge country house tear downs。 She was involved in many events of the 20th century so hearing about them from her poin of view is fascinating。 Two of her sisters being friends with Hitler， and she herself was friends of JFK and attended both his inauguration and his funeral with the Kennedy family。
Nancy
，
How do I describe my fascination with the Mitford sisters？ Reading about them， especially reading about them BY them， is like watching a particularly interesting 1930's version of Downton Abbey。 I love their nicknames， reading about their interests and their divergent politics and I liked "Debo's" （Duchess of Devonshire） take on everyone。 She was the youngest of the sisters （Pam， Diana， Nancy， Jessica， Unity & Deborah） and witnessed their full lives and all their foibles。 When Debo talks about m How do I describe my fascination with the Mitford sisters？ Reading about them， especially reading about them BY them， is like watching a particularly interesting 1930's version of Downton Abbey。 I love their nicknames， reading about their interests and their divergent politics and I liked "Debo's" （Duchess of Devonshire） take on everyone。 She was the youngest of the sisters （Pam， Diana， Nancy， Jessica， Unity & Deborah） and witnessed their full lives and all their foibles。 When Debo talks about meeting someone who was the only "true eccentric" she ever met， I burst out laughing。 If the Mitford's were not eccentric I am Santa Claus！！ But I guess everyone has their own standards。If you can get over the chapter or two which endlessly describes their entertaining habits （after a while it's all so many flowers， tents and good china so that it begins to run together a bit）， the rest is fascinating， especially for fans of the Mitford sisters。 This book may have a very select audience in mind， but I loved it and am now moving on to read and re-read about the other Mitford Women 。 。。。more
soffi
，
Oh dear。 She really despised Nancy， didn’t she？
Aimée
，
3 1/2 stars。 Moderately interesting peek into the sensibilities and lifestyle of UC Britain in the early 20th c。
Ang
，
This was。。。。not good。 I think it's pretty clear that Debo was uh， not the best writer in the family。 But also， all this book is is one long gossip column。 Like， hideously large amounts of name-dropping and weird party descriptions and。。。yeah， it's not what I was looking for。 For the amount of words I read， I should know something MORE about this woman， and yet。 I do not。 This was。。。。not good。 I think it's pretty clear that Debo was uh， not the best writer in the family。 But also， all this book is is one long gossip column。 Like， hideously large amounts of name-dropping and weird party descriptions and。。。yeah， it's not what I was looking for。 For the amount of words I read， I should know something MORE about this woman， and yet。 I do not。 。。。more
Clare Mallette
，
Very interesting life， and family。
stefan
，
So， you are the youngest of a bunch of sisters from an aristocratic family and some of them became successful writers？ Does this automatically mean you should take to writing too？ Not necessarily， IMHO。In the present case， Deborah Devonshire， Duchess of Cavendish， to be precise， and one of the famous Mitford sisters， wrote about her life and times。 She was in her late 80s or thereabouts when she wrote her book and basically gives us a rundown of Burke's Peerage and the manors， residences and par So， you are the youngest of a bunch of sisters from an aristocratic family and some of them became successful writers？ Does this automatically mean you should take to writing too？ Not necessarily， IMHO。In the present case， Deborah Devonshire， Duchess of Cavendish， to be precise， and one of the famous Mitford sisters， wrote about her life and times。 She was in her late 80s or thereabouts when she wrote her book and basically gives us a rundown of Burke's Peerage and the manors， residences and parties where she met all those umpteenth Something of Somewhere and their distant cousins。 Very soon into the book I lost track of who's who but didn't want to DNF the book as it is not entirely without merit， because in between descriptions of parties and other social events （e。g。 hunts） there are rare moments of introspection。 I also liked her glimpses into the long years of post-WW II food rationing in the UK （which only ended in 1954）。 Towards the end， the book becomes way more interesting when she elaborates on how hard it was for the Cavendishes to hold on to the family seat Chatsworth while also meeting their death duties obligations。All in all， it's a so-so read， although Truman Capote probably would have said， "That's not writing， that's typing。" And he would have been right。 。。。more
Shirley Campbell
，
Ok far too many characters I'd never heard of and the nicknames were a pain took me ages to realise DD was the Duchess but she certainly had an interesting life Ok far too many characters I'd never heard of and the nicknames were a pain took me ages to realise DD was the Duchess but she certainly had an interesting life 。。。more
David Ellis
，
Lent to me by a friend， this is not the sort of thing I would naturally have picked up。 The early years description of an aristocratic upbringing with nannies， ponies and debs “coming out” was a bit trying， and the family’s dalliance with fascism was not attractive。 Nonetheless she had a long and busy life， meeting everyone from kings and queens to JFK， and the story of taking over and running the huge Chatsworth estate was interesting。
Rachel
，
I read a couple of chapters， then looked at the photos， which were interesting。 Skipped ahead to her tea with Hitler， which thoroughly disgusted me （he was kind and considerate to her and her sister）。 I then skipped through and read a few more sections。 Quit after she trashed her sister Jessica's behavior when Deborah visited her in California。 I read a couple of chapters， then looked at the photos， which were interesting。 Skipped ahead to her tea with Hitler， which thoroughly disgusted me （he was kind and considerate to her and her sister）。 I then skipped through and read a few more sections。 Quit after she trashed her sister Jessica's behavior when Deborah visited her in California。 。。。more
Rachel Boothe
，
I became fascinated by Deborah （Mitford） Cavendish， Duchess of Devonshire， after reading about her in the previous books I have read on the Mitford sisters。 She was one of the only two Mitford sisters， including Pam， who was sane， in my oponion。 She married Andrew Cavendish， the second son of the Duke of Devonshire， never expecting to be the next Duchess。 However， his oldest brother was killed in WWI， so Andrew became the heir。 When they inherited the family properties， they also inherited 80% d I became fascinated by Deborah （Mitford） Cavendish， Duchess of Devonshire， after reading about her in the previous books I have read on the Mitford sisters。 She was one of the only two Mitford sisters， including Pam， who was sane， in my oponion。 She married Andrew Cavendish， the second son of the Duke of Devonshire， never expecting to be the next Duchess。 However， his oldest brother was killed in WWI， so Andrew became the heir。 When they inherited the family properties， they also inherited 80% death duties。 Deborah's entreprenurialship helped save Chatsworth， the main family seat， from being lost。 All of this is pretty well-known。 However， this book is much more than that。 It is the story of her very interesting life from her friendship with various authors and artists， politicians， the Kennedy family， all the way to the Britiah royal family。 As another reviewer said， it seems mythical except that it is true。 Although I enjoyed the book， there were parts of it that I found a little boring， particularly her descriptions of their many properties。 These boring parts were the reason I gave it four stars instead of five。 。。。more
Jen Crichton
，
Deborah is not the writer her Mitford sisters are， yet this book provides the exact and accurate details Jessica and Nancy’s books lack — precisely because Deborah doesn’t bring to her book the narrative force and imagination found in her sisters’ accounts。 If you enjoy studying old photos to see how people actually lived， you might enjoy this look at upper class England— money strapped but privileges thoroughly intact— before WWII。 But the cavalier mentions of her sister Unity’s Nazi-loving， he Deborah is not the writer her Mitford sisters are， yet this book provides the exact and accurate details Jessica and Nancy’s books lack — precisely because Deborah doesn’t bring to her book the narrative force and imagination found in her sisters’ accounts。 If you enjoy studying old photos to see how people actually lived， you might enjoy this look at upper class England— money strapped but privileges thoroughly intact— before WWII。 But the cavalier mentions of her sister Unity’s Nazi-loving， her parents’ visits to Germany and meetings with Hitler， her father renouncing Germany only when England actively was at war with the Nazis and only in order to be patriotically pro-England— are quietly and unintentionally shocking。 If it were up to these Tory aristocrats， England would be speaking German now in a world without Jews。 Deborah’s description of Nazi-loving Unity after her suicide attempt （she shot herself jn the head in a Munich park） do much to take away any residual gloss and glamor that still attaches to Unity。 She was incontinent， wandered about Oxford striking up nonsensical conversations， and mercifully died years after returning to England following the suicide attempt。 Poor mother Mitford cared for her throughout。 The Duchess stayed close to her sister Diana who married the fascist Sir Oswald Mosley — Sir O and Diana eventually bought land in Ireland （neutral during WWII） and France， right next door to that German sympathizer， the egregious Duke of Windsor。 Hard to feel Unity and Diana are some aberrational outcome of this world。 Really， after reading this book， it seems they are the inevitable outcomes of their world， and with their beauty， dash and class， were persuasive forces of hateful power。 I did love hearing how her husband reorganized his family’s holdings — some of the greatest estates such as Chatsworth House and Lismore Castle in Ireland — in order to deal with death duties that he spent decades paying off。 The steps taken were fascinating and often admirable— despite my political qualms， I respect his efforts and choices。 Ambivalence towards aristocracy is not a unique issue， I guess — and I was aware of my own mixed feelings all through the book。 All in all， this book serves as fascinating anthropology of a bizarre society that I for one cannot be sure no longer exists。 And has there ever been such an aristocracy that lived with so much physical discomfort as the English noble classes？ Cold cold cold。 Gray stone and cold cold cold。 But I would never count the British aristocracy down for the count， no matter how often the author seems to insist the world has changed since she was a girl。 She’s the duchess， isn’t she？ And I bought her book because of that， didn’t I？ 。。。more
Terry Lynn Corsello
，
Ok at best
Marion Roux
，
So enjoyed this book that is filled with a mix of famous people， royals and countrified， horsey personalities。 It is not only about 'name-dropping'， but is detailed with observations of their lifestyles and is peppered with amusing anecdotes。 So enjoyed this book that is filled with a mix of famous people， royals and countrified， horsey personalities。 It is not only about 'name-dropping'， but is detailed with observations of their lifestyles and is peppered with amusing anecdotes。 。。。more
Sho
，
For a change I'm going to record my thoughts as I'm reading the book。 Beware， minor spoilers so I'm hiding the whole review。 Just in case。（view spoiler）[1。 She is another born to wealth， privilege and influence who thinks the original House of Lords was just fine how it was and scathing of Tony Blair's government （and pretty dismissive of the man himself*） as a meddling commoner who has no idea how to run the country。2。 I realise they did it， and i realise they had multiple nicknames for each ot For a change I'm going to record my thoughts as I'm reading the book。 Beware， minor spoilers so I'm hiding the whole review。 Just in case。（view spoiler）[1。 She is another born to wealth， privilege and influence who thinks the original House of Lords was just fine how it was and scathing of Tony Blair's government （and pretty dismissive of the man himself*） as a meddling commoner who has no idea how to run the country。2。 I realise they did it， and i realise they had multiple nicknames for each other and other people， but the constant references to Muv and （especially） Farv are making me grate my teeth。 Which isn't good。3。 Shocking revelations that it was Nancy who denounced Diana to the authorities， and insisted she was a danger to the country （I don't disagree， but i hadn't expected the vehemence） and was instrumental in Diana being detained in Holloway during the war。 And reading about that detention， again， i'm grinding my teeth at the utter outrageousness of the family putting pressure on the authorities to have Diana and Oswald Mosely imprisoned together。But definitely shocking that it didn't come to light that Nancy had denounced Diana until after Nancy's death （1985） and that's when Diana found out。 There's more on that score but you'll have to read the book to find out。4。 I've got to the bit where someone （who was it？ her husband？） tried to be an MP and stood for the Conservative party。 Lost by a landslide。 But labour were bad for wanting to nationalise the coal industry and that was cheating the miners， apparently， who for some reason according to Debo didn't realise they'd still have to go down the mines。 Patronising and partisan twaddle。 Although she is at great pains to tell us she's always been and always will be a Tory voter。 Quelle surprise！5。 I've decided life is too short and i can't take any more of this badly written， self-indulgent， not very well written stuff。 *I'm not a particular fan of Tony Blair but he got where he did without being born into the aristocracy（hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Tara
，
Very charming。
Holly
，
I have so much admiration and respect for Deborah's devotion to Chatsworth。 Historic homes are so demanding of upkeep and financial resources that it's questionable if Chatsworth would be in its present condition without her years of dedication and hard work。 Even though I'm not likely to visit it （Kelmscott and Red House， the residences of William Morris， are already at the top of my list， as well as the spectacular Leighton House Museum in Kensington， and Tower House， if only Jimmy would invit I have so much admiration and respect for Deborah's devotion to Chatsworth。 Historic homes are so demanding of upkeep and financial resources that it's questionable if Chatsworth would be in its present condition without her years of dedication and hard work。 Even though I'm not likely to visit it （Kelmscott and Red House， the residences of William Morris， are already at the top of my list， as well as the spectacular Leighton House Museum in Kensington， and Tower House， if only Jimmy would invite me over， sigh） I hope it continues to stand beautiful and full of art treasures for many more years to come。 。。。more
Deenie
，