Jessica Fellowes Archives - Debbish Archive

Book review: The Mitford Trial by Jessica Fellowes

Saturday, November 14, 2020 Permalink

The Mitford Trial is the fourth in the series by Jessica Fellowes. Each of the books focuses loosely on one of the (in)famous Mitford sisters (of which there were five, as well as a brother). I hadn’t realised when I embarked on the first book in the series, The Mitford Murders that the Mitford family actually existed and that the girls in particular quite well known.

These books are fiction, but based on true events and Fellowes includes historical notes at the end of each book. The Mitford Trial is set over a few years in the early 1930s and we’re edging closer to the second world war. The mystery at the heart of this book very much reflects the involvement of Mitford family members drawn to fascism and communism and their allegiances with Hitler and Nazi Germany.

Book review: The Mitford Scandal by Jessica Fellowes

Wednesday, September 25, 2019 Permalink

This is the third in the Mitford Murder mysteries and I’m probably enjoying each new release more than its predecessor/s. In my review of The Mitford Murders I mentioned that author, Jessica Fellowes wrote companion books for Downton Abbey so is obviously passionate about this era and knows her stuff. And in that book, as well as the second in the series, Bright Young Dead, the research she undertakes and the way she weaves facts and true events into fiction makes more interesting – and surprisingly educational – reading.

Book review: Bright Young Dead by Jessica Fellowes

Saturday, October 13, 2018 Permalink

Last year I reviewed The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes…. which I described as ‘faction’…. a fictional account of a murder set around real life characters and events.

I’d not heard of the Mitford sisters at the time and was somewhat intrigued.

More interesting though was that the main character wasn’t one of the sisters, but rather their nursery maid or companion, Louisa. And in my review I commented that the Mitford sisters, particularly the elder, Nancy seemed to play a bigger role on the mystery-solving front along with an ambitious young police officer, Guy Sullivan. (And – at the time, as it was billed as #1 – I wondered who might feature in the next book in the series….)

Book review: The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes

Wednesday, September 13, 2017 Permalink

Jessica Fellowes, I discovered, after picking up this book, wrote ‘companion books’ for the popular Downton Abbey TV series. It seems to be an indication that the author and journalist is a fan of history and enjoys researching times-gone-by – which is very evident in her latest novel The Mitford Murders.

And something I hadn’t appreciated until I actually reached the end of this book, was that it’s a form of ‘faction’…. facts mixed with fiction. Or fictionalised facts. Or something.