Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The Mitfords were an aristocratic family who managed to stay in the news for much of the 20th century. There was 'Farve' and 'Muv' and their children Nancy, Pamela, Tom, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah. What was it above all that made them so controversial?
2. 'Farve' (Lord Redesdale) had a personal philosophy that was summed up by his daughter Nancy as 'abroad is unutterably bloody and foreigners are fiends'. Nevertheless, in 1913 he took his family to live in Canada for a couple of years to prospect for gold. The little mining town where they lived had a name you could describe as astoundingly coincidental or very prophetic. What was the name of the town?
3. Lady Redesdale or 'Muv' had a lot to put up with. She was considered vague and aloof by her family, which was possibly understandable, all things considered. Her father was a publishing magnate who launched what would become England's oldest weekly women's magazine. What was it?
4. Nancy was the oldest daughter. A real 'bright young thing', she was witty and acerbic, wore lovely clothes and knew everyone worth knowing in prewar Paris and London. She was the author of a number of fine novels, some really good popular histories and a series of essays spelling out what was 'U' and 'Non - U'. What was she writing about here?
5. Her sisters claimed that Pamela spent childhood practising to be a horse and certainly she lived out her life in the country raising animals. But she did not want for distinction. A young man who would one day be Poet Laureate fell in love with her and called her his 'muse'. He was the one who also coined her nickname 'Rural Mitford'. Who was he?
6. Tom was the quiet one. He was a bisexual who had a long-running affair with Tilly Losch, the dancer. He was a paid-up member of the British Union of Fascists, who died fighting the Japanese in Burma. He was given one thing by his parents that his sisters didn't have. What was it?
7. Beautiful Diana and her wealthy husband Bryan Guinness were at the hub of London society in the late 1920s. She threw it all away when she met the 'Love of Her Life' at a party in 1932. He was handsome, charismatic and the head of the British Union of Fascists (BUF). He was also married. She embraced fascism for him, got divorced for him, lost her social standing for him... even went to prison for him. Who was he?
8. Neither as clever as Nancy nor as beautiful as Diana, Unity did have a talent for obsession. After becoming introduced to fascism by her brother-in-law, she moved to Germany in 1934. There she relentlessly stalked Hitler until he became friendly with her. She learned German, took to wearing a sort of uniform, hung with Julius Streicher, and on one occasion, addressed a party rally. When England declared war on Germany in 1939, how did she react?
9. Jessica was a lot like her older sisters. She was politically ardent and ran away with her cousin Esmond at the age of 19 to pursue her cause. She died still firm in her convictions. What made her radically (excuse the expression) different from Diana and Unity?
10. Deborah was still going strong into her 90s. She married Lord Andrew Cavendish in 1941 and became Duchess of Devonshire in 1950. Her life's work has been the preservation of her stately home, one of the finest in England. She was made a commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1999. She did meet Hitler on a visit to Unity in Munich in 1937, but found him unimpressive. What's the stately home she's taken such good care of?
Source: Author
sofarsogood
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
Snowman before going online.
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