''Loved Ones'' is a 1985 collection of pen portraits by
Diana Mosley
Diana, Lady Mosley (''née'' Freeman-Mitford; 17 June 191011 August 2003) was one of the Mitford sisters. In 1929 she married Bryan Walter Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, with whom she was part of the Bright Young Things social group o ...
. It was published by
Sidgwick & Jackson
Sidgwick & Jackson is an imprint of book publishing company Pan Macmillan. Formerly it was an independent publisher; as such it was founded in Britain in 1908. Its notable early authors include poet Rupert Brooke and novelist E.M. Forster. In mor ...
.
In 2008, three of the portraits were republished in the collection, ''
The Pursuit of Laughter
''The Pursuit of Laughter'' is a 2008 collection of diaries, articles, reviews and portraits by Diana Mosley (). The book was published by Gibson Square and edited by Martin Rynja. Mosley's sister, Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, provid ...
''.
Synopsis
The book includes pen portraits of leading figures that featured prominently in Mosley's life. These include
Lytton Strachey
Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of ''Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychological insight ...
and
Dora Carrington
Dora de Houghton Carrington (29 March 1893 – 11 March 1932), known generally as Carrington, was an English painter and decorative artist, remembered in part for her association with members of the Bloomsbury Group, especially the writer Lytton ...
, former neighbours and friends of hers. Violet Hammersley, an author, close friend of her mother's and prominent figure in childhood. The writer,
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
a close personal friend.
Professor Derek Jackson, a leading physicist and her former brother-in-law.
Lord Berners
Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners (18 September 188319 April 1950), also known as Gerald Tyrwhitt, was a British composer, novelist, painter, and aesthete. He was also known as Lord Berners.
Biography
Early life and education
...
, a close personal friend she stayed with often at
Faringdon House
Faringdon House is a Grade I listed 14,510 square feet house in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, England. It was built in about 1770–1785 for the Poet Laureate Sir Henry James Pye.
It became the country home of Lord Berners, who inherited it in 1918. ...
. Prince and Princess Clary, close friends of hers after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The final portrait is of her second husband,
Sir Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...
.
[
The book also features several photographs of the selected subjects.][
]
Reception
The collection was favourably reviewed by ''The Glasgow Herald
''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...
'', describing Mosley as ″consistently witty in a generous way that indulges neither in sarcasm nor bitterness and her book contains gems of ever-so-English understatement and Mitfordese snobbery.″Lady Mosley reflects on some old and favourite friends
1 April 1985
Cover illustration
This illustration features a detail from Henry Lamb
Henry Taylor Lamb (21 June 1883 – 8 October 1960) was an Australian-born British painter. A follower of Augustus John, Lamb was a founder member of the Camden Town Group in 1911 and of the London Group in 1913.
Early life
Henry Lamb was bo ...
's portrait of Mosley, painted in 1932 when she was still married to Bryan Guinness
Bryan Walter Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne, (27 October 1905 – 6 July 1992) was an heir to part of the Guinness family brewing fortune, and a lawyer, poet and novelist. He was briefly married to Diana Mitford.
Early life
He was born to W ...
.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loved Ones
Books by Diana Mitford
1985 books
British biographies
Biographies about artists
Biographies about writers
Literary memoirs
Sidgwick & Jackson books