From literary salons to Nazi rallies, warzones to debutante balls, the Mitfords crossed paths with the likes of Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, John F Kennedy, and a roll call of cultural and political titans from the last century..

And now, their story explodes onto screens in Outrageous, the new series that dares to dramatise the lives of this captivating clan and their stranger-than-fiction lives.

Who were the Mitford sisters and how many were there?

There were six Mitford sisters:

• Nancy Mitford (1904–1973), the writer
• Pamela Mitford (1907–1994), the countrywoman
• Diana Mitford (1910–2003), the fascist
• Unity Mitford (1914–1948), the Nazi
• Jessica Mitford (1917-1996), the communist
• Deborah Mitford (1920–2014), the duchess

Is Outrageous a true story?

The six Mitford sisters are all real historical figures who came of age in the crucible of the 20th century and seemingly managed to be everywhere history was happening – and often on opposing sides of it. One became a fascist, another a communist. One dined with Hitler, another with JFK. One wrote bestselling novels; another exposed the funeral industry with irreverent flair. All six lived lives that strained credulity and delighted gossip columns.

At the heart of the fascination is the astonishing fact that they were all true originals –funny, fearless, scandalous and, above all, flawed in fascinating ways. And they lived with a wicked sense of humour, often at each other’s expense.

Their sibling dynamic – by turns loving, cruel, admiring and estranged – reads like a Greek tragedy shot through with satire. They coined their own secret language, gave pet names to everything and everyone and kept up a lifelong correspondence that crackled with wit, savagery and sisterly sabotage.

They have become synonymous with a certain kind of British eccentricity – a glamorous, gossipy shorthand for country houses, caustic one-liners and political whiplash. And yet the Mitfords were never caricatures. Behind the aristocratic affectations were sharp minds, radical spirits and deeply lived convictions.

The Mitford sisters’ early lives

The Mitford sisters were the daughters of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale – known affectionately by them as ‘Farve’ – a fox hunting, blustering reactionary with a volcanic temper, and Sydney Bowles – ‘Muv’ – a genteel and vaguely Bohemian mother with little time for education but a flair for charm. They also had a brother, Tom.

Their childhoods were divided between a series of increasingly romantic country houses, each more remote and draughty than the last. One of these was Batsford Park, a stately home in Gloucestershire surrounded by woods, peacocks and the sort of casual Edwardian chaos that defined upper-class country life.

Later, they moved to Asthall Manor, a Jacobean manor house in the Windrush Valley in Oxfordshire. Finally, the family settled at Swinbrook House, a sprawling Cotswold estate built by the baron himself.

They also adopted a variety of nicknames that they used throughout their lives and across reams of letters: Nancy was ‘Susan’, Pamela ‘Woman’, Diana ‘Honks’, Unity ‘Bobo’ and ‘Boud’, Jessica ‘Decca’ and Deborah simply ‘Debo’ or ‘Hen’.

The younger sisters, Jessica and Deborah, even invented a secret society known as ‘the Hons’ – a private joke reflecting their wit, snobbery and aristocratic irreverence. To be ‘Honnish’ was to possess the charm, intelligence and knowing humour that marked one as part of their inner circle.

At the heart of this whimsical world was the Hons’ Cupboard, a literal airing cupboard in their family home where the sisters would retreat for secret conversations, conspiracies and laughter, a headquarters for their exclusive, self-mocking club.

Why are the Mitford sisters famous?

Diana Mitford: the society beauty and unabashed fascist (1910–2003)

Diana Mitford was celebrated for her beauty and infamous for her political convictions. As a young woman she married Bryan Guinness, joining the ranks of the ‘Bright Young Things’ and hosting literary luminaries in their fashionable home. However, Diana shocked society by leaving Guinness for Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists.

Their marriage in Berlin, attended by Adolf Hitler, marked the apex of Diana’s involvement with European fascism. Fluent in German and closely connected to Hitler’s inner circle, Diana became a conduit between the British aristocracy and the Nazi elite. Her political activities led to her arrest and imprisonment without trial during the Second World War, with authorities regarding her as a significant national security risk.

After the war, Diana lived as a genteel exile, first in Ireland and then in France, maintaining friendships with other expatriate outcasts. Unapologetic to the end, she published a controversial memoir and remained a polarising figure, her life forever stained by her unwavering ideological loyalties.

Unity Mitford: the Nazi whose fanaticism destroyed her life (1914–1948)

The life of Unity Valkyrie Mitford was perhaps the most tragic of the siblings. Named with Wagnerian flourish and conceived in a Canadian town called Swastika, Unity became obsessed with Adolf Hitler and Nazism in the 1930s. She relentlessly pursued Hitler’s attention, eventually becoming a fixture in his entourage, attending rallies and dinners at his side. Unity’s devotion to the Nazi cause was so intense that she wore swastika-adorned badges and publicly praised Hitler’s regime.

Her fanaticism reached its climax when, devastated by the outbreak of war between Britain and Germany in September 1939, she attempted suicide in Munich’s English Garden. Though she survived, the injury left her with lasting physical and mental impairment.

Unity was repatriated to Britain via Switzerland, where she lived out her remaining years in a childlike state, cared for by her mother. Her untimely death at 33 sealed her reputation as both a cautionary tale of ideological seduction and a chilling symbol of the British aristocracy’s flirtation with fascism.

Nancy Mitford: The bestselling novelist and family satirist (1904–1973)

Nancy Mitford was a dazzling figure in British literary and social circles. Known for her sharp wit and biting satire, Nancy became the chronicler and satirist-in-chief of her own eccentric family and the upper classes they inhabited.

Her early adulthood was spent among the ‘Bright Young Things’ of the 1920s, a set renowned for their hedonism and flamboyance. Though she lacked formal education, Nancy’s talent for observation and her connections to writers like Evelyn Waugh propelled her into a successful writing career. Her novels, particularly The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, lampooned the foibles of the aristocracy with affectionate and incisive humour.

Nancy’s personal life was marked by turbulence: her marriage to Peter Rodd ended in divorce, and her passionate, unrequited love for French colonel Gaston Palewski coloured her later years. She spent her final decades in Paris and left behind a legacy of stylish, subversive fiction and sparkling social commentary.

Jessica Mitford: the communist muckraking journalist who rebelled against her family (1917-1996)

Jessica Mitford rebelled fiercely against her privileged background with her communist leanings making her the family’s ‘red sheep’. From a young age, Jessica harboured dreams of escape, eventually eloping with her second cousin Esmond Romilly to fight for the Republican cause during the Spanish Civil War. Their marriage was a political and deeply personal act of rebellion against their backgrounds.

Jessica was widowed in 1941, when Esmond was killed in action during the Second World War. She remarried in 1943, to Bob Treuhaft, a Jewish-American lawyer and fellow activist, and together they became fixtures in the American radical scene.

Jessica’s life was marked by a relentless pursuit of social justice: she joined the Communist Party in America, campaigned for civil rights, and exposed corporate abuses as an investigative journalist. Her book The American Way of Death was a bestseller, and her memoir Hons and Rebels offered a witty, subversive take on her aristocratic origins.

Her later years were spent in the US, where she embraced her role as a muckraker and cult celebrity in progressive circles, never losing her mordant humour or radical spirit.

Deborah Mitford: the duchess who revived Chatsworth and idolised Elvis (1920–2014)

The youngest of the siblings, Deborah Mitford was known for her pragmatism and quiet strength.

While her sisters courted controversy and fame, Deborah’s legacy was built on the stewardship of Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, one of Britain’s grandest estates. Her marriage to Lord Andrew Cavendish unexpectedly elevated her to Duchess of Devonshire following the death of his elder brother during the Second World War, and she faced the daunting task of preserving Chatsworth in an era of declining aristocratic fortunes.

Deborah revitalised the estate, opening it to the public and restoring its grandeur. Her practical approach and sharp wit won her admiration. Her brother-in-law had been married to Kathleen ‘Kick’ Kennedy, and Deborah maintained warm relations with the Kennedy family, attending both JFK’s inauguration and funeral.

Behind the aristocratic veneer was a gleeful streak of eccentricity. Deborah was a devoted Elvis Presley superfan – her love of the King of Rock and Roll ran so deep that she made a pilgrimage to his home in Memphis, Graceland, collected Elvis memorabilia and even installed what was later described as a shrine to him at Chatsworth.

More politically conservative by nature than her sisters, Deborah was known for her hospitality, eccentric humour and love of poultry – traits she shared with her sister Pamela. She outlived all her siblings, dying in 2014 at the age of 94, and is remembered as the steady, quietly influential heart of the Mitford family.

Pamela Mitford: the unassuming countrywoman (1907–1994)

Pamela Mitford was the most private and enigmatic of the six sisters. Eschewing the spotlight sought by her siblings, Pamela preferred the rhythms of country life, finding joy in rural pursuits and the company of animals, particularly her beloved chickens.

Her brief marriage to the flamboyant physicist Derek Jackson in 1936 brought her temporary attention, but their union ended in divorce in 1951. Later, she shared her home with Italian horsewoman Giuditta Tommasi, and their close companionship prompted speculation, though Pamela herself remained discreet about her private life.

Known for her domestic prowess, Pamela managed estates and was celebrated for her cooking, earning the affectionate admiration of friends such as John Betjeman, who dubbed her the “rural Mitford”.

Pamela’s indifference to celebrity often led to amusing social encounters, highlighting her unpretentious nature. She acted as the family’s anchor, observing her sisters’ escapades with a steady eye, and outlived most of the family’s scandals, passing away in 1994.

What about the Mitford brother, Tom?

On 30 March 1945, the only Mitford brother, Tom, was killed in action in Burma. In the years that followed his death, Tom’s political allegiance became a source of tension between his sisters.

Diana maintained that he was a committed fascist – after all, he had joined both her and Unity at Nazi rallies in Nuremberg throughout the 1930s.

However, both Nancy and Jessica (who was particularly fond of him) cast doubt on Tom’s true beliefs.

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