Counting My Chickens--: And Other Home Thoughts

by Deborah Mitford and Deborah Devonshire

Book Overview

A unique window on an extraordinary life lived with tremendous zest, discrimination, and intelligence The Duchess of Devonshire is the youngest of the Mitford siblings, the famous brood that includes the writers Nancy and Jessica. Like them, she has lived an unusually full and remarkable life, and like them she has an inimitable expressive gift. In Counting My Chickens , she has gathered extracts from her diaries and other writings to create a multifaceted...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374130299
• ISBN13: 9780374130299
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Lovely Book By A Wonderful Woman

Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, shows to the world the emotional warmth and range of interests which have endeared her to her family and friends for over eighty years. Extolled by James Lees-Milne throughout his life, Debo, the people at Hatchards tell me, is their favorite author when it comes to book-signings. When I bought a copy of this book there the clerk remarked "Ah, the Duchess, bless her." And so she has been, and is, by all.

A Small Jewel From the Last Mitford Girl

Counting My Chickens is a collection of newspaper and magazine columns by Deborah Freeman-Mitford Cavendish, the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire. "Debo" is the youngest and only surviving Mitford Girl, the fabulous daughters of Lord and Lady Redesdale who scandalized and delighted the British and the world from the 1930s onward. Although this is a very short book cut into many small, fairly unconnected segments, there is nevertheless much that charms. The celebrated Mitford wit,most clearly displayed by Debo's sisters Nancy and Jessica, is in evidence, particularly in the sections that deal with Debo's childhood and early adult years (she once traveled by train from Scotland with a goat, milking it in first class waiting rooms on the way.) Also in evidence is the extraordinariness of Debo's life as wife of a Duke and as chatelaine of one of England's great mansions, Chatsworth House. She casually drops names like Harold Macmillan and John Kennedy (both of whom were indirectly related to her husband) and at the same time records some of the merriments and aggravations that come with having your home on display to tourists several months each year. Occasionally Debo will drop a barbed comment or two on the silliness of some politicians and visitors, but for the most part she is soft spoken and accomodating. Few Duchesses have written or revealed much about their lives, so its nice that one has done so now, at a time when the House of Lords is being democratized and the aristocracy must seem more anachronistic than ever.

Delightful

For someone who claims to be the "illiterate" Mitford, this charming little book is a well-crafted lark into the world of a 21st century Duchess. It is very light and entertaining, filled with anecdotes about her and her life. Also featured are stories about her family, but this is not the book to read if you are interested in a tell-all expose of the Mitfords. Most of the book concentrates on the Duchess's family, and home. Chatsworth is one of the finest home in England, and one of the first to become a self-sustaining tourist destination. Anyone who has visited Chatsworth would enjoy reading about the "other side" of that house. Fans of the Mitford family will be delighted by the stories, most of which don't appear in other Mitford books and biographies. Even if you're not familiar with the Mitford family, this book provides a fascinating picture of the worldview of someone who has lived a long and extremely interesting life. I really hope to see more from Debo.

Delightful read

This book is homey and comforting. I loved her piece on beingdiscovered talking to yourself! There is so much that is so wise,human and to the point. Maybe the negative reviewers are too young to appreciate the subtle joy of this book. It certainly is one volume that I will reread from time to time and keep for the guest room. Anyone who is old enough to remember civility in daily life, service in shops and neither voice mail nor cell phones impinging on your daily life will really enjoy this COUNTING MY CHICKENS.

Misunderstood by Americans?

I enjoyed this book immensely. Addressing some of the negative reviews that have appeared below, I feel that the Duchess of Devonshire would be the first to say that she doesn't expect to be placed in the pantheon of Mitford writers with Nancy and Decca. So much of Nancy's charm is period charm after all, and Decca appeals to readers because she is fearless, outspoken and a rebel."Counting My Chickens" is great fun to read, and just because one was personally unacquainted with Harold Macmillan or any of the other people thoughtfully mentioned in footnotes is little reason to judge the book itself as 'insipid' and 'boring', adjectives that could so well describe life in a world dominated by the delights of Macdonalds and Coca Cola, and restricted by the application of just four adjectives - cool, great, nice and neat - to every possible situation.I, like another reviewer, delighted in the Duchess' use of mitfordesque descriptions of the mundane - 'a septic handbag'.