All in One Basket
A Memoir
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In her beguiling memoir, Wait for Me!, Deborah Mitford, Duchess of Devonshire (and the youngest of the famously witty brood of writers, agitators, and icons), recounted her eventful life with wit and grace. All in One Basket collects the Duchess of Devonshire's breezy, occasional writings and provides a disarming look at a life lived with great zest and originality.
All in One Basket combines two earlier collections, Counting My Chickens and Home to Roost, its sequel, which was never published in the United States. In these pages, we hear anecdotes about famous friends from Evelyn Waugh to John F. Kennedy; tales of struggle and success at Chatsworth, England's greatest stately home; and of course the tales of her beloved chickens, which the Duchess began raising as a child for pocket money. In All in One Basket, glamorous recollections happily coexist with practical insights into country life, and the result is a revelatory, intimate portrait of a woman described by The New York Times as a "national treasure."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this shrewd, witty, and entertaining volume which combines two of Mitford's previous books, Counting My Chickens and Home to Roost, with three unreleased pieces the Duchess, known as "Debo" to her friends, discusses her childhood and family (the noted Mitford sisters), and her home at Chatsworth House, where she has lived for 50 years, raising chickens, collecting beautiful objects, and giving tours to visitors. Of the estate, she writes: "You never had to look at anything ugly because you were surrounded by the best of everything from four centuries." An enthusiastic reader, Mitford includes reviews of specific titles and lists of favorites, including, charmingly, an Elvis Presley biography. Her short essays on gardening, fashion, food, and interior decorating delight, but her most moving pieces are reserved for the dead. She recalls her brother-in-law's marriage to Kathleen Kennedy and the tragic deaths of both. Since their families were close, she traveled to America for JFK's inauguration and then, two years later, his funeral; she recalls him with touching fondness.
