F4B. Fascists, Fellow Travelers, Family: The Mitford Sisters and Their World
History & World Affairs | Registration opens 2/25/2026 9:00 AM
Paris Hilton? Kim Kardashian? Sorry, ladies. You are mere wannabes next to the Mitford sisters,1930s Britain’s gossip-sheet “glamour girls.” These daughters of minor English peerage grew up isolated in country manor houses, without formal education. They were, however, extraordinarily well-read (from their father’s extensive, personal library), beautiful, witty, charming, and effortlessly press savvy. Their family saga epitomizes the tangled loyalties and factions of their time, and resonates even today with the ways in which the political can engulf the personal to devastating effect.
- Image courtesy of WikiMedia Commons
Shelley Weiner
Presenter
Shelley Weiner grew up in Brooklyn, graduated from Colby College (BA), and attended the MDiv program at Earlham School of Religion. She worked in print production for graphic designers and book publishers, represented commercial printing firms in the Northeast US, taught technical MacOS/iOS classes to educators and corporate clients for Apple, and owned an Apple-authorized training center in the Hudson Valley for 15+ years. She geeks out over history, languages, art, travel, and music.