The Mitford Affair

Mosley tells Diana they need to file a libel suit against Nancy for her book, but Diana convinces him not to. Mosley has been having an affair with Baba which he claims is due to Baba’s control of her wealthy family’s finances and the child support she pays to Mosley on behalf of Cimmie. What’s more, Baba has a connection with Mussolini’s ambassador to London, a political relationship Mosley wants to take advantage of. Diana is annoyed about his relationship with Baba and feels competitive with Baba.

Unity has now seen Hitler in passing several times, and he always acknowledges her with a nod. On November 14, he bows to her, and his security guard invites Unity to join Hitler for lunch. Unity tells Hitler of her family’s connection to Wagner, one of Hitler’s favorite composers. When he finds out that Unity’s middle name is Valkyrie, Hitler is pleased and suggests that meeting Unity is fate.

Nancy runs into her friend John Betjeman, (a famous writer and poet), at her book launch. She is disappointed that none of her family came to support her, until her parents arrive. Muv notes Diana’s absence and points out that, despite Nancy’s book edits, it still satirizes the fascists. Mav’s tone about the fascists seems positive and Nancy is worried that Diana has convinced her to become a fascist.

In France, Mosley gives Diana a car. Diana drives this car to Germany to meet Hitler at her sister’s invitation. Diana is nervous and impressed when she meets Hitler.

Unity is on a class trip in a town called Dachau with some other girls when she sees one of Hitler’s bodyguards, a member of the Schutzstaffel (SS). He recognizes Unity as one of Hitler’s favorites and tells her that Hitler has often said that Unity is the British exemplar of Aryan perfection. He introduces himself as Unterfeldwebel Schwarz. He points out a large building in the horizon of Dachau, an old factory he explains will become a prison camp for those who oppose Hitler. Unterfeldwebel asks Unity out on a date and she agrees, as long as Hitler doesn’t mind. The other girls from the school are impressed that Unity knows Hitler and other high-ranking Nazis. Unity is flattered and feels empowered by the attention.

The Mitford family attends a gala with the Churchills. Nancy and Peter have argued about him flirting with other women, so Peter is avoiding Nancy at the party. Nancy goes looking for him and finds him kissing another woman.

Churchill is in a debate with Diana and other partygoers about Hitler. Churchill warns them to be wary of Hitler, who has broken clauses of the Treaty of Versailles. Churchill is shocked when Diana refers to Hitler as “the Fuhrer,” the title the Nazis give him. Churchill criticizes Hitler’s antisemitism and Unity’s antisemitic writings published in Germany.

Peter tries to excuse kissing the other woman on being drunk. Peter and Nancy are leaving the next day for a long stay in Venice, and she doesn’t want to leave without clearing up the conflict about her book with Diana.

Diana sneaks away from the gala to meet with Mosely before he takes his children on a long vacation in Italy. On her way, Diana has a car accident and is taken to hospital, where she has two facial surgeries. When she wakes, Farve tells Diana that she’s been in the hospital for 11 days and that, even though Mosely knows about her accident and hospitalization, he hasn’t come to visit. Diana should stay in the hospital for another month to recover, but she wants to go to Italy to be with Mosely. She is afraid she will lose him to Baba.

Unity dates the Unterfeldwebel but truly desires Hitler, whom she hasn’t seen for a while. After calling herself a “Jew-hater” in a newspaper, Unity is invited to speak at a solstice Nazi event. Unity gives a rousing speech about the “necessary expulsion” of Jewish people from German and British society and is cheered by the crowd. Unity feels powerful and appreciated, but also desperate to stay in Hitler’s favor so she can be even more celebrated.

Nancy and Peter have spent over 20 happy days in Italy and Nancy decides to make their marriage work. Returned from Italy, Nancy visits her parents and hears about the latest family developments. Unity’s antisemitic article was front page in the newspaper and her parents forced her to come home. But Unity was a changed person: She had a gun and practiced shooting and wore a Nazi swastika armband everywhere. She was so difficult that her parents let her go back to Germany. Though Diana was supposed to stay in the hospital and recuperate, Farve helped her escape to Italy to be with Mosley. Nancy is worried about Unity’s welfare and that she has been allowed to go back to Germany. Peter helps Nancy navigate a difficult conversation with her family, and they propose sending Unity’s brother Tom to Germany to bring Unity back.

When Diana surprises Mosley in Italy, Baba is furious. But Diana waits and ultimately Baba leaves. Diana has arranged for Hitler to host a lunch for Mosley in Germany, a major coup in her efforts to propel Mosley’s career. Mosley has been receiving financial support for the British Union of Fascists (BUF) from Mussolini, but funding has become more difficult as it is increasingly clear that fascism won’t catch on in Britain the way it did in Italy. British people see what’s happening with fascism in Italy and find it violent.

Unity is accepted into Hitler’s inner circle. She helps arrange the lunch for Mosley, which several other wealthy and influential Germans will join. Mosley has a conversation with a wealthy German man about investing in BUF but is told that funding can come only if BUF makes antisemitic statements publicly.

In the last year, Peter has been drinking less alcohol and has been more productive at work. Nancy is still trying to get pregnant. Nancy is busy working on her next project, a piece commissioned by Lord Stanley of Alderley, her cousin Edward. Edward has put Nancy in charge of sorting through the collection of historical letters he recently found in his inherited home in Scotland. Despite her anxiety around not yet being pregnant, Nancy is enjoying her life. Meanwhile, Diana and Unity are in Germany for the Olympics.

Diana and Mosley have a private wedding ceremony which is kept secret. Hitler, who is now a good friend of Diana’s, has helped to arrange the wedding and make it legal. Unity is the only witness at the wedding.

Unity is impressed and proud of the opening ceremony at the Olympics. In the lead up to the Olympics, signs regulating Jewish life around Berlin were taken down so as to mask the Nazi’s extreme level of antisemitism from international visitors. Unity is annoyed that the athletes from the other countries don’t salute Hitler (using the Nazi salute) when he salutes them in their introductory marches. She overhears an antisemitic conversation about Helene Mayer who is one of the few Jewish athletes allowed to compete for Germany. Unity is upset by the derogatory talk about Helene, even though she herself has said much worse about Jewish people. Unity is a little jealous of Diana’s one-on-one conversations with Hitler, but she’s happy Diana is also in Germany for the Olympics. Unity is intent on winning Hitler’s love and helping him become the Supreme Fuhrer of Europe, but Hitler already has a long-term girlfriend named Eva Braun.

Nancy is still not pregnant and despairs over what her future will be like without children. She visits the Churchill residence, which is comforting and familiar. Winston Churchill pulls her aside for a private conversation. He discusses Unity and Diana. Churchill worries that Hitler is using Unity and Diana for propaganda purposes and, furthermore, that Unity and Diana may be disclosing information to Hitler about England. He’s recently heard that Italy and Germany are thinking of an alliance, which makes Hitler even more dangerous. Churchill says that Nancy can help change the future of the world by helping him with her sisters.

Diana watches Mosley speak at a BUF event, but there are thousands of protestors representing communists, anti-fascists, and the Jewish community. Ever since meeting Hitler, Mosley and the BUF have been vocally antisemitic. When the protest becomes violent and the police arrive, Diana is disappointed to see Mosley speaking with the commissioner of the police. Diana doesn’t want Mosley to appear weak.

Hitler makes a new, beautiful apartment in Munich available for Unity. She longs to see him, as she hasn’t since the Olympics. Unity worries that she’s done something wrong, and that Hitler is avoiding her. Unity seduces an officer of the SS, certain that he knows where Hitler is.