The Mitford Affair

The Mitford Affair is a historical novel by Marie Benedict published in 2023. The novel is set in 1930s and 1940s Europe, tracing the ascendancy of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany through the family dynamics and love affairs of the famous real-life Mitford sisters. The Mitford Affair explores the nature of political and social power, exposed through a focus on a historical family drama in which generational conflict reflected—and influenced— the wider national and international crisis of World War II.

Marie Benedict has written eight historical novels which focus on women and their impact on history. Her novels are “historical” fiction in the sense that they are set in the past, but they also focus on real historical events and people. The Mitford Affair is a combination of historical fact and narrative invention. Other works by Marie Benedict include The Only Woman in the Room, Lady Clementine, and The Personal Librarian.

This guide is based on the Sourcebooks 2023 edition of The Mitford Affair.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide include descriptions and discussions of fascism, personal and political violence, racial discrimination, antisemitism, war, trauma, incarceration, alcohol misuse, suicide ideation, death by suicide, and grief.