Hons and Rebels

Jessica Mitford grew up in England as part of an aristocratic family. Her sisters included Nancy, who was known for her work as a novelist and biographer; Diana, who was married to English fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley; Unity, who developed an obsession for Hitler; and Deborah, later the Duchess of Devonshire. Jessica moved to the United States and worked with the civil rights movement. Her classic social criticism book The American Way of Death exposed flaws in the funeral industry. In Hons and Rebels , she tells the story of her upbringing, which she describes as unconventional. Debo spent hours in the chicken house learning to imitate what a hen does when it is laying an egg. Unity and Jessica created a secret language called Boudledidge, which no one else could speak or understand. It was used to translate dirty songs. .