In Tearing Haste: Letters Between Deborah Devonshire And Patrick Leigh Fermor
The Scotsman by Roger Hutchinson 13 September 2008
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Patrick Leigh Fermor – he drank from a different fountain
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- Discussing Patrick Leigh Fermor at the Durrell 2012 conference in London, 16 June
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If I could do such a well-written review … I would. I have to add this collection of letters to my list of books books I plan to buy soon.
Have just finished _In Tearing Haste_. Funnily enough, despite her well publicised lack of interest in books, “Debo” (the Duchess of Devonshire, born the youngest Mitford girl) comes across very well in the letters. She has had children, grandchildren, and estates – including Chatsworth – to manage, and in later years she was involved in company boards and so on.
PLF’s letters indicate fairly regular visits to England, but don’t have very much detail about everyday life at Kardamyli. Particularly interesting was a trip during the 1980s to Romania, where he found some old haunts pretty well disfigured by decades of Communist decay.
The sheer number of friends and acquaintances mentioned in the letters is staggering, but Charlotte Mosley did very well to give thumbnail summaries in the footnotes to each letter.
Overall, a good read, particularly for people interested in both the Mitfords and PLF.
Judy – I would say not just good but an excellent read for all sorts of reasons. It traces the lives and events of so many , as you say, over the decades, and gives us some great insights into Paddy’s life.