In Tearing Haste
Duchess of Devonshire

Description

A wonderful collection of letters between travel-writing genius, polymath, war legend (and Mr B's hero) Patrick Leigh Fermor and Deborah Devonshire (aka the littlest Mitford sister). These two wonderful writers trade thoughts on many of history's major events and many of their own private interests - not least time spent at Fermor's idyllic home in the Southern Pelopennese. The book opens with short extracts from each writer's thoughts on the other, before getting in amongst the correspondence proper. Chronologically we are invited into their banter in letters starting shortly after their first meeting in 1956 and ending in 2007 (but in reality the chat continues as the 86 and 93 year-olds continue to write to one another). Paddy writes diaries of walking trips in his adopted Greek homeland, Debo describes comings and goings at Chatsworth and they engage in the kind of humorous and bizarre exchanges that no-one would have time for in 2008 (and that just wouldn't work in a text message).

A wonderful and revealing book, albeit one that shows that Fermor's sense of humour wasn't always up to the rest of his abilities - when asked to come up with 28 fake book titles for the Chatsworth library door you are left rolling your eyes at suggestions like "Will Yam Make Peace?" by Thackeray and "Reduced to the Ranks" by D.Motion!

Paperback - John Murray - 2009

Price: £9.99

• Recommend this to a friend