"In 1935 Farve's money worries came to a head. Swinbrook House and its estate were extravagances he could not afford, and in April the house was let [...]. Three years later it was sold, together with all the land. I minded more than I can say. I have seen it happen elsewhere, when children are uprooted from the place they love just when they are at their most vulnerable, when all their antennae are out and they have become almost physically attached to a house and its surroundings: the loss of all that is familiar is a kind of amputation. As one who becomes hopelessly addicted to sticks and stones, gateways with their ruts and puddles, anthills, thrushes, freshwater springs, kingcups, dog roses and may (soon to be hips and haws), wood anemones under oaks, silent woods in August, milk-white walnuts in autumn, the smell of new creosote on chicken houses, saddle soap and horse manure - having to abandon all these made leaving Swinbrook, 'the land of lost content', hard to bear."
From Wait For Me: Memoirs of the Youngest Mitford Sister
That quote resonates with me! The sense of attachment to a place, the addiction to stones, ponds and gardens, things you can't recreate elsewhere can be very sad losses. " I minded more than I can say" too . . . once.
Posted by: Deirdre | 20 September 2010 at 02:51 PM
Oh I am so desperate to read this its untrue!
Posted by: Simon (Savidge Reads) | 20 September 2010 at 05:30 PM
Technical query: Amazon (US) lists author(s) of this book as Deborah Mitford, Duchess of Devonshire and Charlotte Mosley. Amazon (UK) lists only Deborah Devonshire. Since Deborah is the only surviving Mitford sister, I don't understand this. Anyone who has the book/has read it have any ideas about why that is?
Posted by: Linda C. | 20 September 2010 at 10:55 PM
Linda, the book's dedication includes the following, "To Charlotte Mosley, my editor ....", but she's not credited as such, though she is thanked in the acknowledgements along with DD's secretary as being crucial to the book's existence, so it was perhaps an informal arrangement, therefore puzzling to see why she's billed as she is in the US listing.
Posted by: Cornflower | 21 September 2010 at 08:58 AM
I thought I was all Mitforded-out, until I heard Debo talking on Women's Hour about her life. Now I want to read this!
Posted by: Nicola | 21 September 2010 at 07:13 PM