Hons and Rebels the United States under the title Daughters and Rebels. Mitford and "Hons and Rebels" are cited by J.K. Rowling and Christopher Hitchens as great influences. Hons and Rebels Hons and Rebels is an autobiography by political activist Jessica Mitford, which describes her aristocratic childhood and the conflicts between her and her sisters Unity and Diana, who were ardent supporters of Nazism. Jessica was a supporter of Communism and eloped with her cousin, Esmond Romilly to fight with the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War, and Diana grew up to marry Sir Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of
Nancy Mitford house was built on land nearby. The family stayed in Asthall Manor for seven years, and it became the basis of many of the family scenes which Nancy was later to portray in her semi-autobiographical novels. Growing up proved a difficult process for Nancy. Unable to form a relationship with Pamela, the sister nearest to her in age, she was bored and irritated by her younger siblings, and vented her feelings by teasing and tormenting them. Although there was undoubtedly cruelty in her taunting—the other children, led by Tom, formed a "Leag (sic) against Nancy"—her teasing was also, according to