A Life of Contrasts A Life of Contrasts A Life of Contrasts is the autobiography of Diana Mitford (sister of novelist Nancy Mitford, journalist Jessica Mitford, and memoirist Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire) that was first published by in 1977. In 2002 she released a revised edition of the book. In the autobiography, Mitford recounts her colourful past, including her marriage to Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists, her association with Nazi figures and her subsequent three-year internment under Defence Regulation 18B. She also recounts her friendships with leading literary figures Evelyn Waugh, Harold Acton, John Betjeman and Lytton Strachey. In
Mitford family Jessica became well-known writers: Nancy wrote "The Pursuit of Love" and "Love in a Cold Climate", and Jessica "The American Way of Death" (1963). Deborah managed one of the most successful stately homes in England, Chatsworth. Jessica and Deborah married nephews of prime ministers Winston Churchill and Harold Macmillan, respectively. Deborah and Diana both married wealthy aristocrats. Unity and Diana were well-known during the 1930s for being close to Adolf Hitler. Jessica turned her back on her inherited privileges and ran away to become a communist. Jessica's memoir, "Hons and Rebels", describes their upbringing, and Nancy obviously drew upon her