Jessica Mitford — The American Way of Death with Mimi Pond

Send us Fan Mail In this follow-up to our 2021 episode on Nancy Mitford, we’re turning the spotlight on her younger sister, Jessica (a.k.a. “Decca”) Mitford, an activist and journalist whom Time magazine called “the queen of the muckrakers.” Her influential 1963 nonfiction title The American Way of Death exposed corruption in the funeral industry and was lauded by David Bowie as one of his “Top 100” favorite books, whereas her 1960 childhood memoir, Hons and Rebels , left her own family seeing red! Joining us in conversation is Mimi Pond, whose recently-published graphic biography Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me adds new color (literally) to the Mitford mythology with wry commentary and artwork perfectly suited to England’s most outrageous debutantes. Mentioned in this episode: Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me by Mimi Pond Hons and Rebels by Jessica Mitford The American Way of Death by Jessica Mitford David Bowie’s Top 100 Favorite Books The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford Life in A Cold Climate by Laura Thompson Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford edited by Peter Y. Sussman Lifeitselfmanship: Or, How to Become a Precisely Because Man by Jessica Mitford Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No 39 on Nancy Mitford Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 65 on Lucia Berlin Lost Ladies of Lit Episode No. 187 on Kay Boyle Nancy Mitford: A Portrait by Her Sisters documentary Asthall Manor Chatsworth House Support the show For episodes and show notes, visit: LostLadiesofLit.com

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Jessica Mitford — The American Way of Death with Mimi Pond is an episode from Lost Ladies of Lit by Amy Helmes & Kim Askew.

This episode is 40:46 long.

This episode was published on Sep 30, 2025.

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