Peter Sussman's DECCA: THE LETTERS OF JESSICA MITFORD  In-Store Event

Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore

Peter Sussman presents a new paperback edition of his edited collection of the letters of famed activist and journalist Decca Mitford.

Mrs Dalloway's

Join us on Wednesday, September 10 at 7:00 PM when local author and former SF Chronicle editor Peter Sussman comes to the store to share the new paperback edition of his book, Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford. Peter will discuss his book and sign copies after the presentation.<a href="https://www.mrsdalloways.com/book/9798217008117" title="https://www.mrsdalloways.com/book/9798217008117" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Click here</a> to pre-order a copy of the paperback Decca: The Letters of Jessica Mitford.Jessica “Decca” Mitford lived a larger-than-life life: born into the British aristocracy—one of the famous (and sometimes infamous) Mitford sisters—she ran away to Spain during the Spanish Civil War with her rebellious cousin Esmond Romilly (Winston Churchill’s nephew), then came to America, became a tireless political activist, and embarked on a brilliant career as a memoirist and investigative journalist (her funeral-industry exposé, The American Way of Death, became an instant classic). She was a celebrated wit, a charmer, and throughout her life a prolific and passionate writer of letters.Decca’s correspondence crackles with irreverent humor and mischief, and with acute insight into human behavior (and misbehavior) that attests to her generous experience of the worlds of politics, the arts, journalism, publishing, and high and low society. Here is correspondence with everyone from Katharine Graham, Betty Friedan, Miss Manners, Julie Andrews, Maya Angelou, Harry Truman, and Hillary Rodham Clinton to Decca’s sisters the Duchess of Devonshire and the novelist Nancy Mitford, her parents, her husbands, her children, and her grandchildren.The hardback of Decca was published in 2006, but the book has not previously been available as a paperback in this country. The book received rave reviews around the world when it was first published. Miranda Seymour, in a review for the London Sunday Times, wrote, "Peter Y. Sussman is a sublime editor of one of the funniest, most enthralling and gloriously honest collections of contemporary letters I have yet read.”PETER Y. SUSSMAN has been a resident of the Elmwood/Bateman neighborhood for about 60 years. He was an editor at The Chronicle for three decades, leaving the paper in 1993 to write independently. He is also the co-author with the late Dannie M. Martin of Committing Journalism: The Prison Writings of Red Hog.JESSICA (DECCA) MITFORD, who died in 1996, was also local, living for decades on Regent Street near the Berkeley-Oakland border. The author of many highly regarded books, she is best known for The American Way of Death, which was published in 1963 and was so popular that Simon &amp; Schuster couldn't order paper fast enough to keep up with demand for the best-seller. It is widely credited with permanently changing funeral practices in this country. Time magazine dubbed Mitford "The Queen of the Muckrakers."THIS EVENT is free but registration is requested. Registration ends at 6:00 pm on September 10.BECAUSE SEATING is limited, please register only if you plan to attend.DUE TO SPACE limitations, we may not be able to accommodate every person at an event, so early registration is encouraged.WALK-INS will be accommodated only if space allows.WE ASK that attendees arrive between 6:45 and 7:00 PM for the event.PLEASE leave your non-support companion animals at home.OUR shared restrooms are not accessible after 6:30 PM so please plan accordingly.

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Peter Sussman's DECCA: THE LETTERS OF JESSICA MITFORD In-Store Event

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Peter Sussman's DECCA: THE LETTERS OF JESSICA MITFORD In-Store Event

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