Irrepressible The Life and Times of Jessica Mitford

Admirers and detractors use the same words to describe Jessica Mitford: subversive, mischief-maker, tease. But those who knew her best simply called her Decca. Born into one of Britain's most famous aristocratic families, at the age of 19 she ran away with Winston Churchill's nephew. Their elopement severed ties with her privilege, a rupture only exacerbated by the controversial life she would go on to lead for 78 years. Decca was not only defined by the history she witnessed, but helped to define that history.

Leslie Brody has won the PEN Center USA West prize and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, and several awards for her playwriting. She is the author of the memoir Red Star Sister and is a professor at the University of Redlands. She lives in Redlands, California.