Book Review – The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes

I was initially attracted to The Mitford mysteries simply by the word ‘Mitford” in the title.  I imagine many of you reading this, will like me  be interested in all things Mitford,  Before I had even turned it over and read the blurb on the back, I was also drawn to the cover which oozed old school, golden age mysteriy.  If I needed any more convincing, Jessica Fellowes is the author of the best selling Downton Abbey books. There was now way I would be leaving the bookshop without this book!

The novel opens in 1919 with Florence `Nightingale Shore, bedecked in a fur coat arriving at Victoria Station on her way to St Leonards on Sea to visit her friend Rosa. This God daughter of the more famous Florence Nightingale is a nurse recently retuned from Ypres. She never makes it to St Leonards.  She is killed aboard the train.  At the same time Lousia Cannon, is dreaming of escaping her life of poverty in London, and her oppressive and dangerous uncle.  Louisa just happens to be on the same train.

Louisa manages to secure herself a position as nurserymaid to the Mitfords at Asthall Manor, in the Oxfordshire countryside. She also becomes friend and chaperone to the eldest daughter of the household Nancy (Mitford).  Together they find themselves mixed up in the murder case as they work together to try and solve the case.

As the protagonist, Louisa is spirited and kind.  She seeks new opportunities and makes the best of them, and in doing so establishes her self as an important and trusted part of the Mitford staff.  I enjoyed her relationship with Nancy, just  a few years younger than her, from a completely different background but filled with the same spirit and determination.  It is hard not to draw comparisons with the ‘upstairs downstairs’ nature of Downton Abbey as you read this. Lousia’s character is also developed in other ways as she begins to form a relationship with one of the policeman involved in the case.

The development of the mystery is steady with enough twists and turns along the way to keep the reader guessing.  It is based upon a real life unsolved murder and cleverly blends the facts of the situation with fiction.  I can’t vouch for absolute historical accuracy, but I can vouch for a lovely read that would be equally at home as a  Sunday night TV drama.

I have since discovered that this is the first of a series of planned Mitford Mysteries.  Each book will feature a different Mitford sister.  I know I will be reading more of these.