Noble Blood – "The Mitford Communist (With Carla Kaplan)"

Podcast: Noble Blood
Host: Dana Schwartz
Guest: Carla Kaplan (historian, author of The Fierce Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford)
Release Date: December 23, 2025

Episode Overview

This special episode of Noble Blood delves into the complex, dramatic life of Jessica “Decca” Mitford, the rebel of the legendary Mitford sisters, through a conversation with Carla Kaplan, author of The Fierce Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford. Together, Schwartz and Kaplan examine the Mitford family’s contradictions—aristocratic daughters who ended up on every side of 20th-century history, from Fascism to Communism, and Jessica’s unique place as both a product of privilege and a lifelong anti-establishment crusader.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Who Were the Mitford Sisters?

[02:30–09:49]

• Six British aristocratic sisters, famous for their beauty, wit, and wildly different political paths.
• The Mitford phenomenon has lasted a century, generating a body of “Mitfordiana”—books, plays, TV series, and more.
• Despite minimal formal education (parents thought it unnecessary for girls), each sister created a “pulled-from-thin-air” future for herself.
• The family:
  • Nancy: Became a noted novelist.
  • Pamela: Lived quietly, possibly in a same-sex relationship.
  • Diana: Astoundingly beautiful, became a lifelong British Fascist, unrepentant to her grave.
  • Unity: Fascinated by Hitler, became his intimate and survived a suicide attempt after war was declared, living with a bullet in her brain.
  • Deborah: Became the Duchess of Devonshire.
  • Jessica (Decca): The family’s outlier; became a Communist, civil rights activist, then bestselling American muckraking journalist.
• Notable Quote:
  • Kaplan on the sisters’ looks:

    "Every one of them is sort of drive your car into the curb and gape at them. Beautiful, you know." ([05:39])

2. Jessica’s Aristocratic Contradictions

[09:49–13:59]

• Despite rejecting her aristocratic roots, Jessica used the privileges and mannerisms of her upbringing strategically in activism and writing.
• Never tried to hide her background; rather, she exaggerated her accent and played up her differences for effect in organizing and advocacy.
• Authenticity: Her Britishness and risk-taking were assets, not hindrances, in American progressive circles.
• Notable Quote:
  • Kaplan:

    "She is the aristocratic communist. It's almost a contradiction in terms, and she knows it." ([10:54])

  • "That English upper crust accent—it got deeper every year." ([12:07])

3. Jessica and Unity – Sisters Divided by Ideology

[13:59–18:56]

• As children, Jessica and Unity were especially close, renowned for their mischief and pranks.
• Unity, bold and extreme, was Jessica’s favorite, and their bond endured despite Unity’s Nazism and tragic fate.
• Decca maintained contact, even after Unity was brain damaged from her suicide attempt. The sisters’ love and playfulness persisted, demonstrating the profound pain political rifts can cause within families.
• Notable Quote:
  • Kaplan:

    "They longed for one another and that longing never abated." ([16:54])

• Heartbreak extended to her family at large—Jessica kept trying to connect but was never fully accepted after she left for her own path.

4. The House Un-American Activities Committee Showdown

[23:21–29:13]

• Jessica and her American husband, lawyer Robert Treuhaft, were active in the Communist Party in California.
• She was summoned to testify regarding party activities but refused to cooperate, using humor and aristocratic airs as defense.
• Dressed flamboyantly in her best clothes and hat, she provided a non-cooperation masterclass and even derailed a question about her tennis club membership, drawing laughter from the audience.
• Her refusal and wit prevented the committee from compelling her to produce any incriminating files.
• Notable Quote:
  • Kaplan:

    "There is just no way that Jessica Mitford is going to name a single name. This is never going to happen." ([24:57])

  • "Her humor all her life got her into trouble. And occasionally her humor got her out of trouble." ([28:17])

5. Civil Rights Activism: Trapped in a Church with Dr. King

[29:13–33:35]

• Close to civil rights leaders Virginia and Clifford Durr, Jessica witnessed some of the most violent periods of the movement.
• She found herself trapped overnight with Martin Luther King Jr. and 300 others in a Montgomery church besieged by a white mob during the Freedom Rides, narrowly escaping with her life.
• The traumatic experience cemented her commitment to fighting injustice, influencing her later work.
• Notable Quote:
  • Kaplan:

    "She was right there...trapped in this church overnight, including Jessica Mitford and Martin Luther King...Jessica Mitford wrote an essay about it. It ended up never being published." ([31:54])

6. Muckraking Career: Exposing the Funeral Industry

[33:35–36:32]

• Mitford’s journalistic fame came from her expose, The American Way of Death (1963), a searingly funny yet grave critique of the U.S. funeral industry.
• The idea came after hearing about a widow being threatened that her husband's feet would be “chopped off” if she didn't pay for a more expensive coffin.
• The book was a massive bestseller, still taught today, and launched her reputation as an effective, humorous crusader against corporate exploitation.
• Notable Quote:
  • Kaplan:

    "It's an hysterically funny laugh out loud book about death and dying and funerals." ([33:59])

  • "She thought it shouldn't be something that people made a profit out of." ([36:28])

7. Her Own Funeral: Final Prank and Legacy

[36:32–37:58]

• Though she’d joked about a grand, ostentatious funeral, she left clear instructions for the simplest cremation possible.
• Friends held a mock fancy funeral in her honor, complete with irreverent humor—a fitting send-off for Jessica.
• "She wanted to write and think and joke and laugh and sing up until the end. And she died with her friends all around her bed singing her favorite songs." ([37:46])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |---|---|---| | 05:39 | "Every one of them is sort of drive your car into the curb and gape at them. Beautiful, you know." | Carla Kaplan | | 10:54 | "She is the aristocratic communist. It's almost a contradiction in terms, and she knows it." | Carla Kaplan | | 12:07 | "That English upper crust accent—it got deeper every year." | Carla Kaplan | | 16:54 | "They longed for one another and that longing never abated." | Carla Kaplan | | 24:57 | "There is just no way that Jessica Mitford is going to name a single name. This is never going to happen." | Carla Kaplan | | 28:17 | "Her humor all her life got her into trouble. And occasionally her humor got her out of trouble." | Carla Kaplan | | 31:54 | "She was right there...trapped in this church overnight, including Jessica Mitford and Martin Luther King...Jessica Mitford wrote an essay about it. It ended up never being published." | Carla Kaplan | | 33:59 | "It's an hysterically funny laugh out loud book about death and dying and funerals." | Carla Kaplan | | 36:28 | "She thought it shouldn't be something that people made a profit out of." | Carla Kaplan | | 37:46 | "She wanted to write and think and joke and laugh and sing up until the end. And she died with her friends all around her bed singing her favorite songs." | Carla Kaplan |

Timeline of Key Segments

• 02:30 — Introduction to the Mitford sisters, background and individual outlines.
• 05:37 — The varied political fates of Diana, Unity, Deborah, and Jessica.
• 09:49 — Discussion of Jessica's unique leftward trajectory and her use of aristocratic privilege.
• 13:59 — Jessica’s relationship with Unity and persistence of love despite political rift.
• 23:21 — HUAC hearing: Jessica’s comic, subversive defiance and close brush with imprisonment.
• 29:13 — Experience at a violent Freedom Rider church siege with Dr. King.
• 33:35 — The American Way of Death: exposing the funeral industry and her muckraker legacy.
• 36:32 — Details of Jessica's funeral and enduring humor.

Tone and Language

• The discussion is engaging, conversational, and scholarly with moments of humor and deep empathy, closely reflecting the style of the Mitfords, especially Jessica's wit and irreverence.
• Kaplan is both admiring and unflinching in her portraits, emphasizing Jessica Mitford's contradictions, courage, and lasting influence.

Summary

Carla Kaplan’s conversation with Dana Schwartz offers a vivid portrait of Jessica Mitford—a woman who transformed personal rebellion into public resistance, wielding both privilege and humor as her weapons. This episode unpacks the wild, storied Mitford legacy, the pain and comedy in familial and political divides, and how an aristocrat became a celebrated Communist and muckraker. Essential listening for anyone fascinated by 20th-century radical women, outrageous families, and the weird alchemy of heritage and revolt.