OoP: Mixed feelings (spoilers)

[Milz]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, GulPlum <hp at p...> wrote:
> It took me a little longer than I'd expected to finish the book 
(around 
> 11pm last night)  and I thought I'd sleep on my thoughts to get 
them into 
> some kind of perspective. I've kept away from online discussions 
elsewhere 
> (and frankly don't know if I *want* to catch up with the hundreds 
of 
> messages on the main list!) although I've read what folks here have 
to say. 
> I shall try not to repeat the comments others have made, and assume 
they 
> are taken as accepted.
> 
> Spoilers forthcoming... Any quotes refer, of course, to the 
Bloomsbury edition.
> 
>  And is Fudge's second given name, 
> Oswald, an authorial nod towards Oswald Moseley (I don't expect 
anyone to 
> admit not knowing who he was)?
> 

This isn't very spoilery, so I won't include the spoiler warning....
In one of her many interviews, Rowling said she named her 
daughter "Jessica" in honor of Jessica (Decca) Mitford, whom Rowling 
admires. Jessica Mitford's sisters included the Duchess of 
Devonshire, Nancy Mitford and Diana Moseley (the wife of Oswald 
Moseley). Rowling also said that she gave her daughter a copy of 
Jessica Mitford's autobiography "Hons and Rebels". "Hons and Rebels" 
is the real-life version of Nancy Mitford's novels, "The Pursuit of 
Love" and "Love in a Cold Climate".

I suspect Rowling used the Mitfords and their fictionalized 
counterparts, the Radletts, as her models for the Weasleys, as they 
share a number of similiarities. (I posted a rather long message 
about this on the HPFGU main list about a year ago). In fact, if you 
compare the Twins', Ginny's and Ron's dialogue in the earlier Potter 
books, especially when they're whining about unfairness, it's almost 
the same dialogue in the same context as the Radlett children 
dialogue in "Pursuit of Love" and "Love in a Cold Climate". At that 
time, I theorized the future Weasley family events will most likely 
parallel Mitford/Radlett family events.

In a nutshell, Diana Moseley was incarcerated by the British 
government for 2 years during WW II, for her involvement in the 
Fascist movement. It was Nancy Mitford who informed the government 
that Diana was a subversive. Jessica Mitford never forgave her 
sister, Diana, and brother-in-law for their early support of the 
Hitler. Mainly it was because her husband, Esmond Romilly, was killed 
in action during the Battle of Britain by "Diana and her friends". 
Another sister, Unity, was in Hitler's inner circle, and shot herself 
when the UK declared war on Germany. Tom Mitford, the only son of 7 
children, died during the war. 

The Mitford parents, Lord and Lady Redesdale, initially supported 
Hitler and the Nazi's in the 30's. However, Lord Redesdale later 
withdrew his support. This lead to the breakdown of the marriage. 
 
~Milz