Hitler's Girl

“This timely, readable book raises hugely important questions about how people justify supporting tyrants. In Young’s engaging narrative, what led British aristocrats, such as fascist fanatics Diana and Unity Mitford, to totalitarianism almost 100 years ago resonates with alarming trends we witness today. Attacks on democracy, from January 6th to Ukraine, make understanding authoritarianism most urgent; Hitler’s Girl, sure to be controversial, contributes critical case histories to that essential conversation.” — Carla Kaplan, author of Miss Anne in Harlem “A frank and timely exploration of a seminal era in modern history deserving of more attention. Young's engaging work shines a spotlight on this pivotal moment between the World Wars by bringing some of its most complicated personalities to the fore and thus reminding us that there is always more to discover, even when we think we know the whole story.” — Catherine Grace Katz, author of The Daughters Of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans “Confirms not only the danger British fascists posed to the nation but also the government’s embarrassing, often inexplicable unwillingness to take steps against them. . . . A cautionary tale for today [when] Democratic institutions are fragile and many of the problems roiling the waters of the ’30s are ascendant again.” — Library Journal “Defense analyst Young explores the pro-Nazi sentiments of 'an influential segment of [Britain’s] elite' in this . . . intriguing history . . . The brisk narrative contains many shocking revelations.” — Publishers Weekly "A fresh analysis of fascism in 1930s Britain. . . . Thanks to newly opened and expanded archives, the author is able to expose a host of fascist-leaning figures during the 1930s, revealing the shockingly broad complacency and complicity among the aristocratic class." — Kirkus Reviews “Hitler’s Girl joins other recently published titles, including Geoffrey Wheatcroft's Churchill’s Shadow (2021), in interrogating the British government’s own racism and postcolonial legacy.” — Booklist “Hitler’s Girl is required reading for anyone interested in the rise of Nazism and in the counter-factual mentioned at the outset. Lauren Young has given us a gift and has also warned us about the times we live in now which in so many ways resemble the period from 1933 to 1938 when Hitler could have been stopped.” — Counter Currents
“This timely, readable book raises hugely important questions about how people justify supporting tyrants. In Young’s engaging narrative, what led British aristocrats, such as fascist fanatics Diana and Unity Mitford, to totalitarianism almost 100 years ago resonates with alarming trends we witness today. Attacks on democracy, from January 6th to Ukraine, make understanding authoritarianism most urgent; Hitler’s Girl, sure to be controversial, contributes critical case histories to that essential conversation.” — Carla Kaplan, author of Miss Anne in Harlem “A frank and timely exploration of a seminal era in modern history deserving of more attention. Young's engaging work shines a spotlight on this pivotal moment between the World Wars by bringing some of its most complicated personalities to the fore and thus reminding us that there is always more to discover, even when we think we know the whole story.” — Catherine Grace Katz, author of The Daughters Of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans “Confirms not only the danger British fascists posed to the nation but also the government’s embarrassing, often inexplicable unwillingness to take steps against them. . . . A cautionary tale for today [when] Democratic institutions are fragile and many of the problems roiling the waters of the ’30s are ascendant again.” — Library Journal “Defense analyst Young explores the pro-Nazi sentiments of 'an influential segment of [Britain’s] elite' in this . . . intriguing history . . . The brisk narrative contains many shocking revelations.” — Publishers Weekly "A fresh analysis of fascism in 1930s Britain. . . . Thanks to newly opened and expanded archives, the author is able to expose a host of fascist-leaning figures during the 1930s, revealing the shockingly broad complacency and complicity among the aristocratic class." — Kirkus Reviews “Hitler’s Girl joins other recently published titles, including Geoffrey Wheatcroft's Churchill’s Shadow (2021), in interrogating the British government’s own racism and postcolonial legacy.” — Booklist “Hitler’s Girl is required reading for anyone interested in the rise of Nazism and in the counter-factual mentioned at the outset. Lauren Young has given us a gift and has also warned us about the times we live in now which in so many ways resemble the period from 1933 to 1938 when Hitler could have been stopped.” — Counter Currents