Debo ‘Never a bore’
The photographer Cecil Beaton once said, ‘Perhaps the world’s second-worst crime is boredom; the first is being a bore.’ A close personal friend of the late Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire (known as Debo), Beaton was a frequent guest at Chatsworth from the late 1950s. His famous quip has now supplied the title for a new exhibition of 65 rarely seen, intimate photographs of Debo and her remarkable circle, many taken at Chatsworth by Beaton during his leisurely visits.
Debo was indeed never a bore. Everybody has their favourite Mitford sister, and it isn’t always Debo. Nancy and Jessica had better social consciences. Debo was a bit beastly about both of them. But she was never a bore. She never tried to stop anything that would discredit her from coming out. That was part of never being a bore: no pomposity or side. It was also why she made friends with so many interesting artists and writers, such as Lucian Freud, Evelyn Waugh and Patrick Leigh Fermor, many of whom will be portrayed in the Chatsworth exhibition.
Left: Fashion icon Daisy Fellowes at the Beistegui Ball in Venice, 1951. Right: Adele Astaire – Fred Astaire’s sister – at an early Beaton shoot in New York, 1931
She liked them for themselves, not for who they were. Her success latterly as an aristocrat, estate manager, doer-up of homes and retail expert (Ginger And Pickles by Beatrix Potter was her inspiration) had much to do with her accessibility. In recent years, when she was living in Edensor, the estate village of Chatsworth, anybody could rock up at her house on the village open day, poke around and ask her if she’d got any eggs – whereupon she’d consult her butler.
She was mad about chickens, as well as Elvis. From early days, though, she wasn’t a bore: her imitation of a hen about to lay an egg, perfected in childhood, was riveting, though lengthy. She received very little if any education and always claimed she couldn’t stand reading. Evelyn Waugh sent her a copy of his new biography of the Catholic priest Ronald Knox, writing in the flyleaf, ‘You will not find a word in this to offend your Protestant sympathies.’ ‘I would have looked no further,’ Debo remarked, ‘but a friend who was with me at the time happened to notice that all the pages were blank. The perfect present for the non-reader.’
Left: The poet and critic Edith Sitwell pictured in 1962. Right: The Duchess relaxing in the grounds of Chatsworth, 1960
As a writer, which she became in the 1980s, Debo was heaven, perhaps because of the non-reading – no literary pretensions. She produced the best opening of any newspaper article ever: ‘What are tiaras for?’ Then there was her cookery book, published in 2003, which began, ‘I haven’t cooked since the war.’ She’d wanted this for the title, but the publishers wouldn’t let her.
Never A Bore: Deborah Devonshire And Her Set By Cecil Beaton can be seen from 19 March until 3 January 2017 at Chatsworth House: 01246-565300, www.chatsworth.org
Debo was indeed never a bore. Everybody has their favourite Mitford sister, and it isn’t always Debo. Nancy and Jessica had better social consciences. Debo was a bit beastly about both of them. But she was never a bore. She never tried to stop anything that would discredit her from coming out. That was part of never being a bore: no pomposity or side. It was also why she made friends with so many interesting artists and writers, such as Lucian Freud, Evelyn Waugh and Patrick Leigh Fermor, many of whom will be portrayed in the Chatsworth exhibition.
Left: Fashion icon Daisy Fellowes at the Beistegui Ball in Venice, 1951. Right: Adele Astaire – Fred Astaire’s sister – at an early Beaton shoot in New York, 1931She liked them for themselves, not for who they were. Her success latterly as an aristocrat, estate manager, doer-up of homes and retail expert (Ginger And Pickles by Beatrix Potter was her inspiration) had much to do with her accessibility. In recent years, when she was living in Edensor, the estate village of Chatsworth, anybody could rock up at her house on the village open day, poke around and ask her if she’d got any eggs – whereupon she’d consult her butler.
She was mad about chickens, as well as Elvis. From early days, though, she wasn’t a bore: her imitation of a hen about to lay an egg, perfected in childhood, was riveting, though lengthy. She received very little if any education and always claimed she couldn’t stand reading. Evelyn Waugh sent her a copy of his new biography of the Catholic priest Ronald Knox, writing in the flyleaf, ‘You will not find a word in this to offend your Protestant sympathies.’ ‘I would have looked no further,’ Debo remarked, ‘but a friend who was with me at the time happened to notice that all the pages were blank. The perfect present for the non-reader.’
Left: The poet and critic Edith Sitwell pictured in 1962. Right: The Duchess relaxing in the grounds of Chatsworth, 1960As a writer, which she became in the 1980s, Debo was heaven, perhaps because of the non-reading – no literary pretensions. She produced the best opening of any newspaper article ever: ‘What are tiaras for?’ Then there was her cookery book, published in 2003, which began, ‘I haven’t cooked since the war.’ She’d wanted this for the title, but the publishers wouldn’t let her.
Never A Bore: Deborah Devonshire And Her Set By Cecil Beaton can be seen from 19 March until 3 January 2017 at Chatsworth House: 01246-565300, www.chatsworth.org