Los Angeles Times, December 2025
Carla Kaplan discusses her new book, ‘Troublemaker,’ about British aristocrat Jessica Mitford, who spirited herself to America in 1939 and dedicated her life to social justice.
Jessica “Decca” Mitford was one of the 20th century’s indomitable mavericks. Born and bred into British aristocracy, Mitford rejected her bloodline and spirited herself to America in 1939 to pursue a life dedicated to social justice. By that time, her antisemitic parents had declared their public support for Hitler, as had two of her five sisters, while Mitford gravitated toward the Communist party. Working as a dedicated New Dealer and party advocate in Oakland, Mitford fought tirelessly for civil rights and against institutional corruption. Approaching middle age, she swerved into writing; her best-selling book “The American Way of Death” was a savage takedown of the funeral industry.
Carla Kaplan explores all of this and much more in a gripping new biography, “Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford,” which places Mitford’s achievements within the context of America’s roiling political climate in the mid-20th century.
