Hurst signs biography of ‘neglected icon’ Jessica Mitford

Hurst has acquired Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford by award-winning author and academic Carla Kaplan, a “riveting new biography of the fifth and most radical of the famous Mitford sisters”.

Senior editor Lara Weisweiller-Wu bought UK and Commonwealth rights from HarperCollins US. The book will be published in December 2025 as a £27.50 hardback.

The synopsis reads: “Jessica ’Decca’ Mitford was born into privilege, destined to settle for life as a professional beauty and socialite – instead, she ran away to America and tore up the script. She became a Communist, civil rights campaigner and bestselling journalist, wielding her wit and irreverence as a weapon against injustice.

“Decca’s life reads like a radical adventure: from the Spanish Civil War and Cold War America to her ground-breaking exposés, she remained sharp, defiant and darkly funny to the last. Using 12,000 letters, new interviews, and a wealth of new archival material, Kaplan reveals the inner life of a woman who broke with her family, her country and the expectations placed on her, and who never looked back.”

Weisweiller-Wu said: “It may be a paradox in terms, but the best label for Jessica Mitford is ‘neglected icon’. Her story has been hiding in plain sight, and I’m delighted to have found an author as smart and passionate as Carla to tell it. Carla’s wry, thoughtful and eye-opening account reminds us that the Mitfords are endlessly entertaining, and deeply weird. What’s so special about Jessica is that she’s not only fascinating, but inspiring. Readers have much to learn from her colourful, courageous life of action."

Kaplan is the Stanton W and Elisabeth K Davis Distinguished Professor of American Literature at Northeastern University, a Guggenheim Fellow and author of Miss Anne in Harlem (Harper).

She said: “I am thrilled to be working with Hurst to bring Decca’s amazing story to a larger audience. Her sisters have all received more attention, but Decca was the most fascinating Mitford of them all. As a Communist who couldn’t bear authority or dogma, a feminist who derided feminism, and a fierce anti-fascist with irrepressible humour, she travelled farthest from her aristocratic country background and yet made superb use of the background she rejected. Decca was a fearless activist with a genius for remaining joyful, even in the face of tragedy and repression. That gift for joyfulness, combined with an ability to forge connections across political divides, make her remarkably relevant today.”