Jessica Mitford

Here is a biography of Mitford and some links to info about her papers. This page will get you started with your internet research.

This page has a bio and some info about Mitford's musical interests, as well as some links. What do the lyrics of the songs tell you about her? Did anything you find on this page surprise you, given the subject matter of the piece in your text?

This is the homepage of the Jessica Mitford Memorial Site, where you'll find articles, reviews, photographs, and her last request. Read the latter. What's going on here? What do you make of it? How can you tie it in to her writing?

Here is a photo collection featuring Mitford. What can you tell about her from these photos? What kind of use is such information in, say, writing about Mitford's life and work?

Here is the homepage of Mortuary Management magazine, something you probably don't peruse very often. Read through some issues until you get an idea of the objectives of this magazine's writers. How can you compare these objectives to Mitford's? (Do you watch Six Feet Under?)

Would you like to put Mitford's work into a broader social context? This is an article about prison reform, another issue she was very concerned about, from Theology Today.

Mitford was often described as a "muckraker. " If you'd like some historical context for this term, check out this article on the subject.

Here is an excerpt from The American Way of Death. What comparison can you make of this to "Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain "? Are you able to find some significant differences?

This page has some quotations by Mitford. Did you find anything there that can help you in your own writing?

Here is an interview with Mitford from the San Francisco Chronicle. The heading mentions that she was "digging up new dirt. " What does that mean in this context? What conclusions can you draw about her based on your textbook reading and this interview?