Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford
- November 2025
- HarperCollins
- 0060882387
- 576 pages
Formats
- Hardcover, Audio, Kindle, Digital
News
A Town & Country Must-Read Book for Fall 2025
A Bloomberg “Best Books of November 2025”
AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 25
The wild and unlikely story of Jessica Mitford, fifth of the six famous Mitford Girls, a British aristocrat-turned-American Communist.
Troublemaker tells the wild and unlikely story of Jessica Mitford, fifth of the six famous Mitford Girls, a British aristocrat-turned-American Communist, famous for exposés like The American Way of Death; this biography brings her astonishing self-transformation to life with a riveting, often hilarious account of trading wealth and status for a life of radical activism.
Who could predict that a British aristocrat would so energize American antifascist and civil rights struggles that Time magazine would crown her “Queen of the Muckrakers”? Jessica Mitford, always known as Decca, was brought up by an eccentric English family to marry well and reproduce her wealth and privilege, not to advocate for the rights of others. Her beautiful sisters have been subjects of books and movies dedicated to their naughty, glamorous lives. Decca ran away to America to forge a rebel’s life.
As this richly researched book details, Decca broke the Mitford mold. Instead of settling for life as a professional Beauty, she fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War, became an American Communist and pioneered witty, hugely popular journalism, including her 1963 blockbuster The American Way of Death.
Decca dedicated her life to social justice and proved herself an immensely effective ally, but she also injected laughter into all her political work, annoying some activists with her relentless antics but encouraging many others to find joy in the struggle. From famed baby doctor Benjamin Spock to best friend Maya Angelou, her anti-authoritarian irreverence had a profound impact on American culture.
Mining extensive, untapped sources, and with nearly fifty new interviews, Kaplan’s passionate biography beautifully illuminates how Decca’s hard-won and self-taught social empathy offers a powerful example of female freedom, the dramatic, novelistic story of an extraordinary woman of her time who is remarkably relevant and resonant today.
Praise for Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford
“A perceptive, sympathetic biography of activist, unabashed communist, and muckraker Jessica Mitford. Kaplan captures Decca’s energy and verve, her complicated relationship with her aristocratic family, and her unwavering devotion to fighting injustice, racism, and inequality. A brisk, engaging biography.” Kirkus Reviews
“Beautifully written, utterly transporting, and [made] relentlessly vivid by the recovery of amazing circumstances and astonishing human relationships, Carla Kaplan’s remarkable biography of Jessica Mitford is a journey through the many social and political worlds contained in a single family, from British feudal aristocracy and pro-Hitler fascist enthusiasm to the American Civil Rights Movement and card-carrying American Communism. This captivating story—empathetic and yet clear-eyed—of a fascinating woman, her sisters, and their lives in the twentieth century is a breathtaking and singular achievement.” Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-8), author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy
“Marvelous, enchanting, and hilarious. Carla Kaplan has triumphed, bringing to life the delightful odyssey of Jessica ‘Decca’ Mitford. An inspiring biography by a master biographer.” Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography in New York City
“Of the legendary Mitford sisters, novelist Nancy got the coverage, Duchess Debo got the glamour, fascist Diana and Hitler-loving Unity got the notoriety, but it was Decca who really made a difference in the world. Always on the front lines of history—fighting fascism in the Spanish Civil War, dodging subpoenas from HUAC, writing lacerating investigative journalism—Decca was a warrior for justice who never forgot to laugh at herself. And Carla Kaplan’s compassionate, enthralling, and aptly titled Troublemaker is a fitting celebration of this extraordinary woman.” Amanda Vaill, author of Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution
“Carla Kaplan unveils a unique angle of ‘good trouble’ and civil rights allyship, told with the drama and humor of Mitford’s unique personality.” Tamara Payne, Pulitzer Prize-winning coauthor of The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X
“Carla Kaplan writes with the flair of a novelist and backs it up with relentless research and keen insight. As infectious, stylish, and hard-hitting as its subject, Troublemaker is the marriage of a fascinating, timely story and a wonderful storyteller. An absolute treasure.” Jonathan Eig, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for King: A Life
“A remarkable book about a remarkable woman. If you don’t know a lot about Mitford (and her exceptionally weird family), you’re in for a treat. If you think you already know a lot about her, think again: you’re in for a bracing helping of shock and awe. Because Kaplan’s research is so impressively deep, and her prose so pleasingly fleet, her complicated and compelling subject now has the biography she has long deserved.” Daniel Okrent, author of Last Call and The Guarded Gate