Hons and Rebels, by Jessica Mittord (Indigo, £6.99 in UK)

"Whenever I read the words `Peer's Daughter' in a headline, I know it's going to be something about one of you children," Mitford mere otherwise known as Lady Redesdale, once remarked. We all have our crosses to bear; Lady Redesdale had practically a graveyard full, what with one daughter marrying Sir Oswald Mosley, another becoming infatuated with Hitler, a third a fervent Communist and a fourth a notorious novelist. But nobody could say the Mitfords were dull, and though it is inevitably extremely mannered, this account of a privileged and eccentric childhood is consistently entertaining. At the age of 12 the author, like so many 12 year olds, could bear the cross of her family no more and decided to run away. Unlike most runaways of her age, however, she made proper financial plans. She wrote to a famous London bank and received the following reply. "Dear Madam, We respectfully beg leave to acknowledge receipt often shillings as initial deposit in your Running Away Account. Passbook Number enclosed. We remain, dear Madam, your obedient servants...