| Description | This series consists of letters written to Cynthia by friends and other social and political contacts. Most of the correspondence dates from the 1920s and early 1930s, but there are also letters written to Cynthia during her adolescence, and before her marriage to Oswald Mosley in 1920. Correspondents are largely based in Britain, but Cynthia also had several American friends. Several correspondents appear to have been particular friends, each having written a number of letters that survive in this collection. It is possible that other correspondents wrote more letters than are now represented in this series, but that these were later lost. Although the date range of surviving letters is fairly wide, relatively few individuals seem to have maintained a friendship with Cynthia throughout the period of her adulthood. Many close friendships, such as those with Dick Wyndham, Georgia Sitwell and Zita James, appear to have been established only during the later 1920s, while others, with individuals including Barbara Lutyens and Amelie Troubetzkoy, seem to have been discontinued in the years immediately after Cynthia's marriage. Common themes discussed in personal correspondence to Cynthia Mosley include social activities and engagements, holidays and leisure activities, the personal relationships of correspondents and of mutual friends, and the professional and domestic lives of the correspondents. Letters from individuals active or interested in politics also frequently discuss or refer to various aspects of the current political situation in England during the 1920s and early 1930s, particularly as it affected the life and career of Cynthia Mosley and, more particularly, of her husband Oswald Mosley. However, these references are not usually very detailed.
In addition to letters from close friends, there is substantial volume of correspondence from other friends and acquaintances, indicating that Cynthia was extremely socially active. The extent of this personal correspondence allows us to build up a picture of Cynthia's social and friendship network, both before and after her marriage, encompassing socialites, artists, writers, politicians and political activists, civil servants and members of the armed forces, and provides a snapshot of the connections of members of a social elite during the inter war years. |