Editing Nancy Mitford (section)

==Later career==
In October 1957 Palewski was appointed as France's ambassador to Italy. Mitford's meetings with him, which had become increasingly rare because of his many political and social commitments, were now reduced to a single visit a year, supplemented with occasional letters. Mitford mainly concealed her true feelings on this separation, although one acquaintance noted her increasingly "savage" teasing of friends, which was perhaps a safety valve: "If she would only tell one she is unhappy one would do what one could to comfort her".<ref>Hastings, pp. 213–14.</ref> In March 1958 Mitford's father, Lord Redesdale, died. After the cremation, she informed her sister Jessica, "the ashes were done up in the sort of parcel he used to bring back from London, rich thick brown paper & incredibly neat knots".<ref>Lovell, p. 455.</ref>
[[File:Louis-xiv-lebrunl.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Louis XIV, "The Sun King", subject of Mitford's much-praised book]]

Meanwhile Mitford had completed her latest book, ''[[Voltaire in Love]]'', an account of the love affair between [[Voltaire]] and the [[Émilie du Châtelet|Marquise du Châtelet]]. She considered it her first truly grown-up work, and her best.<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|2003|p=340}}</ref> Published in 1957, it sold well, was taken seriously by the critics and was warmly praised by Mitford's friends.<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|2003|p=346}}</ref> Its writing had been hampered by painful headaches arising from her apparently failing eyesight and worries that she might be going blind. The problem was resolved after a visit to the ophthalmic surgeon [[Patrick Trevor-Roper]], who gave her new spectacles: "It is heavenly to be able to read for a long time on end & now I see how handicapped I was when doing Voltaire".<ref>Hastings, p. 226.</ref> She then returned to writing fiction, with ''[[Don't Tell Alfred]]'', in which she revived Fanny Wincham, the narrator of ''The Pursuit of Love'' and ''Love in a Cold Climate'', and placed her in a Paris setting as wife of the British ambassador. Several characters familiar from the earlier novels appear in minor roles. The book, published in October 1960, was popular with the public, but received indifferent reviews. Some of Mitford's friends disliked it, and she decided she would write no more fiction.<ref>Hastings, pp. 227–30.</ref>

In August 1962 Palewski was appointed a minister in [[Georges Pompidou]]'s government, and returned to Paris. This did not mean more regular or frequent meetings, and the affair with Mitford continued at arm's length.<ref name=Hastings215>Hastings, pp. 215–17.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Palewski had been conducting a simultaneous affair with another woman, a near neighbour of Mitford in Paris. In 1961 this woman bore Palewski's child. He assured Mitford that he had no intention of marrying the woman and saw no reason why his friendship with Mitford should not continue.<ref name=Hastings215/>|group= n}} In April 1963 Mitford was in England for the wedding of her cousin [[Angus Ogilvy]] to [[Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy|Princess Alexandra]]. A month later she was back for the funeral of her mother, Lady Redesdale, who died on 25 May.<ref name=Hastings234>Hastings, pp. 234–35.</ref> Mitford's friends were dying, too, "in middle age", she informed her long-time friend Violet Hammersley.<ref>Acton, p. 143.</ref> The premature deaths included that of Evelyn Waugh, who died on 10 April 1966. Mitford saw the kindness and humour concealed behind his hostile public image,<ref name=odnb/> and said after his death: "What nobody ever remembers about Evelyn is everything with him was jokes. Everything".<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|2003|p=370}}</ref> Thompson calls their relationship "one of the great literary friendships of the twentieth century".<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|2003|p=272}}</ref>

Amidst these personal upheavals Mitford continued writing. In 1964 she began work on ''The Sun King'', a biography of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]]. Her publishers decided to issue it as a lavishly illustrated "[[Coffee table book|coffee table]]" book. When it was published in August 1966, among the many tributes to the book was that of President de Gaulle, who recommended it to every member of his cabinet.<ref>Hastings, pp. 236–38.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|2003|p=376}}</ref> By this time, Mitford's relationship with Palewski had become dormant, and she recognised that the best days would never return.<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|2003|p=372}}</ref> Under pressure from her landlords to leave her rue Monsieur apartment—they had raised her rent "exorbitantly"— she decided to leave Paris and buy herself a house in Versailles.<ref>Acton, p. 173.</ref>

===Final years===
[[File:Nancy, Unity and Diana Mitford gravestones (Nancy).jpg|thumb|The graves in Swinbrook churchyard of (left) Nancy, (centre) Unity and (right) Diana, who died in 2003]]
Mitford moved to No. 4 rue d'Artois, Versailles, in January 1967. The modest house had a half-acre (0.2 hectare) garden, which soon became one of her chief delights.<ref>Lovell, p. 485.</ref> In 1968 she began work on her final book, a biography of [[Frederick the Great]]. While confined at home in March 1969 after a series of illnesses she learned from a newspaper announcement that Palewski had married the Duchesse de Sagan, a rich divorcée. Mitford had long accepted that Palewski would never marry her. Nevertheless, she was deeply hurt by the news, although she affected a typical nonchalance.<ref>Hastings, pp. 242–44.</ref> 

Shortly after, she entered hospital for the removal of a tumour. After the operation she continued to suffer pain, although she was able to continue working on her book. In October 1969 she undertook a tour of East Germany, to visit former royal palaces and battlefields.<ref>Hastings, p. 247.</ref> She finished the book, but in April 1970 was back in hospital for further tests, which did not lead to either a diagnosis or effective treatment.<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|2003|p=387}}</ref>

''Frederick the Great'' was published later in 1970 to a muted reception.<ref name=odnb/> Mitford's remaining years were dominated by her illness, although for a time she enjoyed visits from her sisters and friends, and working in her garden. In April 1972 the French government made her a [[Legion of Honour|Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur]], and later that year the British government appointed her a [[Order of the British Empire|Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE). She was delighted by the former honour, and amused by the latter—which she remembered Waugh had called an "insult" and turned down.<ref name=Acton232/> 

At the end of 1972 she entered the [[Nuffield Health|Nuffield Clinic]] in London, where she was diagnosed with [[Hodgkin's lymphoma]], a cancer of the blood. She lived for another six months, unable to look after herself and in almost constant pain, struggling to keep her spirits up. She wrote to her friend [[James Lees-Milne]]: "It's very curious, dying, and would have many a drôle amusing & charming side were it not for the pain".<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|2003|p=398}}</ref> She died on 30 June 1973 at her home in the rue d'Artois and was cremated in Versailles, after which her ashes were taken to Swinbrook for burial alongside her sister Unity.<ref>Hastings, p. 255.</ref>