A personally inscribed copy of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited is among the highlights of a sale of pieces from the collection of Deborah Mitford.

The lot is valued at £15,000-20,000 ($21,457-28,609) ahead of a March 2 auction at Sotheby's London.

Deborah Mitford and her sisters attracted frenzied press coverage for their associations with fascism and communism

Waugh was a close friend. The book is inscribed: "Debo & Andrew, with love from Evelyn, A very old fashioned story".

Deborah Mitford was one of the six eccentric and unconventional Mitford sisters, who lived much of their lives in the public eye.

She spent most of her life as duchess of Chatsworth House, one of England's most spectacular stately homes.

The sale will include a wealth of personal artefacts, ranging from jewellery to Elvis memorabilia (she was a big fan).

David MacDonald, Sotheby's specialist in charge of the sale, added: "This auction paints a vivid picture of Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, featuring mementoes, objects and pictures that tell the story of her remarkable life.

"A friend to many of the people who shaped her generation, she herself was a writer, an  entrepreneur, a patron of the arts, and a much-admired beauty who also had the knack of  absorbing the influences of other designers and decorators to develop her own style.

"The objects with which she chose to surround herself in her final home, the Old Vicarage at Edensor, were often moving, funny, or both, and usually had marvellous stories attached. The items in this sale capture the very essence of this endlessly captivating woman."

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