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The Pursuit of Love Nancy Mitford Rosemary Davis 9781850898375 Books

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The Pursuit of Love Nancy Mitford Rosemary Davis 9781850898375 Books

THE PURSUIT OF LOVE (1945) is one of the funniest novels I've ever read. Nancy Mitford casts herself as cousin "Fanny" in this sharp coming-of-age tale set in Interwar England, and her cousin Linda (Jessica Mitford) and the other Mitford sibs are here as the aristocratic "Radletts." They live under the care of the timid Aunt Sadie and her husband, tyrannical Uncle Matthew, who thought classroom education for girls a terrible thing but had nothing against hunting his own children with the family horses when hounds and foxes were out of season (which the kids loved). When not hunting or engaging in other strenuous pursuits, the children met in a "secret" cupboard (think: closet) and passed around various bits of social and sexual misinformation on the way to maturity.

"Fanny's" droll, slightly outsider-ish humor reminds us that growing up, even among aristocrats, is not always easy. Although Uncle Matthew may have thought his notions about child-rearing were traditional and conservative, he managed to bring up a bunch of kids so individualistic that when they left home, they did precisely what they wanted to do, come what may. The real Mitford clan left a legacy of mirth and sharp observation, and their literary output left such a lasting mark that when the family was "rediscovered" in the 1980s and 1990s the most orthodox of the Mitford brood, Deborah, called all these familial goings-on "la Triviata." ("Debo" was branded "wicked" for that crack.) Then Debo went and published a book of her own.

THE PURSUIT OF LOVE is the place to start, and if you love it there's always its 1949 near-sequel, LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE.


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The Pursuit of Love Nancy Mitford Rosemary Davis 9781850898375 Books Reviews

I regret not using my library card for this book. I kept wondering what was so wonderful about these self-indulgent, shallow, and vapid characters. Never really got into it.
It was a real struggle to get through this book. Linda, the main character, was a very immature narcissistic person. It did have a few good moments toward the end of the book.
Nancy Mitford's eccentric Radlett family are so interesting you wish you could hang out with them. Nancy's writing is witty, funny, endearing and sad. I love them all!!
Mitford at her best, but more thought-provoking. Again, she gives the reader excellently-defined characters, scathing wit, and smart tricksters who can pull the wool over their unsuspecting targets' eyes and have them enjoying the experience. Don't let the era put you off ... it's as pertinent and topical now as it was when she wrote it.
Have read it many times and had to buy a new copy because someone didn't return my copy.
if you enjoyed books like "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin or "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman you will enjoy this novel. Like the two mentioned works it explores long lost social mores in a past age. Though a bit slow going in the beginning it does start to grab your attention as it progresses. I felt it was a novel worth reading.
This novel is not quite as serious as the above mentioned works. It is more a tongue in cheek criticism of society and it's expectations of people of class.
Nancy Mitford was a bright literary light who came of age between the two World Wars. Her large and wildly eccentric family has been renamed the Radletts and is the foundation for this opening installment of a trilogy dealing with an English family on the brink of WWII.

The narrator is Fanny, a niece abandoned by her fun-loving parents who had no desire to be bound by a child. Her mother, always referred to as The Bolter, makes rare appearances in Fanny's life and none so significant as when she delivers the final line of this novel, one of the best I can recall to close out a tale.

The characters and the story are seen through Fanny's eyes and she recounts their trials and tribulations with a frank and conversational tone that puts you firmly at home at Alconleigh, their cold and sparsely decorated ancestral home. Most notable amongst the characters is Linda, who flits from man to man in a self-centered and very worldly lifestyle that is both repelling and at the same time completely captivating. The terrifying Uncle Matthew is also notable for his harsh punishments and hatred of foreigners, but who suffers from a soft spot when it comes to his family and his beloved England.

Beautifully drawn characters, exquisite writing, and hysterically funny scenes make this a gem of a novel that has withstood the test of time since its 1945 publication.
Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love are great fun. Nancy Mitford chronicles tales of eccentric English aristocrats in the 30's and 40's with great wit and style. And the best part is that most of it was patterned closely after her own family! Read In the Pursuit of Love first, then Love in a Cold Climate. You won't be sorry!
THE PURSUIT OF LOVE (1945) is one of the funniest novels I've ever read. Nancy Mitford casts herself as cousin "Fanny" in this sharp coming-of-age tale set in Interwar England, and her cousin Linda (Jessica Mitford) and the other Mitford sibs are here as the aristocratic "Radletts." They live under the care of the timid Aunt Sadie and her husband, tyrannical Uncle Matthew, who thought classroom education for girls a terrible thing but had nothing against hunting his own children with the family horses when hounds and foxes were out of season (which the kids loved). When not hunting or engaging in other strenuous pursuits, the children met in a "secret" cupboard (think closet) and passed around various bits of social and sexual misinformation on the way to maturity.

"Fanny's" droll, slightly outsider-ish humor reminds us that growing up, even among aristocrats, is not always easy. Although Uncle Matthew may have thought his notions about child-rearing were traditional and conservative, he managed to bring up a bunch of kids so individualistic that when they left home, they did precisely what they wanted to do, come what may. The real Mitford clan left a legacy of mirth and sharp observation, and their literary output left such a lasting mark that when the family was "rediscovered" in the 1980s and 1990s the most orthodox of the Mitford brood, Deborah, called all these familial goings-on "la Triviata." ("Debo" was branded "wicked" for that crack.) Then Debo went and published a book of her own.

THE PURSUIT OF LOVE is the place to start, and if you love it there's always its 1949 near-sequel, LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE.