false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg 50725 6 Few aristocratic English families of the 20th century have enjoyed quite the delicious notoriety that the Mitford sisters courted in the years bracketed by two world wars. For a start, two of the girls, Unity and Diana, were Fascists (the former was a friend of Hitler and Goebbels, and the latter married Sir Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists). Two others took the writing route: Jessica ran away from home and became a famous muckraking journalist, and Nancy composed maliciously witty--and transparently autobiographical--novels as well as several biographies. <I>The Pursuit of Love</I> (1945), her greatest fictional success, and its companion, <I>Love in a Cold Climate</I> (1949), keep closely to the spirit (and details) of their youthful amusements and more grown-up adventures.<p> Seen through the adoring eyes of Fanny Logan, the self-effacing cousin who records their shenanigans with a wicked sincerity, the Radletts of Alconleigh shine with Gloucestershire glamour: apoplectic Uncle Matthew; Lord Alconleigh (modeled to a fine nuance after Mitford's father, Lord Redesdale, who like Uncle Matthew used to hunt his children with bloodhounds); his kind, rather vague wife, Aunt Sadie; as well as Fanny's favorite cousin Linda and the other six Radlett children. The Radlett daughters and Fanny wait impatiently for life to become interesting. Because of their station, however, nothing but marriage is expected of them, so they hurl themselves at love like crusaders, with varied and always fascinating results. At one point Fanny recounts: <blockquote> A few minutes only after Linda had left me to go back to London, Christian and the comrades, I had another caller. This time it was Lord Merlin...."This is a bad business," he said, abruptly, and without preamble, though I had not seen him for several years. "I'm just back from Rome, and what do I find--Linda and Christian Talbot. It's an extraordinary thing that I can't ever leave England without Linda getting herself mixed up with some thoroughly undesirable character. This is a disaster--how far has it gone? Can nothing be done?" </blockquote> <I>The Pursuit of Love</I> follows the romantic fortunes of Linda Radlett, while <I>Love in a Cold Climate</I> ventures further afield with the story of Polly Hampton's shocking love affair and its unexpectedly funny aftermath. Fanny's inexhaustible narration is a pleasant buffer for Mitford's deft teasing, which dances along just this side of mockery. The author of <I>U and Non-U</I>, a famous tongue-in-cheek treatise on the shibboleths of upper-class mores, Mitford often leaves the reader wondering just where she stands in the class wars, and much of her humor arises in the fine distinctions of aristocratic manners and speech. Still, there's an inimitable tart sweetness to these stories of true love and its pallid imitators, making them perfect snapshots of a vanished world. <I>--Barrie Trinkle</I> 49538 book 1979 The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate: Two Novels total:736|5:270|4:285|3:153|2:23|1:5| 736 3000 1159 138 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 5 2 false Wed Jan 28 20:19:03 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 20:27:03 -0800 2009
The tepid back cover copy and fluffy introduction surprised me; these are witty books about ri...more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 4 1 false Thu Jan 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 26 10:30:24 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 09 18:26:28 -0800 2009 The Pursuit of Love, and fully intend to make the acquaintance of the second at some point in the future. For few books have made me laugh so consistently--not at anything intentionally humorous, but at the sheer absurdity of it all, and most particularly the very droll, ...more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 5 1 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Thu Aug 16 17:13:13 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 16 17:17:30 -0700 2007 more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 5 1 false Thu Jan 10 06:58:19 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 27 12:19:10 -0800 2008 more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 5 0 false Wed Jul 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 15:17:19 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 17:24:38 -0700 2009 The Pursuit of Love, from 1945, shows her keen awareness of the U/non-U linguistic distinction well before she elaborated it in her famou...more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 4 0 true Wed Nov 25 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 12:37:13 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 29 08:06:27 -0800 2009 Nancy Mitford

Kate Chetwood November 2009

Nancy Mitfords tales of middle class 1930s Britain from the view of Fanny are thoroughly entertaining, However, for me, they were more thought provoking than anything. The Pursuit...more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 3 0 false Thu Oct 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 02 12:13:06 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 08 16:43:18 -0700 2009 more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 4 0 false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 13 17:58:48 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 18:01:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 5 1 false Sat Sep 13 17:30:04 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 13 17:31:28 -0700 2008 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 3 0 false Sun Aug 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 18:37:33 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 23 21:10:28 -0700 2008 more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 5 1 false Wed Nov 19 21:04:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 02:45:35 -0800 2008 more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 3 0 false Tue Feb 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 07:43:06 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 06 07:09:34 -0800 2008 more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 5 0 false Tue Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Feb 04 17:38:42 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 10 12:41:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 3 0 false Wed Dec 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 23 08:38:01 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 02 18:32:17 -0800 2009 more...]]> 913939 0679600906 9780679600909 6 1 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179419954m/913939.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/913939.Pursuit_of_Love_AND_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate 5 0 false Mon Mar 16 13:59:49 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 14:09:58 -0700 2009 Mitford family, but now I am fascinated. These two books are both autobiographical fiction about them, from their childhoods to WWII. Light and funny but very deft.

Thanks Misha!more...]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 3 0 false Wed Jul 22 14:13:24 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 22 14:27:24 -0700 2009 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 5 0 false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 14 10:12:41 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 14 10:16:55 -0800 2008 ]]> 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 5 0 false Tue Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 10 10:41:09 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 10 10:43:08 -0700 2009 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 4 0 false Sun Mar 08 14:05:38 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 08 14:09:04 -0700 2009 50725 0375718990 9780375718991 724 135 4.08 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170371253m/50725.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50725.The_Pursuit_of_Love_Love_in_a_Cold_Climate_Two_Novels 5 0 false Sat Feb 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 19:28:25 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 19:33:07 -0800 2009 The plots are thin, no attempt at higher meaning.
The pleasure is in the details and characterizations,
e g Lady Montdore thinks the Indians should be grateful to her and her husband, as "we put India on the map." ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=50725