Mitford’s most enduringly popular novel, The Pursuit of Love is a classic comedy about growing up and falling in love among the privileged and eccentric. Now an original series on Prime Video.Mitford modeled her characters on her own famously unconventional family. We are introduced to the Radletts through the eyes of their cousin Fanny, who stays with them at Alconleigh, their Gloucestershire … their Gloucestershire estate. Uncle Matthew is the blustering patriarch, known to hunt his children when foxes are scarce; Aunt Sadie is the vague but doting mother; and the seven Radlett children, despite the delights of their unusual childhood, are recklessly eager to grow up.
The first of three novels featuring these characters, The Pursuit of Love follows the travails of Linda, the most beautiful and wayward Radlett daughter, who falls first for a stuffy Tory politician, then an ardent Communist, and finally a French duke named Fabrice.
Featuring an introduction by Zoë Heller.
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“I think housework is far more tiring and frightening than hunting is, no comparison, and yet after hunting we had eggs for tea and were made to rest for hours, but after housework people expect one to go on as if nothing special had happened.”
HOW had I never read any Mitford novels before now? What a brilliant, funny, charming book. It’s sort …
This is one of my faves and I can’t love this book enough. Written in Mitford’s inimitable style, she casts her green eyes over the mores and lives of the British upper-classes during the war.
With iconic characters such as Uncle Matthew, Aunt Sadie and The Bolter, The Pursuit of Love is ideal for fans of Downton Abbey who may be missing their …
It was interesting and full of protocol for days gone by.
This semi-autobiographical novel by Nancy Mitford (of the famous British Mitford sisters) revolves around fictional Linda Radlett and her extended family of aristocrats in the years leading up to World War II. Awarded three stars on Goodreads.
The novel’s narrator is a Radlett cousin, nearly the same age as Linda, the protagonist. Both are …
Admittedly, I was drawn to The Pursuit of Love because of the author – I was curious about Nancy Mitford’s work, given that I’d read much of her, and a book about her (and her sisters), but nothing by her. Happily, the book lived up to my hopes, and it’s a delightful, period “classic” in the same vein as Evelyn Waugh or Irène Némirovsky.
As …
Along with LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE by the same author, my favorie book(s) in the world. Have read many times just for the sheer entertainment.
One of my favorites. I reread it about every 7 or 8 years.
Excellent writing.
very interesting – based on real-life people, who admittedly are rather shallow.
The reader needs to remember that this was written just a few years after the time period of the book. Interesting mentions of WW11 and the ideas of the time.
Couldn’t keep my attention. Didn’t get half way.
I enjoyed the story but did not like the abrupt ending. Is there a sequel?
Great journey into the lives of fascinating characters in a British period piece. Fresh and satisfying.
I delightfully sharp and definitely humorous retelling of life in the Mitford family. Not to be missed – the sisters are unforgettable and so is their mother.
Occasionally I take up a book with no idea of its origins. This novel, set in London, Paris and the English countryside during WWII was one of those books. I just read it and enjoyed it and assumed ot was a recent recounting of that era. Scandal, naughty behavior and psychological insights were my clues. But i could not have been more wrong. This …
Enjoyable reading with an undercurrent of wit.
A fun look into a quirky aristocratic family pre-WW 1. Characters are based on the real-life Mitford family.
I love Nancy Mitford’s books!! This was my introduction into her world. This book was funny, sad, romantic and really entertaining!!