The Pursuit of Love: Now a major series on BBC and Prime Video directed by Emily Mortimer and starring Lily James and Andrew Scott

The Pursuit of Love clearly borrows fairly heavily from Nancy Mitford's own bizarre upbringing. It's narrated by Fanny Logan. Fanny's mother, known as 'The Bolter' has abandoned her in order to pursue a series of love affairs, leaving her in the care of Fanny's Aunt Emily. Emily and Fanny spend a great deal of time staying with their relatives, the Radlett family, at their ancestral home of Alconleigh.Needless to say, the Radletts all seem to be, in varying degrees, slightly mad. Uncle Matthew is a blustering tyrant who despises foreigners, the nouveau riche, Catholics and people who say 'notepaper', 'mirror' and 'perfume' instead of 'writing paper', 'looking glass' and 'scent'; one of his favourite activities is hunting his own children with bloodhounds. While Aunt Emily insists on sending Fanny to school, Uncle Matthew refuses to allow his daughters any kind of education.What's slightly odd about The Pursuit of Love is that it seems to begin very much as Fanny's story, but then it becomes clear that the focus of the narrative will be the Linda, the second-oldest Radlett sister. We see Linda fall in love with a wealthy banker her father hates and whose own family are horrified by her aristocratic naivety about money and her complete inability to understand why her husband needs any sort of career. After Linda almost dies giving birth to a baby she actively despises and wants nothing to do with, it becomes clear that her marriage can't possibly last - and from that point on we watch Linda embark on a series of relationships with desperately unsuitable men on both sides of the English Channel, as the Second World War looms.The benefit of having the story narrated by Fanny rather than Linda herself is that Fanny, despite her closeness to the Radletts, is just enough of an outsider to be able to see them from a more objective viewpoint - plus, the parallels between Linda and Fanny's own mother give Fanny's perspective an extra dimension. It's also important that Fanny has, unlike her cousins, been educated and seen at least a little of life outside Alconleigh. It's Linda's complete lack of any occupation or friends beyond the Radlett circle that lead to her meeting and falling for her first husband in the first place, although Linda herself is apparently unable to see this. The pursuit of love is all that Linda has to look forward to, and it's really no wonder that she approaches each of her relationships with such childlike idealism.The Pursuit of Love is without a doubt very funny, and often the fun poked at the Radletts is affectionate - but there is sometimes a more satirical undertone to the humour. There's a strong suggestion that this kind of aristocracy between the wars is a dying breed, and that they might just be responsible for their own downfall. The writing is razor-sharp and the dialogue is perfection; this is a book full of wit and sparkle. And yet despite that, there's a genuine sense of tragedy to it too and a very real sadness - the closing line, which comes from Fanny's own absent mother, is incredibly bittersweet.

I first came upon 'The Pursuit of Love' during a holiday in a remote cottage in the Lake District in 1970. The weather was wet so I had time to raid the cottage library and I picked up a copy of this book. At that time, I'd never heard of Nancy Mitford so I'd no idea of the treat in store. Within a few pages of meeting 'Uncle Matthew', I was laughing out loud - I could hear his bellowing voice in my head. Over the years since, I have read the book several times and have been just as amused as ever. I didn't see the series on TV but recently saw the film on Netflix. I had to buy the Kindle version so have just read it once again. It did not disappoint. I love the humour and the tongue-in-cheek dialogue. I shall probably read the rest of the Mitford books again but none will be more enjoyable than this one.

Based on Nancy Mitford's own aristocratic and eccentric relatives, 'The Pursuit of Love' focuses on the Radlett family, headed by Lord Alconleigh and his wife, Sadie, who are the parents of six Radlett children - the very lovely and rather flighty Linda being the heroine of this story, which is narrated by Linda's cousin, Fanny. More or less abandoned by her 'Bolter' mother and brought up by her much-loved Aunt Emily, Fanny spends high days and holidays with her Radlett cousins at their family pile in Gloucestershire, a house so dankly cold that the only place Linda and Fanny can spend time together in any sort of comfort is the large airing cupboard - where all manner of dreams, desires and the facts of life are discussed amidst the sheets, the pillowcases and the towels. And as the eccentric and rather volatile Lord Alconleigh stomps around his house and grounds, cursing anyone who doesn't meet with his approval (especially damned foreigners and 'sewers') and setting off with his bloodhounds to hunt his children across the countryside, Linda dreams of falling in love and escaping into a life of utter romantic bliss; however, Linda's future doesn't unfortunately turn out quite the way she planned, and after her marriage to Tony (a rather conservative and boring banker) fails to live up to her expectations, Linda soon becomes in danger of becoming a 'Bolter' just like Fanny's mother. But will Linda finally find the love of her life? To say more might spoil the story, especially as it's not a particularly long one, so I shall leave the remainder for prospective readers to discover for themselves.First published in 1945, this witty and (seemingly) light novel is full of wicked humour and is written with Nancy Mitford's tongue placed firmly in her cheek, and providing you take it in the spirit with which it was written, makes for enjoyable and entertaining downtime reading. However, satire and humour aside, this tale, like Ms Mitford's own life, has its darker undertones and the final few pages of this novel illustrate this only too well. In the companion novel to 'The Pursuit of Love' (Love in a Cold Climate) we meet up with Fanny and some of the Radlett family again, and Fanny's story continues in a third novel:Don't Tell Alfred, both of which I am looking forward to reading and reviewing sometime soon.4 Stars.

My first Nancy Mitford novel as chosen for our Book Club. The plot development was captivating and dovetailing around the context was superb. I know nothing of the Sisters, but others tell me it fits their stories too. Couldn't decide whether to get the Kindle or book, but I loved the front cover soon I bought both, and Love in a Cold Climate for my next one.