[.ca] The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate: Two Novels (ISBN 0375718990)

From Amazon.com:
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. The Pursuit of Love (1945), her greatest fictional success, and its companion, Love in a Cold Climate (1949), keep closely to the spirit (and details) of their youthful amusements and more grown-up adventures. 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: 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?" The Pursuit of Love follows the romantic fortunes of Linda Radlett, while Love in a Cold Climate 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 U and Non-U, 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. --Barrie Trinkle

The Prodigal Daughters:
These novels explore the duality of love: romantic and practical. On one extreme is Linda, the reckless heroine of "The Pursuit of Love". Due to her wild upbringing, she's unprepared for marriage and the drudgery of daily living. After two unsuccessful marriages she ponders her failure: "Where now was love that would last to the grave and far beyond?" This crisis sparks the beginning of a relationship so shocking and uninhibited, so dionysian, she cannot even tell her own mother and father what she's done. Linda is...the prodigal daughter. At the other extreme is Lady Montdore, one of the more fascinating characters of "Love in a Cold Climate". She has everything Linda lacks: power, position, and money. But she is cold. When little Polly Montdore arrives in this world, her perfect beauty is used merely to further Lady Montdore's ambition. But Polly will grow up to be a prodigal daughter, breaking ties with her family and throwing away her inheritance to marry "Mr. Wrong". Mitford's superb story-telling abilities offer levity and substance to lucky readers. While presenting a bird's-eye view of upper class European culture before and during WWII, Mitford simultaneously explores the conflict between the practical and romantic life. This conflict is illustrated through the primary character of each of the novels. Two sides of the same coin, Linda and Lady Montdore both consider marriage to be the main event in a woman's life. Linda wants love, a physical and spiritual connection with a man; to her, that is marriage. A marriage license is just governmental red tape, almost useless, totally unromantic. Lady Montdore views marriage as the only decent career for a woman. Her husband controls a great number of people and a vast fortune; and she, for the most part, controls him. Even in the modern world, where women work outside the home, marriage and career are interrelated, and people often choose partners who will be compatible with their career and ambitions. Early on, Lady Montdore warns Fanny, the book's narrator: "don't you go marrying just anybody, for love." Indeed, it's difficult to believe Lady Montdore has ever done anything for love. Yet she is human and capable of being hurt. Mitford portrays both Linda and Lady Montdore with equal sensitivity. They are women and, if one believes in astrology, daughters of Venus. Through these books, one can learn much about the goddess of love and her realm. She is like the diamond, infinitely delicate yet stronger than any other stone; rare and resplendent yet created from common grey graphite; pure like a virgin, yet very ancient. This contradiction is the heart of these volumes. Prodigal daughters gravitate towards love, like moths to a flame - but they rarely help it grow. Icy women fan the flame of love, but too much coldness snuffs it out. Stable, married women do not have it easy, but life is worse for women who think that romance will keep them afloat throughout life. In their pursuit of love they bolt from man to man, staying only so long as the magic lasts, wasting themselves in the process. Punishment is harsh for Linda, "The Bolter", Polly, and other prodigal daughters. Still, Mitford avoids tiresome moralizing, maintaining a light comic tone. The two novels are skillfully connected; both are set during the same timeframe, in two distinct houses not far apart. They complement one other and many of the same characters can be found in both stories, i.e. savage Lord Radlett, hypochondriac Davey, and sexy Sauveterre. But the character which is most helpful in merging the stories is Fanny, the humble narrator. She is neither an ice queen nor a fiery prodigal daughter, but something in between - the ideal woman. In her early years as a debutante she found love and evergreen friendship. She works hard, is not easily bored, expects little, and gains much. Thus avoiding the troubles and uncertain fate of a prodigal daughter.

Brilliantly Funny:
Two brilliantly funny books for the price of one. How could you go wrong? Loosley based on Nancy's own family and childhood experiences ("The Pursuit of Love" more so), these stories revolve around the Radletts: an eccentric (to put it lightly) upper-class English family in the 1920's and 30's. Nancy has created a whole world of characters, each indicative of their time and their caste. I read these books a few years ago, and then read the 2 new biographies of the Mitford girls, and then re-read these novels. I actually enjoyed them even more the second time! It was fun to be able to pick out which anecdotes and experiences were "real." If you are interested in two light, funny novels then definately read these. Despite what other reviewers have said, they are not "great literature." The writing is sort of uneven and sometimes sloppy, and some of the dialogue is a little stiff. However, they are still laugh-out-loud funny stories about the eccentricities of English upper-class life between the world wars. If you like these novels then you should also read Winifred Watson's "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day."

To the manor born:
Is Nancy Mitford likeable? Perhaps not, if her alter-ego, Linda Radlett, is anything to go by. Rarely are we asked to care about a character who despises children and judges others entirely by their clothing. However, The Pursuit of Love is essential reading for two reasons: one, it gives an apparently unselfconscious portrait of the author; and two, it lays the foundation for your reward, Love in a Cold Climate. Almost entirely Linda-Free, this book focusses its laser beam on vanity, classism, and misguided sexuality. Much like the films of Spike Lee, it seems that Ms. Mitford's work is smarter than she is. But the Lecherous Lecturer gets the fate he deserves, and that covers a multitude of sins.

Old school English humour with heart:
These two semi-autobiographical books are well-combined into one volume as they deal with many of the same litterae personae. Nancy Mitford is at her best here; one cannot help but laugh at the witty dialogue and idiosyncratic characters she produces. The often unlikeable heroines, around whom the novels revolve, were born into the gilded world of the British aristocracy, and serve as easy prey for Mitford's biting satire. However, despite their frequent pitfalls, the reader's heart will most certainly go out to them. If you enjoy these two books, you would do well to read The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family by Mary S. Lovell. This book, while often somewhat overly sympathetic to the Mitfords, provides interesting insights to fans of Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love.

A literary masterpiece:
It was a stroke of pure brilliance that caused Nancy Mitford to write this literary masterpiece. A simple yet elegant story, taking place in the early 1900's. Witty, tragic, and romantic, you will rejoice with the Alconleighs' success, and sigh at their failures, and laugh all the time in between. Immensely well-written, it was an excellent story and a true classic.