Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love is a fairly popular novel. Stories of English aristocratic families sell well across all media, be it a more serious drama like Downton Abbey or light-hearted like P.G. Wodehouse. The Mitfords still hold our attention, nearly a century on, but no one more than Nancy, the best-selling author. (That says a lot, given who her siblings were…) Luckily for us, a new adaptation of Pursuit is out to enjoy. Today I’m going to share why you should read The Pursuit of Love before watching the show!
Pursuit of Love, Nancy Mitford
Few aristocratic English families of the twentieth century enjoyed the glamorous notoriety of the infamous Mitford sisters. Nancy Mitford’s most famous novel, The Pursuit of Love satirizes British aristocracy in the twenties and thirties through the amorous adventures of the Radletts, an exuberantly unconventional family closely modelled on Mitford’s own.
The Radletts of Alconleigh occupy the heights of genteel eccentricity, from terrifying Lord Alconleigh (who, like Mitford’s father, used to hunt his children with bloodhounds when foxes were not available), to his gentle wife, Sadie, their wayward daughter Linda, and the other six lively Radlett children. Mitford’s wickedly funny prose follows these characters through misguided marriages and dramatic love affairs, as the shadow of World War II begins to close in on their rapidly vanishing world.
Why You Should Read This…
This novel has been incredibly popular since its release in 1945, and it sold over 200,000 copies in its first year on the shelf. I don’t believe in reading something or not reading something because of popularity, but I can easily see why it is so popular. I’ve read it multiple times, and I am always highly entertained!
The Radlett family absolutely feels like a caricature of an aristocratic family. If there is a weird quirk or tradition, it is a part of their family. However, that is the Mitford family. (And probably many, many others…) And the beauty of The Pursuit of Love is that once you allow yourself to go with it, it feels equally absurd and normal. Mitford was a talented writer- a very specific style, but incredibly talented. This book is incredibly easy to read, and is really non-stop entertainment. If you love the scandal and society of Downton and want to see it continue into the 1930s, this is absolutely for you!
And if you love The Pursuit of Love, you can follow up with the sequel, Love in a Cold Climate, and the third book in the series, Don’t Tell Alfred. I have to say, I enjoyed Love in a Cold Climate– it feels like a continuation of the same novel, but Don’t Tell Alfred has a different feeling.
My best recommendation? Buy The Complete Novels of Nancy Mitford, you will get all three Radlett novels, as well as her other five novels. (And for $16 CAD, it is great value.) Highland Fling is another one of my favourite novels, and it is very convenient having the full connection.
Why You Should Read The Pursuit of Love Before Watching the Show
I don’t always feel this way, but I would recommend reading The Pursuit of Love before watching the 2021 adaption (or any adaptation for that matter). Mitford’s voice as an author is so important to this story, and I don’t know that you would necessarily recognise it without that. It is an adaptation, so obviously it’s not identical to the book, but it certainly has a lot for readers to enjoy. And it’s not a laborious read at all; it’s a fairly short book and quite easy to read. (I get it- some biographies/history books are 500+ pages that can sometimes feel like work.)
I do love this tv adaptation; it is gorgeous and heartfelt and entertaining. I think that Fanny pulls us in, possibly even more than in the book. And it is the grand period drama that we all need after the stress and chaos of the last year and a half. However, I think that it does feel distinct from the book, and if you are going to pick one, pick the book. Being completely honest, I found the Lily James/Dominic West possible relationship prior to the show slightly distracting. I’m not a celebrity watcher, and don’t care what celebrities do in their own time, but I only found it distracting because they play father and daughter. It didn’t ruin it in any way, it just caught me out at a few moments.
If you are in the United Kingdom, it was released in May 2021 on BBC. Here in Canada, it releases today, 30 July 2021 on Amazon Prime!
And if you want more, I would recommend reading Mitford’s other novels, as well as my Downton Abbey reading list!
Are you going to read The Pursuit of Love before watching the show?
Cheers,
The Historian
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