The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate
Nancy Mitford
477 pages

The six Mitford sisters were stylish young members of English high society during the 1920s & 30s. These two novellas provide an entertaining look at their world, as seen by their cousin, Fanny. Pursuit of Love is the most autobiographical of the two, as it centers on the Radletts, a large family of mostly daughters, who divide their time between London and a country house. The second-oldest daughter, Linda, is a contemporary of Fanny's, and they spend much of their childhood together. As Linda matures she finds herself "in pursuit of love," moving from one relationship to another ... in contrast to Fanny who rather easily finds love and forms a happy marriage.

Love in a Cold Climate tells of Fanny's other cousins, the much wealthier Montdores and their daughter, Polly. Polly came of age in India and returned to England to come out in society. She rejects the young men presented to her, and eventually her reasons become apparent, with painful consequences for the entire family.

Happily, these rather serious-sounding story lines are overshadowed by quirky, eccentric characters portrayed in a very humorous, over-the-top style. Take, for example, Polly's mother, Lady Montdore: "You know, Fanny," she went on, "it's all very well for funny little people like you to read books the whole time. You only have yourselves to consider, whereas Montdore and I are public servants, in a way, we have something to live up to, tradition and so on, duties to perform, you know. It's a very different matter. A great deal is expected of us, I think and hope not in vain. It's a hard life, make no mistake about that; hard and tiring, but occasionally we have our reward -- when people get a chance to show how they worship us." (p. 396)

While I enjoyed Nancy Mitford's skewering of her own family & society, I enjoyed even more the way these two novellas complemented each other. Many characters appear in both books, but in different settings, such that the reader develops a more complete picture of that character. This is particularly true of the narrator, Fanny, who moves with ease among the two very different families. The stories take place in the same time period, the Radletts and Mountdores know one another, and occasionally their worlds intersect, i.e.; for weddings and funerals. These books are best read together in order to appreciate this richness. ( )