Fiction

The Pursuit of Love

The Pursuit of Love

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  • Create Date：2021-05-11 00:52:12
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Nancy Mitford
  • ISBN：0241984076
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Summary

Longing for love and obsessed with weddings and the mysteries of sex， Linda and her sisters and cousin Fanny are on the hunt for the ideal lover。 But finding the perfect match is much harder than any of the sisters had ever dreamed。 Linda is first courted by a Tory MP and then becomes embroiled with a handsome but humourless communist， before she risks everything on a chance at real， head-over-heels love in war-torn Paris 。 。 。

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Reviews

Ameerah ，

The Pursuit of Love introduces us to the madcap （and quite often simply mad） world of the Radlett family at Alconleigh。 The children with their secret society called the Hons （headquarters in the linen cupboard）。 The foreigner-hating paterfamilias Uncle Matthew， who hunts said children with his bloodhounds across the Oxford countryside。 The Bolter – also known as the mother of narrator Fanny， a Radlett cousin – committed to a vibrant life of serial monogamy since abandoning her only child to be The Pursuit of Love introduces us to the madcap （and quite often simply mad） world of the Radlett family at Alconleigh。 The children with their secret society called the Hons （headquarters in the linen cupboard）。 The foreigner-hating paterfamilias Uncle Matthew， who hunts said children with his bloodhounds across the Oxford countryside。 The Bolter – also known as the mother of narrator Fanny， a Radlett cousin – committed to a vibrant life of serial monogamy since abandoning her only child to be raised by her sister Emily。 The excoriation of female education for the loss of social graces that result， and the gain of hockey-exercised “thighs like gateposts”。Mitford tells us a compelling portrait of what life was all about for aristocratic women between the wars in Britain。 Her style of writing captures the absurdity of life in an amusing way。 Mitford centers her novel on the eccentrics and aristocratic Radlett family and is told from Fanny's point of view， a cousin who spends most of her time at Alconleigh with the Radletts'。 The tale follows young Linda in her pursuit of love - The first love soon turns into her first mistake， her lover upon closer acquaintance turned out to not have ever existed but in her imagination。 Next， comes Christian， undoubtedly another mistake。 Next， Fabrice， who Linda seemed to have found the love of her life。In spite of love being in the air， it’s 1939; a time of war and death！ The Pursuit of Love is a satirical novel full of extraordinary characters。 There’s never a dull moment。 The insistent intertwining of the pain with the laughter， instead of flattening the tale into a Wodehouse-with-women yarn， makes this book feel like a classic in its own right。 It is a treat for all。 Mitfordians – please， do give it a chance。 。。。more

Alexa Vango ，

“He was the great love of her life you know。”“Oh dulling” said my mother sadly， “One always thinks that。 Every， every time。”This quote clearly represents the book and represents the main character Linda as she goes through love trying to find her perfect love。 I can’t wait to see how this story is portrayed in the show！！ The story was a little slow at the beginning， but completely adored the second half。 The ending was unexpected but the characters took a heroic turn in my opinion。

Vicki ，

I really enjoyed this and now looking forward to the TV Series，

Simon Barraclough ，

I must admit that I read this solely in preparation for Emily Mortimer’s imminent TV adaptation and am so glad I did。 Trippingly light and constantly amusing， with subtle undercurrents of social and political satire， and a devastating climax。 I’ve only read Mitford’s book about Louis XIV before but am sure to read more。 Now where’s the TV remote。。。？

Hayley Lawton ，

3。5* There was quite a bit to love about this book and quite a bit to dislike。 I wasn't too keen on Linda and honestly would have preferred to hear about Fanny's life a whole lot more。 I'm sure we're not supposed to love Linda but still， I found the story lacking towards the end。 The ending was way too sudden， and the overall message a bit on the nose。 3。5* There was quite a bit to love about this book and quite a bit to dislike。 I wasn't too keen on Linda and honestly would have preferred to hear about Fanny's life a whole lot more。 I'm sure we're not supposed to love Linda but still， I found the story lacking towards the end。 The ending was way too sudden， and the overall message a bit on the nose。 。。。more

Kennedy Lee ，

Bloody loved the sarcastic nature of this book。 A reminder that sometimes love doesn’t go as planned and sometimes we choose the wrong lovers。 But as females， we can do whatever we want and do not have to stick to the patriarchal standards of women。 Looking forward to the BBC adaption。

Joe Stamber ，

A quick and enjoyable read， told with a flourish and not too dated despite being published in 1945。 The style makes it difficult to get attached to the characters and care about them， but Nancy Mitford has come up with an interesting bunch which are easily distinguishable。 I didn't enjoy it enough to bother with the sequel， to be honest I saw it was being serialised for TV and remembered I had it on my Kindle so thought I'd better read it to see if I fancied watching it。 Recommended if you light A quick and enjoyable read， told with a flourish and not too dated despite being published in 1945。 The style makes it difficult to get attached to the characters and care about them， but Nancy Mitford has come up with an interesting bunch which are easily distinguishable。 I didn't enjoy it enough to bother with the sequel， to be honest I saw it was being serialised for TV and remembered I had it on my Kindle so thought I'd better read it to see if I fancied watching it。 Recommended if you light amusing tales about toffs。 。。。more

Monty Milne ，

I read this as a youth and loved it。 Looking at a second time， many years on， I feel that I have aged better than the book。 The best thing about it is the portrayal of the wonderfully insane arch reactionary Uncle Matthew。 How can one not love a character who organises his bloodhounds to go child hunting？ Of course， this isn’t Dostoyevsky， so we needn’t fear the consequences: when the bloodhounds find the hunted children they merely slobber all over them and wag their tails。 The less agreeable a I read this as a youth and loved it。 Looking at a second time， many years on， I feel that I have aged better than the book。 The best thing about it is the portrayal of the wonderfully insane arch reactionary Uncle Matthew。 How can one not love a character who organises his bloodhounds to go child hunting？ Of course， this isn’t Dostoyevsky， so we needn’t fear the consequences: when the bloodhounds find the hunted children they merely slobber all over them and wag their tails。 The less agreeable aspect of the book is Mitford’s own snobbery， which – it now seems clear to me – is fundamentally a consequence of her insecurity。 And as the entire novel is essentially a hymn to snobbery， it is hard to get away from that。 In England， unlike many other European countries， any particular aristocratic title can only be held by one person at a time。 There is only ever one living Lord Alconleigh where there might be hundreds or even thousands of Count von Alderthals。 One consequence of this is that even in the most exalted social circles the great majority will have no titles at all – even the Queen has numerous grandchildren who are plain Mr or Miss。 So describing gatherings where virtually everyone is Lord this or Lady that is a Mitford fantasy which bears no relation to any reality。 Furthermore， the real Uncle Matthew， on whom Mitford’s entertaining portrait is based， only inherited his title because his brother stopped a bullet at Loos in 1915。 Had that not been the case， the prefix of “Honourable” which Mitford set so much store by would never have been hers。 And in any case the title was only created in 1902。 None of these facts matter much except that Mitford seems to think she is the representative of an exalted noble lineage， hoary with antiquity， and so sharply differentiated from the mass of the peasantry （i。e the rest of us） as to be a member of a different and superior race。 The best one can say in her defence is that she clearly had issues。 Nevertheless， Uncle Matthew is still a wonderful creation， and this is worth reading for him alone。 。。。more

Nastya ，

What I liked: WitLast holidays our great obsession had been childbirth， on which entrancing subject we were informed remarkably late， having supposed for a long time that a mother’s stomach swelled up for nine months and then burst open like a ripe pumpkin， shooting out the infant。 When the real truth dawned upon us it seemed rather an anticlimax， until Linda produced， from some novel， and read out loud in ghoulish tones， the description of a woman in labour。***Husbands， we knew， were not always What I liked: WitLast holidays our great obsession had been childbirth， on which entrancing subject we were informed remarkably late， having supposed for a long time that a mother’s stomach swelled up for nine months and then burst open like a ripe pumpkin， shooting out the infant。 When the real truth dawned upon us it seemed rather an anticlimax， until Linda produced， from some novel， and read out loud in ghoulish tones， the description of a woman in labour。***Husbands， we knew， were not always faithful， this we must be prepared for， we must understand and forgive。 “I have been faithful to thee， Cynara， in my fashion” seemed to explain it beautifully。 But women—that was different; only the lowest of the sex could love or give themselves more than once。***I think Linda realized there and then what it took me years to learn， that the behaviour of civilized man really has nothing to do with nature， that all is artificiality and art more or less perfected。***Alfred likes people to be filed neatly away under some heading that he can understand; careerist， social climber， virtuous wife and mother， or adulteress。***“The worst of being a Communist is that the parties you may go to are—well—awfully funny and touching， but not very gay， and they’re always in such gloomy places。[。。。] And Left-wing people are always sad because they mind dreadfully about their causes， and the causes are always going so badly。What I did not like: Pacing was odd。 Beginning was incredibly slow; middle part was fun and engaging; the ending dragged out and was a miss for me。 Important events were merely brushed over。 For such a short book （200 pages） I had to push myself to pick it up。 It felt much longer。And please don't go in expecting a romance， it's a tragedy but somehow without gravitas。“Poor Linda，” she said， with feeling， “poor little thing。 But Fanny， don’t you think perhaps it’s just as well？ The lives of women like Linda and me are not so much fun when one begins to grow older。” I didn’t want to hurt my mother’s feelings by protesting that Linda was not that sort of woman。 “But I think she would have been happy with Fabrice，” I said。 “He was the great love of her life， you know。” “Oh， dulling，” said my mother， sadly。 “One always thinks that。 Every， every time。” 。。。more

Liz ，

Read this many times but the first time I listened to it。 Not sure if that added to my life it， though。One of my favourite books ever， though I can understand why some people won’t like it。 Who wouldn’t like a Fabrice in their lives？ Though I’m not sure Linda and his relationship would have lasted。

Madame Mim ，

- "A LA CAZA DEL AMOR" de Nancy Mitford -Situada en el período de entreguerras， y con notas autobiográficas de la autora， "A la caza del amor" nos presenta a los Radlett， una original y estrafalaria familia inglesa， perteneciente a la aristocracia más esnob， y formada por un padre autoritario， una madre sumisa， y siete hijos， que junto a su prima Fanny， la voz narradora de la historia， intentarán adaptarse a los nuevos tiempos de Inglaterra， en una época llena de cambios sociales para Europa。。Pe - "A LA CAZA DEL AMOR" de Nancy Mitford -Situada en el período de entreguerras， y con notas autobiográficas de la autora， "A la caza del amor" nos presenta a los Radlett， una original y estrafalaria familia inglesa， perteneciente a la aristocracia más esnob， y formada por un padre autoritario， una madre sumisa， y siete hijos， que junto a su prima Fanny， la voz narradora de la historia， intentarán adaptarse a los nuevos tiempos de Inglaterra， en una época llena de cambios sociales para Europa。。Pero aquí la protagonista es Linda Radlett， una de las hijas de la familia， y a través de las páginas asistiremos a su permanente búsqueda del amor， y conoceremos a los distintos hombres en los que creyó encontrarlo。。Nancy Mitford reconstruye con gran ingenio， el ambiente de los círculos aristocráticos ingleses de la época， y nos regala una lectura desenfadada， y llena de ironía; con muchos momentos inolvidables， pero también con otros crudos como la vida misma。 。。。more

Amy Tsang ，

Fabulous story Wonderful read and lovely story of so many different characters。。。 love。。。 comedy and drama。 Can’t wait to start the sequel。

Annie Lev ，

I feel completely indifferent about this book。 None of the characters are particularly interesting and I felt attached to no one。 The descriptions of some of the characters did make me laugh however， but overall it was pretty forgettable for me。

Lynn ，

It was easy reading and quite enjoyable。 Finished abruptly

Jill Morgan ，

A light， enjoyable timepiece without being too light。 It’s frivolous in all the best ways， funny， but also contains some heartache and deep thoughts。 There’s layers to this palatable book。

Jessica ，

I decided to reread this while I wait for a Canadian release date of the new show， and I was not disappointed。 I read this at the end of high school and remembered enjoying it but not much else- it felt like reading a new book！This book is scandalous and exciting but also so matter of fact to the narrator and all of the characters that it seems perfectly normal。 Mitford absolutely had a talent for writing！

Troy Alexander ，

Talk about the beautiful and damned。 Much of this book is based on the lives and loves of the various Mitford sisters。 What a crazy family！ （I wish I’d known them）。 The Pursuit of Love is beautifully written and thoroughly enjoyable。

Eldene Eyssell ，

How did Mitford's contemporary readers and critics find her books 'guilty pleasures' and frivolous？ Mitford has a sharp eye for social foibles and wields her pen like a rapier。 Delicious。 How did Mitford's contemporary readers and critics find her books 'guilty pleasures' and frivolous？ Mitford has a sharp eye for social foibles and wields her pen like a rapier。 Delicious。 。。。more

Sandra ，

Really enjoyed it！！ Loved the matter of fact tone of the narrative as children are born to the upper classes and dumped on relatives when they don't fit in to the parents' lifestyle。 Such is the case with the narrator Fanny and she lives with her Aunt Emily and spends lots of her time at the house of her Uncle Matthew（who is a Lord and loves killing animals and hates foreigners） and her Auntie Sadie and their numerous children。 The narrative comes to focus on Linda， Fanny's favourite cousin who Really enjoyed it！！ Loved the matter of fact tone of the narrative as children are born to the upper classes and dumped on relatives when they don't fit in to the parents' lifestyle。 Such is the case with the narrator Fanny and she lives with her Aunt Emily and spends lots of her time at the house of her Uncle Matthew（who is a Lord and loves killing animals and hates foreigners） and her Auntie Sadie and their numerous children。 The narrative comes to focus on Linda， Fanny's favourite cousin who in her pursuit of love， marries a boring Tory and gives birth to a very dull child so takes off with a communist who is really only interested in helping others！！ Linda leaves the communist when she realises that he is in love with Lavender Davis （who was bridesmaid at her first wedding and is now an earnest supporter of good causes）。 The ending of the book， with a major contribution from Fanny's unmotherly mother who is known in the family as "The Bolter"is brilliant。 。。。more

Maitreyi ，

3。5 stars。 A nice read。 Sarcastic and wonderful prose。

Stacy ，

Loved it！

Ceola Daly ，

Because of college it took me ages to get back to finish this one but I did enjoy it; would have liked it more if I'd read it over the summer or with more time to pay attention to it as it's not quite gripping as it is brilliantly written， but I enjoyed the satircal tone that it took and found myself laughing out loud quite often。 Moments of it I felt the book was a bit slow hence the lower rating， but still an enjoyable read Because of college it took me ages to get back to finish this one but I did enjoy it; would have liked it more if I'd read it over the summer or with more time to pay attention to it as it's not quite gripping as it is brilliantly written， but I enjoyed the satircal tone that it took and found myself laughing out loud quite often。 Moments of it I felt the book was a bit slow hence the lower rating， but still an enjoyable read 。。。more

Lily ，

‘The Pursuit of Love’ is a lovely story following a family in between the two world wars。 It’s a story of love and loss and interesting familial relationships。 The dynamic of this family is so interesting and so different from what I’ve known， most probably because of the difference in time and society， and I found it fascinating to read about what they thought should happen before marriage。All in all， I liked this novel。 It wasn’t my favourites， but it was good all the same。

Emily ，

I really enjoyed this。 It's not a page turner but gives a fun insight into upper class life just before WW2。 I really enjoyed this。 It's not a page turner but gives a fun insight into upper class life just before WW2。 。。。more

Tammy ，

I honestly don't know what to say about this book。 It is a strange product of another time， but the story of the real life Mitford sisters （one of whom was mentioned very in passing in Larson's The Splendid and the Vile） had me intrigued， and this fictional retelling of their lives from the oldest Mitford daughter was already on my radar。 Though I would imagine the life of an early twentieth century aristocrat would be steeped in politics and culture， the female characters who comprise the focus I honestly don't know what to say about this book。 It is a strange product of another time， but the story of the real life Mitford sisters （one of whom was mentioned very in passing in Larson's The Splendid and the Vile） had me intrigued， and this fictional retelling of their lives from the oldest Mitford daughter was already on my radar。 Though I would imagine the life of an early twentieth century aristocrat would be steeped in politics and culture， the female characters who comprise the focus of the novel seem to consider all things--political affiliation not least among them--almost as an afterthought。 Linda， the beautiful protagonist--marries a stuffy conservative banker only to leave him for a Communist fighting in Spain。 As the title suggests， she is concerned with love only--causes of any kind not so much。 About her leftist lover and her own work on behalf of the Communists she says， "Left-wing people are always sad because they mind dreadfully about their causes， and the causes are always going so badly。" This is reported with a lot of charm and not a hint of irony。 The book tells of a time when the English aristocracy lived on another plane entirely--the tone and substance of their lives as related by Fanny the narrator is almost otherworldly。 It is as if they cannot be really affected by any tragedy or turn of events--even their own future deaths。 With WWII looming， they make mention of their great affection for England， but almost all of the dialogue and narration is delivered in the must matter-of-fact tone whether it is discussing the impending invasion of the Germans or the unappetizing dishes produced by the cook who is forced to make due with the limited rations。 Maybe it is their longstanding privilege that gives voice to this detachment--or maybe it is merely the "stiff upper lip" persona associated with the British in general。 I have no idea， but it does make for amusing if anti-sentimental reading。 。。。more

Juliette ，

4，5

Karen ，

How could you not enjoy this？

Sarah Bowers ，

I love this series。 The bolter has become a favorite character reference for my family。 Love in a Cold Climate is next。

Carly ，

A new favourite。 What a great book， for so many reasons。 It baffles me how a book with so few pages can take you on such a journey。 The tries to be many things at once but for me， it pulls it off。 For starters， it's so funny。 Humour is obviously subjective， and I haven't had a great success rate with allegedly funny books in the past （Terry Pratchett， and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy come to mind）， but this book had me laughing out loud in a way that I haven't done since reading Angus， T A new favourite。 What a great book， for so many reasons。 It baffles me how a book with so few pages can take you on such a journey。 The tries to be many things at once but for me， it pulls it off。 For starters， it's so funny。 Humour is obviously subjective， and I haven't had a great success rate with allegedly funny books in the past （Terry Pratchett， and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy come to mind）， but this book had me laughing out loud in a way that I haven't done since reading Angus， Thongs and Perfect Snogging， and given the vast difference in age and subject matter between these， that's quite a feat。Perhaps some might say the characters are stereotyped， but given the length of the book， I think a good amount of personality is injected into them and I became quite attached to them。 I liked the book the most at the start and end when the focus was on the family and wasn't so keen on the section about Linda's love affairs in the middle， but it was still good in its own right。 This isn't a deep or insightful book， but it made some nice observations about love and life which came as pleasant surprises given that I thought this was just going to be funny and not much else。 It also chronicled the attitude towards the war well， which was another unexpected extra。 The book covers quite a vast time period， but it never felt that rushed。 The pacing just works， and when the characters are reflecting back on their childhoods towards the end， I felt like reminiscing with them too， because they had all been on quite a journey together。 I genuinely enjoyed the writing too， which never felt too fluffy or like it was trying too hard， but had some lovely moments。 。。。more

Sarah ，

The thin end of the wedge。Hilarious until the very last page， then heartbreaking。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Pursuit of Love

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Pursuit of Love&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Pursuit of Love&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0