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The Pursuit of Love

Now a major series on BBC and Prime Video directed by Emily Mortimer and starring Lily James and Andrew Scott
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( 22,276 ratings, 2,219 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford is a humorous story that follows the romantic misadventures of Linda Radlett, a spirited young woman from an eccentric aristocratic family. Set in the English countryside between the World Wars, the narrative explores themes of love, passion, and the pursuit of happiness through Linda's quest for a fulfilling relationship. Through lively characters and witty dialogue, the book offers a satirical yet affectionate look at the complexities of love and society.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy witty social commentary and a vivid portrayal of the English aristocracy in the early 20th century. With its charming characters and humorous exploration of love and family dynamics, it offers a delightful blend of romance and satire.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The Pursuit of Love, Mitford's beloved novel, is published as a Penguin Essential for the first time.

'Obsessed with sex!' said Jassy, 'there's nobody so obsessed as you, Linda. Why if I so much as look at a picture you say I'm a pygmalionist.'

In the end, we got far more information out of a book called Ducks and Duck Breeding. 'Ducks can only copulate,' said Linda, after studying this for a while, 'in running water. Good luck to them.'

Oh, the tedium of waiting to grow up! Longing for love, obsessed with weddings and sex, Linda, her sisters, and cousin Fanny are on the lookout for the perfect lover. But finding Mr Right is much harder than any of the sisters thought. Linda must suffer marriage first to a stuffy Tory MP and then to a handsome and humourless communist before finding real love in war-torn Paris.

The Pursuit of Love is one of the funniest, sharpest novels about love and growing up ever written.

Series: Penguin Essentials

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love is widely celebrated for its sparkling wit and comic charm. The book artfully balances wicked humour with an underlying sense of melancholy, drawing readers in with both laughter and poignant moments. Critics appreciate Mitford's skilful depiction of the aristocratic world, capturing the complexities of class and gender with sophistication and a touch of romance. While some of its themes might challenge modern sensibilities, the novel's enduring appeal lies in its ability to uplift and entertain against the backdrop of historical turmoil.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241984079

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 June 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Zoë Heller

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 14.0mm

Width: 111.0mm

Height: 181.0mm

Weight: 125g

Pages: 224

About the Author

Nancy Mitford (1904-1973) was born in London, the eldest child of the second Baron Redesdale. She had written four novels, including Wigs on the Green (1935), before the success of The Pursuit of Love in 1945, which she followed with Love in a Cold Climate (1949), The Blessing (1951) and Don't Tell Alfred (1960). She also wrote four works of biography. Nancy Mitford was awarded the CBE in 1972.

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    Reissued on the 70th anniversary of the first publication of The Pursuit of Love by Hamish Hamilton. 'I believe it would have been normal for me to have paid a visit to the outgoing ambassadress. However, the said ambassadress had set up such an uninhibited wail when she knew she was to leave, proclaiming her misery to all and sundry...
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  • Love in a Cold Climate
    Reissued on the 70th anniversary of the first publication of The Pursuit of Love by Hamish Hamilton. 'How lovely - green velvet and silver. I call that a dream, so soft and delicious, too.' She rubbed a fold of the skirt against her cheek. 'Mine's silver lame, it smells like a bird cage when it gets hot but I do...
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  • Love in a Cold Climate & The Pursuit of Love
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