Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Nancy and The Duchess


Once you have completed Mad World, and your taste for between the wars English Lit has re-awoken, you find that a natural follow up to Waugh was his buddy and frequent correspondent Nancy Mitford.

Nancy is much in the news as Penguin has re released Love in a Cold Climate, The Pursuit of Love, Don't tell Alfred, The Blessing and Wigs on the Green. Love in a Cold Climate is one of the funniest books ever written in English.

PBS Masterpiece Theatre did a rendition of Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love in 2002. If you haven't seen it, search. The books are part autobiography, and its a wonder any of the Mitford sisters were sane.

Her former employer Heywood Hill LTD is having an exhibition of Nancy memorabilia and packaging a boxed set of all 5 of the Penguin reprints, for release in September, and ...

"

Love from Nancy

This Summer we are celebrating the life and work of our most famous alumna, Nancy Mitford, in a new exhibition: Love from Nancy. Running from Monday 28th June to Friday 10th September the exhibition includes many items from the Mitford Archive at Chatsworth, set up by the author's sister Deborah, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire."


It's a glorious summer for the Mitford Girls.

Nancy's sister Debo, the recently widowed, dowager Duchess of Devonshire autobiography, "Wait for Me" will soon be published as well. She, like most of her sibs is a talented writer. I enjoyed Counting Your Chickens, about life on the Devonshire estate which was published several years ago.

Read on!

Toad

5 comments:

LPC said...

OMG! As they say. I remember reading Love In A Cold Climate when I was little and just falling over laughing. It was a revelation, that books could be so funny. Thank you for reminding me Toad!

~Tessa~Scoffs said...

Bravo with this follow up to (Waugh's) Mad World. I was watching "Count Your Blessings" starring Deborah Kerr and was halfway through the movie when I thought to myself, "I know this story!" Then I I realized it was Nancy Mitford's "The Blessing." What gave it away? The horrible carpet she embroidered whilst he was away at war!

Karena said...

Toad I am very excited about this release! perfect timing!

Karena
Art by Karena

Shelley said...

My book wish list is growing!

Mistress Cynica said...

LOVE Nancy Mitford's books. I'm looking forward to the re-release of Wigs on the Green, the only one I haven't read. Wish I were going to be in London this summer. I happened to be there when the collection of letters between the sisters was published and I scored a copy signed by the Duchess. Wonder when her memoir will be published stateside...