The Pursuit of Love

By: Nancy Mitford

Narrated by: Bessie Carter

Mitford's most enduringly popular novel, The Pursuit of Love, is a classic comedy about growing up and falling in love among the privileged and eccentric.

Mitford modeled her characters on her own famously unconventional family. We are introduced to the Radletts through the eyes of their cousin, Fanny, who stays with them at Alconleigh, their Gloucestershire estate. Uncle Matthew is the blustering patriarch, known to hunt his children when foxes are scarce; Aunt Sadie is the vague but doting mother; and the seven Radlett children, despite the delights of their unusual childhood, are recklessly eager to grow up.

The first of three novels featuring these characters, The Pursuit of Love follows the travails of Linda, the most beautiful and wayward Radlett daughter, who falls first for a stuffy Tory politician, then an ardent Communist, and finally a French duke named Fabrice.

©1945 Nancy Mitford (P)2021 Tantor

superb

i can't begin to say how much I love this book. The voice is honest, the writing intelligent and imagery vivid. I hope that eventually all the books of both Nancy and Jessica Mitford will be on Audible. Jessica wrote some excellent non fiction books that are lost to obscurity despite being very salient for our time.

Amusing trifle with good period detail

Well-narrated story of upper crust English girls searching for love and happiness at the dawn of World War 2. Characters are appealing and there are some humorous passages. Quick-moving tale and rather short. Recommended for light listening

Listening to an Older but Timeless Novel

"One always thinks this is the one true love, and it never is", a comment that is as true for some much-loved books read in earlier years of life. This one stands the test if time.
Decades later, many beloved books fall flat or are no longer as relevant as earlier years.
Rarely do they hold up as well as this semi-autobiographical novel.
The narrator did an excellent job of distinguishing different characters and disappeared into the background of the experience. Worth a listen, you may want do read or listen to her many other works of fiction and nonfiction.

Perfection...

An utter delight, except when too unbearably sad...a perfect gem of a book. Nancy Mitford is in her own class of writers, or is the leader of the sharp and inciteful most superior writers. I first discovered this in 1981-82 and devoured everything I could find by Nancy and her sisters. This is the star. It's been several years since I re-read them. An enchanting and complete distraction from worries. The narration by Bessie Carter is flawless. I am grateful as many of my favorites from this time frame are not read with an understanding of the narrating character. Perfection!

Waugh without the Snark

The same acute, often hysterically funny observations of upper class attitudes, manners and morals. While you won’t find the deeper seriousness of Waugh – except as a social marker, religion is worn lightly here, by the author as well as her characters – you won’t find his sometimes disheartening pessimism about our civilization’s future, either. And Bessie Carter does a simply superb job at the mic.