Darling: A razor-sharp, gloriously funny retelling of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love

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I could never square Uncle Matthew with his past life, and Linda’s final husband is too good to be true. I also heartily disliked the only India Knight book I have read because of the the smug middle class protagonists, almost all awful people.

The last few years have seen the 2021 BBC adaptation of Mitford’s 1945 novel The Pursuit of Love, starring Lily James, and the “Mitford Murders” series by Jessica Fellowes. If you aren’t familiar with the original, you might find the protagonist - and her tendency to fall in love with various ‘Bottoms’ (from A Midsummer Night’s Dream - a bit puzzling. Between Aunt Sadie’s hippy leanings and Uncle Matthew’s desire to shield his family from fame, the Radlett children are insulated from much of the modern world, home-schooled and banned from electronic devices. And it’s always a delight to find something new to carry you through winter; Knight rises to that challenge with aplomb. No one likes people fiddling with their favourites, especially a classic as beloved as Mitford’s tale of interwar aristos the Radletts.The latest, much-anticipated addition to the Mitford shelves is journalist India Knight’s Darling, a modern re-telling of The Pursuit of Love. Knight manages to be faithful to that beloved comfort read whilst updating the setting and characters to the present (albeit still in a bohemian-aristo thoroughly English way). Uma mensagem por e-mail será enviada antes do término do período gratuito, que pode ser cancelado a qualquer momento.

My favourite passage is the list of Things That Uncle Matthew Doesn't Like - absolute comedy genius. She was awarded an exhibition to Trinity College, Cambridge, where she read Modern Languages from 1984-1987, before starting her career in journalism. Together, Kit and Piglet are the picture of domestic bliss - effortless hosts, planning a covetable wedding . This is the difficult question when considering a retelling of a book that feels as fresh and alive as Mitford’s 1945 classic.As the hours count down to their wedding, Piglet is torn between a growing appetite and the desire to follow the recipe, follow the rules. Brilliantly done, faithful but imaginative, tremendously romantic and very funny' Nina Stibbe, author of Reasons to be Cheerful*****************Marooned in a sprawling farmhouse in Norfolk, teenage Linda Radlett feels herself destined for greater things. Well-written and replete with deadpan humour, sarcasm and irony it’s a banter-filled, yet poignant tale. Darling is a wonderfully escapist caper of a read that will sweep you up into Linda’s world as she navigates it all in the pursuit of that epic love that is always just out of reach. Mitford never wrote a really good marriage (Fanny’s husband, in Pursuit and sequels, is the very definition of a nonentity), and it’s tempting to wonder whether she ever could.

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Some tweaks reflect contemporary sensibilities: sea swimming replaces hunting, and most of the characters have jobs: Linda runs a Dalston café, and her one true love, Fabrice, owns chic boutique hotels. Linda’s strict, former rock star father terrifies any potential suitors away, while her bohemian mother, wafting around in silver jewellery, answers Linda’s urgent questions about love with upsettingly vivid allusions to animal husbandry. Knight is a columnist for the Sunday Times Style, who has also written four other novels and some non-fiction books, along with a children’s book. After writing an article in The Sunday Times about her daughter's special needs - her youngest child has DiGeorge syndrome. What it lacks in original storytelling, Darling more than makes up for in atmosphere and fresh jokes.

I found myself tearing through, beguiled by Knight's faithful channelling of Radlett ways, wiles and speech patterns . To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. A razor-sharp, laugh-out-loud novel that re-imagines the cast of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love. The Pursuit of Love has been a favourite of mine for years and this re-telling is lovely, unlike the horrible television adaptation a couple of years ago. Her first venture into literature was 2000’s My Life on a Plate, charting a woman’s complicated family life which was more or less a fictionalised account of her own story.Trouble is, Linda’s lived a very sheltered life and tends to see the best in people, even when people aren’t being their best. Após este período, o valor da mensalidade será cobrado automaticamente, por meio do método de pagamento cadastrado. So glad I bought this on a whim (read: based on the beautiful cover) when visiting John Sandoe Books in Chelsea! You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.