Book Review: "Love in a Cold Climate and Other Novels" by Nancy Mitford

I'm going to admit it, I've had this book lying around for a while and when I say 'while' I mean about a month. I bought it used and it was already crinkled and so, it getting kicked around on my bedroom floor every time I got out of bed in the morning wouldn't have made much of a difference. But, I eventually remembered it was there and, through the flip of a coin was choosing between this and another book to take on a road trip. Nancy Mitford came up and so, away we went. The first novel inside this anthology is entitled The Pursuit of Love where we meet a couple of girls, some very odd and outdated stereotypes and of course, faltering love through the years.

Uncle Matthew is this tyrannical patriarch in a story told from the perspective of Fanny Logan about a hopeless romantic cousin by the name of Linda Radlett. Linda grows up a dreamer, often being put back in line by her uncle and yet, she still yearns for life outside the four walls. She dreams about marrying the Prince of Wales and when she does eventually marry (though not the prince) she initially wants it to be happy - though the families do not agree with the marriage since they dislike each other. After having an oddly named daughter (I believe the child gets called 'Moira') and living in social and mental decline for many years, Linda runs away and wants to marry a man named Christian. At this point, the Spanish Civil War is under way and the world is definitely changing. Ultimately, Linda will fall in love with someone else. But what lies in store for her is something far more of a learning experience.

Love in a Cold Climate is the companion novel to The Pursuit of Love in that it is narrated by the same person: Fanny Logan. This time, the focus shifts to Fanny’s dazzling cousin Polly Hampton, the only daughter of the immensely wealthy and socially ambitious Lady Montdore and her husband, Lord Montdore. The Montdores are at the centre of English high society, obsessed with status, marriage, and reputation. Well, of course Nancy Mitford is going to satirise them - it wouldn't be a Nancy Mitford novel without a bit of satire of the upper classes to make them look especially pathetic. Polly, is a detached young woman who seems immune to her mother’s social aspirations. She scandalises everyone by falling in love with her much older and socially unsuitable uncle by marriage, “Boy” Dougdale. Her marriage to him brings disgrace and estrangement from her family, leaving Lady Montdore bitter and humiliated. I found this novel to be funnier than the first, but I'm going to be honest with you - it wasn't as interesting. The dynamic between Fanny and Linda felt much closer than that between Fanny and Polly.

The last story within is called The Blessing, a story which begins with 'for Evelyn Waugh' and so, we can only guess what we should expect. The story follows Grace Allingham, a beautiful and sensible Englishwoman who falls in love with and marries Charles-Édouard de Valhubert, a dashing, flirtatious French aristocrat. Initially this story feels like a romance on the same levels that we believe when we read the relations between Linda and Christian in The Pursuit of Love. But of course it isn't that straightforward. Grace moves to France with Charles-Édouard and their mischievous young son, Sigismond who is nicknamed “the blessing” by his father. The child becomes the centre of their lives and, at times, a manipulative go-between who subtly influences his parents’ relationship. This is all whilst Grace is struggling to adjust to a more morally relaxed world in which societal rules are either here and there, or completely unwritten altogether. And yes, her husband does cheat on her - so there's that too. And like Linda, she runs away, but Sigismond has other plans...

Again, we end on a note that is often funny in a 'Comedy of Errors' kind of way where everything goes wrong from the outset. Nancy Mitford's writing is so witty and clever that I am honestly upset that the book lay around for so long. If you're a fan of Jane Austen and you're looking for something perhaps not set in the regency era, then this should be your next read.