Rating: 
Summary: Masterpeice Theatre is ...
Review: This doesn't qualify as a review because I've ordered but haven't read the books, however PBS ( WGBH 2 - Boston ) is creating a mini-series on Masterpiece Theatre which promises to be good. Their production is titled " Love in a Cold Climate ". I might otherwise not have heard of this title had it not been for the TV previews and because of WGBH's record of quality, it's the sole reason why I bought this book. To some, Masterpeice Theatre may seem dull. Reading the literature beforehand often makes the difference between deadly boring and delightful. Both reviews promise the latter. Thank you.
Footnote: It will be airing in December,2001.
Rating: 
Summary: Love in a not-so-cold climate
Review: This pair of novels certainly don't exude coldness, in any way. They represent the 'autobiographical' novels of Nancy Mitford, and she spins her tales in a very warm and hysterically funny manner, demonstrating her unique skills as a novelist in a period when men tended to dominate the best-sellers lists. A contemporary of writers such as Waugh, Huxley, Greene, and other important names in the 'canon' of twentieth-century literature, Mitford's novels are far too often neglected. Which is a shame, as her richly coloured fictional tapestries reveal a great deal about the lives of the upper-classes, and from a genuinely humourous standpoint. These novels will be enjoyed by readers who like the light social novels of Wodehouse, and more importantly, those of Evelyn Waugh. Waugh and Mitford were very close friends, and in his later years, Mitford was Waugh's primary object of correspondance, and their letters have since been collected and compiled in a single edition. Waugh's influence on Mitford is obvious - as her work is indeed in the same satiric vein as much of his - but less obvious and more intriguing is her influence on his work. Mitford's sharpness and quickness rival that of Waugh, and in these novels she almost outshines him, in the warmth and jollity of her satire.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly Funny
Review: Two brilliantly funny books for the price of one. How could you go wrong? Loosley based on Nancy's own family and childhood experiences ("The Pursuit of Love" more so), these stories revolve around the Radletts: an eccentric (to put it lightly) upper-class English family in the 1920's and 30's. Nancy has created a whole world of characters, each indicative of their time and their caste. I read these books a few years ago, and then read the 2 new biographies of the Mitford girls, and then re-read these novels. I actually enjoyed them even more the second time! It was fun to be able to pick out which anecdotes and experiences were "real." If you are interested in two light, funny novels then definately read these. Despite what other reviewers have said, they are not "great literature." The writing is sort of uneven and sometimes sloppy, and some of the dialogue is a little stiff. However, they are still laugh-out-loud funny stories about the eccentricities of English upper-class life between the world wars. If you like these novels then you should also read Winifred Watson's "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day."
Rating:
Summary: Brilliantly Funny
Review: Two brilliantly funny books for the price of one. How could you go wrong? Loosley based on Nancy's own family and childhood experiences ("The Pursuit of Love" more so), these stories revolve around the Radletts: an eccentric (to put it lightly) upper-class English family in the 1920's and 30's. Nancy has created a whole world of characters, each indicative of their time and their caste. I read these books a few years ago, and then read the 2 new biographies of the Mitford girls, and then re-read these novels. I actually enjoyed them even more the second time! It was fun to be able to pick out which anecdotes and experiences were "real." If you are interested in two light, funny novels then definately read these. Despite what other reviewers have said, they are not "great literature." The writing is sort of uneven and sometimes sloppy, and some of the dialogue is a little stiff. However, they are still laugh-out-loud funny stories about the eccentricities of English upper-class life between the world wars. If you like these novels then you should also read Winifred Watson's "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day."
Rating:
Summary: Love's Labors Lost
Review: Witty and eccentric Nancy Mitford's fame ought not to obscure these delightful novels.
These novels--best sellers in their day and recently televised--are narrated by Fanny, a cousin to Pursuit's Linda and second-cousin to Climate's Polly. Fanny is matter-of-fact, intelligent, and observant: she spends much of her time with each as she grows up, allowing Mitford a delightful opportunity to write from an insider/outsider perspetive that other authros must envy. Not only does Fanny look back at youth and young adulthood with an adult's perspective, but she is also living a very different life herself. She isn't beautiful--her thick dark hair grows upwards like heather--and she completes her period as a debutant by marrying a young Oxford don. As Fanny raises her family, Linda and Polly (and so many other delightful personages--Cedric, Uncle Davy, the Bolter, Uncle Matthew, and so forth) whirl past on their hilarious, doomed pursuits of perfect love, health, or happiness. Perhaps Fanny is rather more amused by the foibles of her friends and relations than kindness dictates. Lucky us.
Fanny is also the heroine of Don't Tell Alfred, a poorly titled novel that is as deliciously wickedly delightful as Mitford's earlier work.
Mitford and Waugh deserve to be compared, as they carried on a voluminous, life long (published) correpondence(Both were so unpleasant that they got along beautifully).
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