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Nancy Mitford: Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate & More
Nancy Mitford: Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate & More
Nov 23, 2024 8:50 PM

Author:Nancy Mitford,Full Cast,Timothy West,Prunella Scales,Jane Knowles,Amanda Root,Teresa Gallagher,Pauline Letts,Edward de Souza,Elizabeth Proud

Nancy Mitford: Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate & More

BBC Radio adaptations of Nancy Mitford's most famous novels and acclaimed biography of Madame de Pompadour plus bonus programmes

The eldest of the notorious Mitford sisters, Nancy Mitford was renowned for her comic novels of upper-class life. An aristocrat and socialite, she mingled with the 'Bright Young Things' in interwar London, and went on to satirise their foibles in razor-sharp, wickedly funny prose. Collected here are adaptations of her two bestsellers, the semi-autobiographical The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate; her delightful biography of Louis XV's chief mistress; and a pair of fascinating programmes exploring her own unconventional life.

The Pursuit of Love

This bittersweet tale follows the fortunes of Fanny Logan and her eccentric aristocratic cousins, the Radletts, as they embark on disastrous love affairs and misconceived marriages while searching for Mr Right.

Cast

Lord Radlett - Rolf Lefebvre

Lady Radlett - Joan Matheson

Fanny - Susan Maudslay

Linda - Jane Knowles

Matt - Brian Hewlett

Captain Davey Warbeck - Godfrey Kenton

Emily - Joan Hart

Tony Kroesig - Michael Spice

Lord Merlin - John Rye

Bessie - Olwen Griffiths

Mrs Fletcher - Barbara Mitchell

The Bolter - Cecile Chevreau

Other parts played by Sion Probert, George Raistrick, Alan Rowe and William Sleigh.

Adapted by Alan Melville. Produced by Norman Wright.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 February 1974

Love in a Cold Climate

A glamorous invitation to a grand party at Hampton - home of the fantastically rich Montdores and their beautiful daughter Polly - brings Fanny into the world of 1920s high society: and in and out of love when the temperature drops... Amanda Root stars in this sparkling sequel to The Pursuit of Love.

Cast

Fanny - Amanda Root

Lady Montdore - Barbara Jefford

Polly - Teresa Gallagher

Veronica - Jenny Howe

Uncle Davey - Jon Strickland

Aunt Emily - Patience Tomlinson

Aunt Sadie - Tessa Worsley

Uncle Matthew - Ioan Meredith

Boy Dougdale - Stephen Critchlow

Jassy - Sarah-Jane Holm

Victoria - Tilly Gaunt

Cedric - William Hope

Alfred - Tom Beard

Dramatised by Claire Luckham. Directed by Marion Nancarrow.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 3 May 1999

The King's Favourite

Based on Mitford's Madame de Pompadour, this three-part drama vividly evokes the colourful atmosphere of 18th Century Versailles, and Louis XV's tempestuous relationship with his adored mistress, Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour.

Cast

Narrator - Alan Melville

Duc d'Orléans - Patrick Tull

Madame de Ventadour - Katherine Parr

Infanta Maria of Spain - Elizabeth Proud

Louis XV (as a youth) - Nigel Anthony

Duc de Bourbon - James Thomason

The Queen - Pauline Letts

Louis XV - Edward de Souza

Lebel, concierge - Robin Browne

Marquise de la Ferté - Margot Boyd

Monsieur Poisson - Harold Kasket

Madame d'Etioles - Moira Lister

Monsieur d'Etioles - John Gabriel

Lasmartre, a huntsman - David Timson

Lady of the Court - Olwen Griffiths

Produced by Norman Wright.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10-24 December 1971

Dearest Evelyn, Darling Nancy

Adapted from the witty correspondence of lifelong literary friends Evelyn Waugh and Nancy Mitford, this entertaining, gossipy 'conversation in letters' stars Timothy West and Prunella Scales.

Cast

Evelyn Waugh - Timothy West

Nancy Mitford - Prunella Scales

Adapted by Alan Bell. Produced by Pete Atkin.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 December 1993

Greatest Lives - Nancy Mitford

Grace Dent loves Nancy Mitford for her wit, and for the way in which she showed women that it was possible to live your life fully and unconventionally. Matthew Parris asks what it is about Nancy that so inspires Grace, with the aid of Mitford biographer Lisa Hilton.

Produced by Beth O'Dea.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 January 2013

© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Reviews

The book makes for a quirky, fascinating read. Davison excels in evoking English landscapes, especially in Vaughan Williams's beloved fen country

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The Captain's Apprentice explores a more profound and complex seam of folk discovery, and concentrates on a single life-changing episode in Vaughan Williams' life... [it is] well written and researched

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Animated, entertaining . . . quietly sensitive to ironies and ambiguities without being pretentious, presenting a richly complex picture of a subject that can all too easily be shrouded in a sentimental haze

—— Daily Telegraph

Davison's evocative, far from linear approach does great service to the composer

—— Literary Review

A sadistic murder and the staggering words of a song drive Davison's obsession to unravel this vivid story of lives, landscapes and musical inspiration. No stone is left unturned in the meticulous gathering. Her gift is a work of love and infinite care

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This is a hugely intriguing, sensitively woven and at times unexpectedly moving book. What begins as an investigation into one English folk song and one twentieth-century English composer's interaction with it spirals outwards into a galaxy of related tales, discoveries, insights and surprises. It is written from the heart, an elegy to lost landscapes, to nearly forgotten communities and their cultural legacies, relived and newly honoured in the pages of this thoroughly absorbing book

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I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and its weaving of biography, social history and folk song

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—— Evening Standard

When the party starts, it's celebrity mayhem but the heart of the book is family, love and loyalty. I adored everything about this punchy and incisive take on fame and its consequences, from the sympathetic characters to the salty surf atmosphere.

—— Daily Mail

Think Selling Sunset with knobs on as Taylor Jenkins Reid again plunges us into the intoxicating, heat-heavy realm of intrigue of Malibu, this time amidst the world of the filthy rich.

—— 2021 look ahead , BBC News

Perfect pure escapism.

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A beautifully touching and thought provoking novel interspersed with Jenkins Reid's trademark wit and humour.

—— Essential Marbella Magazine

Malibu Rising is as much an impressionistic whirl of neon sunsets, acid-wash denim and high-cut bikinis as it is a grand set piece about a glamorous party ... Jenkins Reid has an easy, breezy style that serves melodrama on a daring scale . . . Never has so much sex, tragedy, celebrity and tanned skin been crammed into one thinking person's beach read. It's 365 pages of pure exhilaration.

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Perfect for whatever holiday you hopefully get to take this summer.

—— Irish Independent

A riveting, propulsive bookwith characters that stayed with me, not because they are complicated but because they are so vivid ... Full of warmth and tenderness ... Deliciously escapist, conjuring the sun and the sand.

—— i paper

A gorgeous, sun-soaked novel that delves into the glamour and desperate hope of 1980s Malibu.

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Fast-paced and addictive, Reid's vivid world-building provides the ultimate in summer escapism. With touches of 1980s glamour and scandal, Malibu Rising is another thrilling read from a talented writer, sure to delight old fans, as well as winning her new ones.

—— Independent

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Hot off the success of the immensely enjoyable 1970s band story Daisy Jones & The Six comes Taylor Jenkins Reid's latest, a superfun foray into the 1980s ... Delicious.

—— Sunday Telegraph, Novel of the Week

Simmering with sexual tension, this hugely enjoyable ensemble narrative turns on a raucous party.

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Malibu Rising is finely crafted commercial fiction, escapism in high definition, a quintessential beach read... If Nina Riva's party is the hottest ticket of the summer, then Malibu Rising is a front-row seat at the main event.

—— Irish Times

A gorgeous, sun-soaked novel that delves into the glamour and desperate hope of 1980s Malibu, and the saga of a family that will never be the same again.

—— The Skinny

The perfect summer novel, a vibrant story filled with sun, surfing, and flawed but lovable characters.

—— Daily Beast

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—— Independent

This glamourous, compulsive novel is best enjoyed from your sun lounger with a cocktail in hand.

—— Good Housekeeping

A deliciously decadent tale of sex, tragedy, celebrity, surfboards and tanned skin in 1980s Malibu.

—— The Times

I absolutely loved her book.... It's an absolute blast to read

—— Alice- Azania Jarvis

JACKIE COLLINS, BUT BETTER Sacrilege to say "better", I know, but there we are. Set in the 1980s, Taylor Jenkins Reid's Malibu Rising is wonderfully written, intensely evocative and concerns the model/ surfer children of a rock star. Tons of glamour, tons of sharply observed insights about sibling relationships, plus a massive party. Beach read par excellence. See also her brilliant Daisy Jones & the Six, which is heaven (more rock stars).

—— Anonymous

When we picked up Malibu Rising, the new novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, we could barely put it down

—— That's Life

You'll never want this book to end, it will suck you in and spit you out!

—— Muddy Stilettos
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