Nancy Mitford (1904–1973) was born into the British aristocracy
and, by her own account, brought up without an education, except in
riding and French. She managed a London bookshop during the Second
World War, then moved to Paris, where she began to write her
celebrated and successful novels, among them The Pursuit of Love
and Love in a Cold Climate, about the foibles of the English upper
class. Mitford was also the author of four biographies: Madame de
Pompadour (1954), Voltaire in Love (1957), The Sun King (1966), and
Frederick the Great (1970)—all available as NYRB classics. In 1967
Mitford moved from Paris to Versailles, where she lived until her
death from Hodgkin’s disease.
Liesl Schillinger is a journalist, critic, and translator. She is a
regular contributor to The New York Times Book Review and has
written on literature, culture, theater, politics, and travel for
many publications, including The New York Times, The New Yorker,
The Daily Beast, and The Independent on Sunday. Among her
translations are The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas
(fils) and Every Day, Every Hour by Nataša Dragnić. Her
illustrated book of neologisms, Wordbirds, will be published in
October 2013.
“It is written with all the author’s skill, is really hard to put
down once its rhythm
and energy take hold, and yet imparts an astounding quantity of
information.” —Guardian
“Mitford’s felicity lies in capturing the spirit of a society and
an age.” —The Times Literary Supplement
“Nancy Mitford seems to have brought a new talent to the study of
history: that of the sophisticated, worldly wise observer, who is
able to penetrate old archives with a fresh eye for qualities in
the dead.” —Louis Auchincloss, The New York Times Book Review
“Her style is skillfully succinct . . . and her wit proceeds from
uncommon shrewdness.” —Sunday Times
“Apart from Miss Mitford’s special interests in the fun and fashion
department, one may admire her most for her power to condense and
explain the most complicated events.” —The New Statesman
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