Most readers will be aware that The Pursuit of Love (along with its sequels, Love in a Cold Climate, and Don't Tell Alfred) uses as a starting point, Nancy Mitford's own life and uses her eccentric, aristocratic family (seen at left) as fictionalized characters.
From the official Nancy Mitford website:
'If one can't be happy one must be amused don't you agree? ' Nancy wrote to a friend. It could stand as the motto for her life. She hid her deepest feelings behind a sparkling flow of jokes and witty turns of phrase, and was the star of any gathering.The one Mitford sibling still alive is the youngest, Deborah (Victoria in the novels), who is now the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire (what a great title), now in her 90s and still making headlines. From January 2011:
"90-Year-Old Duchess Gets Restraining Order Against Suitor." The following is a brief interview on YouTube, in which the Dowager Duchess is plugging a book of her memoirs, Wait for Me.
Also on YouTube, you can find the entire 2001 television series based on The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, which was entitled "Love in a Cold Climate," and which I believe I saw the very end of. As is customary on YouTube, it is split up into small chunks, seven for episode 1 and eight for episode 2. Embedding is disabled for this video, but you can start part 1 of episode one by clicking on this link.
I still prefer Monty Python's version.
