Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
The Folio Socity (1993), Edition: Reprint
Description
A sparkling romantic comedy that vividly evokes the lost glamour of aristocratic life in England between the wars. Polly Hampton has long been groomed for the perfect marriage by her mother, the fearsome and ambitious Lady Montdore. But Polly, with her stunning good looks and impeccable connections, is bored by the monotony of her glittering debut season in London. Having just come from India, where her father served as Viceroy, she claims to have hoped that society in a colder climate would be less obsessed with love affairs. The apparently aloof and indifferent Polly has a long-held secret, however, one that leads to the shattering of her mother's dreams and her own disinheritance. When an elderly duke begins pursuing the disgraced Polly and a callow potential heir curries favor with her parents, nothing goes as expected, but in the end all find happiness in their own unconventional ways.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Nickelini
I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked it, and can open at any point and enjoy the words on the page, but in the end it didn’t add up to much. In 2007, I read In Pursuit of Love, which is included in this same volume. I had really liked it, and rated it four stars, so I was always looking
Both In Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate were included in the original 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, and Pursuit was dropped in later editions. I’m not sure why they thought Love was the one to keep, but I do agree that one is sufficient and they both don’t need to be there. In fact, I’m not sure that either deserves a spot on the list. Although I did enjoy some of my time in the Mitford world, the charm has gone off, and I’m generously giving Love in a Cold Climate three stars.
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forward to getting to this second novel in the book. It’s very much the same—actually, it’s too much the same. I like her wry commentary on upper class 1930s English society, and I like the sort of Jane Austen-Evelyn Waugh feel to the books. But really, they do go on and on without any sort of direction. That, in itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. However, the aimlessness of Love in a Cold Climate made me not really care, and I started avoiding the book. What should have been a quick book ended up taking 16 days to read. My pace did pick up after I got to Part 2—it didn’t seem as aimless as the first part, and I found myself rather enjoying it. Both In Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate were included in the original 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die, and Pursuit was dropped in later editions. I’m not sure why they thought Love was the one to keep, but I do agree that one is sufficient and they both don’t need to be there. In fact, I’m not sure that either deserves a spot on the list. Although I did enjoy some of my time in the Mitford world, the charm has gone off, and I’m generously giving Love in a Cold Climate three stars.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford was a simple, charming story that started off with a delightful introduction written by Alan Cumming in which he sets the stage for the narrator, Fanny, to tell the story of the Hampton family, the perfect father, husband and host, Lord Montdore, his fearsome
This was my first book written by Nancy Mitford, and I understand now that I have read this volume out of order and should have read The Pursuit of Love first, but this was such a fun read. The author effortlessly recreates the foibles of the English upper class of the 1930’s and obviously relishes pointing out each flaw or defect but always in a gentle sophisticated way. This was just the perfect book to curl up with on a winter’s afternoon and knowing that Nancy Mitford was a member of the very society that she is lampooning makes it all the more fun.
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wife, Sonia, a social motivator who is looked up to by just about everyone, and their lovely daughter, Polly, an only child, who had been groomed her whole life to make the perfect marriage but instead throws herself away by declaring herself engaged to an undesirable suitor. Of course this unsuitable marriage clears the way for the arrival of Lord Montdore’s colourful heir, Cedric. We are lucky enough to be given a front seat in the drawing room in order to watch this family drama play out in this irresistible, witty satire on upper class society.This was my first book written by Nancy Mitford, and I understand now that I have read this volume out of order and should have read The Pursuit of Love first, but this was such a fun read. The author effortlessly recreates the foibles of the English upper class of the 1930’s and obviously relishes pointing out each flaw or defect but always in a gentle sophisticated way. This was just the perfect book to curl up with on a winter’s afternoon and knowing that Nancy Mitford was a member of the very society that she is lampooning makes it all the more fun.
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LibraryThing member soniaandree
If the novel's plot is extremely slow paced, the problem lies in the fact that it reads like an enumeration of comments, gossip and criticism of every character in the book. It is chick lit, and even if some people may say that the witty tone and acerbic comments outrank any other consideration, I
All in all, apart from sharing my first name with Lady Montdore (the identification stops there), I do not think it is a book that should be a classic, rather a leisurely read for holidays, or in Winter, when the lights of all those fictional parties and dinners can warm the reader's heart on those long, bleak, grey evenings.
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am not convinced by the literary quality in term of style. Certainly, the first person narrative voice of Fanny, who steps into Polly Hampton's high society life, makes the reader identify with her. Who hasn't yearned for such a high life? This book is good marketing. The introductory tone approaches jane Austen's level of satire; Lady Montdore has some brilliant moments, but is not yet comparable to Lady Bracknell in terms of wit ([The Importance of Being Earnest]); Fanny is rather bland in her role as casual observer of the household and contrasts sharply with the egocentric high society. Her family is relatively normal by comparison.All in all, apart from sharing my first name with Lady Montdore (the identification stops there), I do not think it is a book that should be a classic, rather a leisurely read for holidays, or in Winter, when the lights of all those fictional parties and dinners can warm the reader's heart on those long, bleak, grey evenings.
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LibraryThing member Staramber
I’m going to start judging the book by bitching about its cover. I read the 2004 print which meant I got the ‘old novel revamped for chick lit market'. Complete with handbag.
It’s kind of problematic in that a lot of the assumptions about race, gender and sexuality make it, what we
Also, it's the second in the series. How many times do I have to rant about this before publishers put that information on the cover? It was sat right next to The Pursuit of Love on the shelf but I picked up this one first because it was furthest from my hand.
That said I enjoyed the biting satire and the humorous descriptions of the various characters (in both senses of the word) The story itself would have been more compelling but it lacked immediacy in that it was mainly related through dialog and by someone not entirely involved.
Definitely readable but somewhat forgettable.
It’s kind of problematic in that a lot of the assumptions about race, gender and sexuality make it, what we
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euphemistically term, a novel of its time. And while I have a bit more leniency for attitudes of the past I don't see an excuse to parade them out in a modern cover.Also, it's the second in the series. How many times do I have to rant about this before publishers put that information on the cover? It was sat right next to The Pursuit of Love on the shelf but I picked up this one first because it was furthest from my hand.
That said I enjoyed the biting satire and the humorous descriptions of the various characters (in both senses of the word) The story itself would have been more compelling but it lacked immediacy in that it was mainly related through dialog and by someone not entirely involved.
Definitely readable but somewhat forgettable.
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LibraryThing member lizzy_bb
Inspired a great love of all things Mitfordian.
LibraryThing member annbury
This novel is easy to get into, hard to put down, and very funny along the way, but still coldblooded in the end. This is farce, not comedy. There is a lot of banging around, of characters and plot lines as well as of doors, and the resolution is as chilly as an English spring.
The plot is a series
The key characters are surprisingly rounded, given their extreme eccentricity and improbable emotions, and the social setting is fascinating. There is a certain coldness at the heart of it all: it is about love, but so much of the love is the kind that finds its object in a mirror. It's an enjoyable read, and I will certainly read Ms. Mitford's "Pursuit of Love". It's not a novel, however, to which I will return for emotional connection.
, and with its exotic setting (upper class England, almost a century ago) and
The plot is a series
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of events connecting a group of wildly eccentric upper class English people in the late 1920's and early 1930's -- people, one assumes,much like the friends and family of the author. The one sensible member of the cast is the narrator, Fanny, who starts off the novel with a visit to her very grand relations at Hampton. These include the beautiful Polly Hampton, only child of Lord and Lady Montdore. Polly refuses to fall in love with anyone, and in time it is revealed that she has been in love with someone supremely inappropriate since the age of fourteen. After that events unravel and the plot thickens, until it is all resolved rather shockingly at the end.The key characters are surprisingly rounded, given their extreme eccentricity and improbable emotions, and the social setting is fascinating. There is a certain coldness at the heart of it all: it is about love, but so much of the love is the kind that finds its object in a mirror. It's an enjoyable read, and I will certainly read Ms. Mitford's "Pursuit of Love". It's not a novel, however, to which I will return for emotional connection.
, and with its exotic setting (upper class England, almost a century ago) and
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LibraryThing member Cecilturtle
Charming as its predecessor, it didn't quite have the same humour until Cedric shows up - I might have almost given up under Polly's cold touch and indifference, but Cedric's pizzazz and unstoppable need for fun saved the novel from dreary lackluster scandal. The contrast provides relief from the
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gloom of Hampton while at the same time setting the stage for Lady Montdore's comic transformation. Flighty, elegant, vibrant, Cedric is a character who despite the stereotype will continue to engage readers for many decades! Show Less
LibraryThing member Clueless
Mitford manages a wonderful perspective of English society during the two world wars. This story is chock full of laugh out loud innuendo and double entendres. How she managed to grow up to be so tolerant and non-judgmental in such a toxic atmosphere I'll never know. Only with a narrator who is
(I feel like I should've write something like, 'Smashing! Brilliant! I was gob-smacked by how much this made me chortle and chuckle...')
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this self effacing and kind to the bone would a book peopled by such noxious characters be tolerable.(I feel like I should've write something like, 'Smashing! Brilliant! I was gob-smacked by how much this made me chortle and chuckle...')
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LibraryThing member Angela.Kingston
I couldn't get into it. I had trouble identifying with the characters and sustaining interest in the plot, but I may not have been in the right space.
LibraryThing member tandah
What an unusual book. I found it fresh and interesting and often laugh out loud funny. The commedy of manners (ill manners) takes place between the wars, about the tensions between a mother and daughter over the urgency and suitability of marriage (partners). I particularly enjoyed Fanny's
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narration (objective but voracious) and Victoria and Jassy's irreverance. 'All this' with jolly lashings of tea, scones and cream. Show Less
LibraryThing member Laurenbdavis
The sequel to The Pursuit of Love.
Fanny, is the daughter of the famous "Bolter", and so no stranger to scandal. She is is married to a practically non-existant husband, and narrates the story of her friend Polly -- a great beauty and social success -- refuses all suitors until finally choosing so
And so Cedric, so gay as to be enchanted (as Robin Williams once said), stands to inherit all that fabulous wealth, and sidles up to Lady Montdore, educating her in many ways and to many 'continental' ideas.
Lady Montdore is as condescending, class-conscious to the extreme, superior and as utterly deluded as she is hilarious and all in all a wonderful character, as is the grandly-drawn Cedric. They are lovable in spite of their considerable flaws and that's a testament to Mitford's skill as a novelist. Consider the way Lady Montdore sniffs that hardly anyone had heard of India until her cipher of a husband served as secretary there.
The book is set in the 1940s and my, how times have changed. I'm sure the portrayal of Boy Dougdale, a pedophile who ends up in a miserable, loveless marriage will be shocking to modern sensibilities. His inappropriate behavior toward the young Radlett sisters is dealt with more as a question of bad manners than criminal activity.
Read Mitford for the sparkling wit and subversive class satire. She's worth it, even all these years later.
Fanny, is the daughter of the famous "Bolter", and so no stranger to scandal. She is is married to a practically non-existant husband, and narrates the story of her friend Polly -- a great beauty and social success -- refuses all suitors until finally choosing so
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scandalous a husband that her supremely wealthy and snobbish aristocratic mother, Lady Montodre, disinherits her. And so Cedric, so gay as to be enchanted (as Robin Williams once said), stands to inherit all that fabulous wealth, and sidles up to Lady Montdore, educating her in many ways and to many 'continental' ideas.
Lady Montdore is as condescending, class-conscious to the extreme, superior and as utterly deluded as she is hilarious and all in all a wonderful character, as is the grandly-drawn Cedric. They are lovable in spite of their considerable flaws and that's a testament to Mitford's skill as a novelist. Consider the way Lady Montdore sniffs that hardly anyone had heard of India until her cipher of a husband served as secretary there.
The book is set in the 1940s and my, how times have changed. I'm sure the portrayal of Boy Dougdale, a pedophile who ends up in a miserable, loveless marriage will be shocking to modern sensibilities. His inappropriate behavior toward the young Radlett sisters is dealt with more as a question of bad manners than criminal activity.
Read Mitford for the sparkling wit and subversive class satire. She's worth it, even all these years later.
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LibraryThing member overthemoon
A pleasure to the touch, with lovely velvety paper. Witty, great character portrayals.
LibraryThing member leslie.98
Amusing story about British life between the wars but a tad predictable. I preferred Mitford's "The Pursuit of Love". If you like Evelyn Waugh's "Vile Bodies", then this novel is worth trying and gives a different perspective of the same time period.
LibraryThing member missizicks
This was a surprise. I was expecting something more Wildean or Wodehousean. Instead I got something funny and poignant. Mitford mixes insight into human character with gently mocking observations on her social class. It wasn't uproariously funny, but I laughed a couple of times. I enjoyed the
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observations made about love, marriage and family, and the acknowledgement that we put up with monstrous people within our closest circles in order to keep family life on an even keel. The families in the book might be exaggerated, and their social existence alien to most of us, but they face the same issues of being human as anyone else. Show Less
LibraryThing member DaptoLibrary
Sometimes a book need be nothing more than just ‘rollicking good fun!’ (as the British upper classes might say) and a perfect description of this month’s classic read Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford. The over-drawn, preposterous characters had many of us laughing out loud, and once
We all had our favourites … Polly, Lady Montdore, Davey, Cedric, Aunt Emily … the cast is a wonderful mixture of crazy eccentrics that go about their business, never seeing or believing in the absurdity of their world or their part in it. Some of us were able to see people we know (or have known) within the characters, which always brings some enjoyment and a little more perspective to the reading.
We couldn’t find too much to be serious about with this novel. If there was a sober side it was the questionable fact that Polly needed only her beauty to happily exist. Although, we did end up having an interesting conversation on women’s education and marriage in the early 1900s, and the Mitford girls and their rather dubious relationship choices.
To finish, we all agreed with Nancy that Cedric’s parting comment summed up much of the book and was a classic worth noting …
‘So here we all are, my darling, having our lovely cake and eating it too. One’s great aim in life.’
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the small but conscious jump is made into Mitford’s writing style, there is nothing but fun to had within the lives of these satirical upper-crust characters. We all had our favourites … Polly, Lady Montdore, Davey, Cedric, Aunt Emily … the cast is a wonderful mixture of crazy eccentrics that go about their business, never seeing or believing in the absurdity of their world or their part in it. Some of us were able to see people we know (or have known) within the characters, which always brings some enjoyment and a little more perspective to the reading.
We couldn’t find too much to be serious about with this novel. If there was a sober side it was the questionable fact that Polly needed only her beauty to happily exist. Although, we did end up having an interesting conversation on women’s education and marriage in the early 1900s, and the Mitford girls and their rather dubious relationship choices.
To finish, we all agreed with Nancy that Cedric’s parting comment summed up much of the book and was a classic worth noting …
‘So here we all are, my darling, having our lovely cake and eating it too. One’s great aim in life.’
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LibraryThing member Kristelh
An amusing story written in 1949, featuring life of the British aristocrats in the thirties. The characters are all grossly exaggerated but make for a lot of fun. The novel is described as subversive, funny, and comforting. The most exaggerated character, plainly gay, is introduced, has a life of
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total pleasure and makes those around him have fun too. He even is allowed his own lover in the end. Lady Montdore is called Mitford's finest creation, a person who is greedy, self centered and rude. This book is about love, marriage, aging and snobbery. The author tells the story of Polly through Polly's distant relative and friend, Fanny. Fanny is the daughter of parents who abandoned her, she is raised by relatives. She lives an ordinary life as she tells the story of Polly, the only child and daughter of Lady and Lord Montdore. Show Less
LibraryThing member devilish2
A biting look at English society in the 1930s
LibraryThing member jody12
Sometimes a book need be nothing more than just ‘rollicking good fun!’ (as the British upper classes might say) and a perfect description of this month’s classic read Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford. The over-drawn, preposterous characters had many of us laughing out loud, and once
We all had our favourites … Polly, Lady Montdore, Davey, Cedric, Aunt Emily … the cast is a wonderful mixture of crazy eccentrics that go about their business, never seeing or believing in the absurdity of their world or their part in it. Some of us were able to see people we know (or have known) within the characters, which always brings some enjoyment and a little more perspective to the reading.
We couldn’t find too much to be serious about with this novel. If there was a sober side it was the questionable fact that Polly needed only her beauty to happily exist. Although, we did end up having an interesting conversation on women’s education and marriage in the early 1900s, and the Mitford girls and their rather dubious relationship choices.
To finish, we all agreed with Nancy that Cedric’s parting comment summed up much of the book and was a classic worth noting …
‘So here we all are, my darling, having our lovely cake and eating it too. One’s great aim in life.’
Show More
the small but conscious jump is made into Mitford’s writing style, there is nothing but fun to had within the lives of these satirical upper-crust characters. We all had our favourites … Polly, Lady Montdore, Davey, Cedric, Aunt Emily … the cast is a wonderful mixture of crazy eccentrics that go about their business, never seeing or believing in the absurdity of their world or their part in it. Some of us were able to see people we know (or have known) within the characters, which always brings some enjoyment and a little more perspective to the reading.
We couldn’t find too much to be serious about with this novel. If there was a sober side it was the questionable fact that Polly needed only her beauty to happily exist. Although, we did end up having an interesting conversation on women’s education and marriage in the early 1900s, and the Mitford girls and their rather dubious relationship choices.
To finish, we all agreed with Nancy that Cedric’s parting comment summed up much of the book and was a classic worth noting …
‘So here we all are, my darling, having our lovely cake and eating it too. One’s great aim in life.’
Show Less
LibraryThing member nog
Like Downton Abbey, but rather than celebrating pomposity, making fun of it, especially in the person of Lady Montdore. Read this one directly after finishing The Pursuit of Love, so although that has its pleasures, primarily in the form of Uncle Matthew (sort of an even crankier version of Lord
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Grantham), this one gets the nod. Show Less
LibraryThing member eglinton
Mitford’s own sensibility, at least in the narrating character's voice, may be rather dutiful and prim, but she is drawn, as who wouldn't be, to extravagant, eccentric rogues and show-offs. So here spoiled heiress Polly falls for the “Lecherous Lecturer”, whilst her mother, ruthless social
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climber Lady Montdore is captivated by a foppish New Worlder. As in “Pursuit of Love”, Mitford delights us with her gossipy, hilarious story, but still brimming with well-turned description and understanding of personality. The flavour of the decadent, class-ridden, unsustainable England of the interwar years, the clocks already ticking on its Waugh-Wodehouse presumptions, is well captured here. The flimsiness of this culture is evident in its very vogue words, that Mitford makes good use of: bogus, sick-making, S.A. (sex appeal), stuffing (scoffing, but perhaps also frowsting). And there’s plenty more esoterica to amuse or get you looking up references: strawberry leaves(?), a lady of Llangollen, the unforgettable “chubb fuddling”. Show Less
LibraryThing member TheLoisLevel
Cute story. You don't resent the lives of all the rich people because they are pretty silly. A fun, light read.
LibraryThing member adzebill
A charming, light, amoral, sporadically cruel and hilarious romp among the British aristocracy c. 1930.
LibraryThing member murderbydeath
In pains me to admit this, but perhaps I don't really get satire. I mean, I get what satire is, I can recognise it when I see it, but I don't know...I think I'm missing some small point that would allow me to revel in it.
I'm a bit flummoxed on how to review Love in a Cold Climate. I really enjoyed
But the story failed to move me in any significant way. I know the characters were all superficial, shallow and selfish and I know they all sort of got what was coming to them in the end, good or bad, but there wasn't any crisis or climax, really. And as I write this it occurs to me that this is probably because the back of the book spoils the gasp! moment. If I'd read this cold, I'd have been shocked. Still not moved in any meaningful way, but at least shocked.
Oh well, it was still a fun read, if a long one. I can imagine re-reading it again someday when I want to lose myself in the past.
I'm a bit flummoxed on how to review Love in a Cold Climate. I really enjoyed
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it; I looked forward to reading it and finding out what happened next. I bonded with the narrator. It's written beautifully with a lot of wit and humour. But the story failed to move me in any significant way. I know the characters were all superficial, shallow and selfish and I know they all sort of got what was coming to them in the end, good or bad, but there wasn't any crisis or climax, really. And as I write this it occurs to me that this is probably because the back of the book spoils the gasp! moment. If I'd read this cold, I'd have been shocked. Still not moved in any meaningful way, but at least shocked.
Oh well, it was still a fun read, if a long one. I can imagine re-reading it again someday when I want to lose myself in the past.
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LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
Fanny has just come Out into society in interbellum England. She finds it hard to think of adults as her peers, but thanks to her wide connections is able to make her way without too much difficulty through the various balls and house parties required of her first season. She seems to find herself
Disappointing in the end.
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fairly uninteresting, because she spends most of the book talking about her best friend Polly, and only mentions falling in love, marrying, and having children in passing between paragraphs about Polly's tortured relationship with her mother. The first half or so of the book is strong, capably capturing the quirky Radletts (obviously cribbed from Mitford's own family), Society (with clear references to various real people) and the odd feelings felt by a debutante coming of age. In the second half, Polly's beautiful, witty, and gay cousin Cedric comes to visit and takes over the novel (or rather, becomes what Fanny writes about) from Polly. Various dark references are made about the harm he'll inevitably due to Lady Montdore, but these come to nothing. Everyone is excited for Polly and Cedric to finally meet, but we never see them do so. The vague plot fizzles out entirely and the book ends abruptly. Disappointing in the end.
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LibraryThing member herschelian
A light-hearted look at the mating rituals of the English upper classes between the wars. Frothy and funny, a tonic to read.
Original publication date
1949
Physical description
10 inches
Local notes
READIN
series: #02 radlett
series: #02 radlett