Darling: A razor-sharp, gloriously funny retelling of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love

Product Information

But this is only the beginning of Linda's pursuit of love, a journey that will be wilder, more surprising and more complicated than she could ever have imagined.

There is a lot of pressure, taking on a novel that is beloved of so many people, me included, and I approached this with some trepidation, but I have to say that this is an absolute triumph. In addition to writing for and contributing to major British magazines and newspapers, India Knight writes a prominent weekly column for The Sunday Times. She is also a regular guest on British radio and television. Eventually Linda does find her way out from the bosom of her deeply eccentric extended family, and moves to London to become a model. She knows she doesn't want to marry 'a man who looks like a pudding', as her good and dull sister Louisa has done, and marries the flashy, handsome son of a UKIP peer instead. But her new life is unromantic: darker, wilder and more complicated than she expected. And what a relief she took the risk. Darling is a real treat, destined to be reread as devotedly as its predecessor. I haven’t read the original upon which it’s based - The Pursuit of Love - but will hunt down a copy to compare.So, this book is actually a retelling of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love. Never read it. But honestly, I didnt expect to be laughing so much, and I now need to read the original! Knight, a native French speaker, lived in Brussels until about the time she turned nine. After migrating to the United Kingdom, she was educated in London. She was awarded an exhibition to Trinity College, Cambridge, where she read Modern Languages from 1984-1987, before starting her career in journalism. It’s a decent enough, weekend read. The final third was less engaging but that didn’t spoil the overall impression. Husband number one, Tony Kroesig, has been perfectly refashioned as the son of a prominent right-winger. He calls his banking colleagues “proper lads” and has a sister called Blanche (“I thought it a sinister name for the offspring of a Ukip supporter,” thinks Fran).

I'm glad that I read the original text that this retelling is taken from so that I had that knowledge of the storyline and could appreciate the masterful way that India Knight has revamped the story but kept the heart of the characters the same. In my opinion, this version is better than the original! So fresh, fun and full of heart, charm and whimsy - and that devastating ending comes all the more sharply because the reader has been having such a good time with the Radletts (extra points for including a reference to Cromer!!). A savagely funny, bracingly sad, dazzlingly clever reimagining of The Pursuit of Love. I loved it' Meg Mason, author of Sorrow and BlissSuch a fun and witty read about the Radletts, mainly Linda Radlett, who feels herself destined for greater things in life. It’s about love, family, social class and more. Apparently, a 21st century version of ‘The Pursuit of Love’ (which I’d never heard of, oeps). But something I’m quite curious about now! Well-written and replete with deadpan humour, sarcasm and irony it’s a banter-filled, yet poignant tale. So very English. So very satirical. I absolutely flew through it. Also, any book that manages to make me laugh out loud (or snort) multiple times, has a special place in my heart. Granted, it’s hard to compete with the high stakes of Mitford’s pre Second World War setting. Knight makes Linda’s third love affair, with French hotel tycoon Fabrice El Hassane, dizzyingly romantic. But there’s no getting round it: being separated from your lover because they must open a new hotel in New Zealand is fundamentally less sexy than them leaving to fight the Nazis as a French resistance hero. The big question is WHY OH WHY? i.e. why bother retelling such a perfect book? What can be gained from doing this?