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

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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. I think we can all relate to the struggles that Linda faces, as well as a loathe for the Christians and Tonys of the world.

She was determined to escape the ordinariness of life, so she went to Paris, met some eccentric people, married some of them, and lived her life to the fullest.

I have done ever since I picked up a copy of Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison when I was 13 and would spend hours laughing over every sentence.

Big love too for Nina Stibbe - the Lizzie Vogle trilogy are inspired works of comic fiction, full of well drawn observations of people's little quirks and foibles. I expect that most people who read it will know that this is a contemporary retelling of Nancy Mitford’s wonderful The Pursuit of Love. Knight manages to be faithful to that beloved comfort read whilst updating the setting and characters to the present (albeit still in a bohemian-aristo thoroughly English way). It was like being invited into a family, one that has their own idiosyncrasies, language, and being let in on their inside jokes as they make fun of people.If the Radletts of the 21st century are perhaps a little less extraordinary than the Radletts of the 20th, they still leap off the page with warmth and chaos. Their unique, somewhat cloistered, childhood let their imaginations run rife; growing up is an adventure. Log in Keep reading with a freetrial Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. Purists greeted last year’s television adaptation much as cat-owners might welcome a partially eviscerated mouse.

Okay readers, don’t judge me, we’ve all done it, but I requested this book solely on the basis of loving that simply gorgeous front cover. After writing an article in The Sunday Times about her daughter's special needs - her youngest child has DiGeorge syndrome.And it’s always a delight to find something new to carry you through winter; Knight rises to that challenge with aplomb.

I cannot even begin to explain the language used, the feelings evoked and the actual laughs out loud that occurred during this entire read. And it should be said: Linda teaches us to love people and the world with one's whole heart and I think we'd all do well to live up to her example. 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! Once journalists get their hands on them,those curt, day-to-day messages can be just a tad embarrassing — as this week’s expletive-laden evidence to the UK Covid Inquiry confirms. Eventually Linda does find her way out from the bosom of her deeply eccentric extended family, and moves to London to become a model.The original novel centres on the life and loves of the beautiful Linda Radlett and her unconventional upbringing with her siblings and cousin Fanny (the book’s narrator) in the Cotswolds manor of Alconleigh. So glad I bought this on a whim (read: based on the beautiful cover) when visiting John Sandoe Books in Chelsea! India Knight takes on the mighty task of re-imagining Nancy Mitford's classic comedy of manners, The Pursuit of Love. It’s easy to dismiss the domestic, but if home is where the heart is, the heart is where all humanity happens.