Life in a Cold Climate: Nancy Mitford; The Biography

This is absolutely one of my favorite books. I have read it dozens of times. There is a lot of truth in it, although it describes a world which has vanished, so who knows exactly what happened? It's witty, gay, jaunty, humorous, and yet it leaves you scratching your head. There's a degree of cruelty and sadness that grounds it in reality. Hmm, could this have really happened? Indeed, if you are a consumer of Mitfordiana. you will know that it did,in a way, and you can embark on a long journey through the dozens of memoirs, collected letters and assorted works of fiction trying to live in Nancy Mitford's weird world. I envy all those people who are reading this for the first time.

This is a wonderful book, in part because even more than a bio it is a critical essay about the intersection of Mitford's influences -- the eccentric Mitford family; WWI and II; the fading of an increasingly impoverished aristoracy; the privations inflicted upon England after WWII; English vs. French romantic mores; and many more. A dry recitation of the facts of Mitford's life wouldn't be true to Mitford. Thompson delves into the world in which Mitford lived to point out and dispel the self-satisfied, scornful tags the politically correct assign to her today. Thompson captures Nancy as a multi-dimensional, complicated character, noting her inconsistencies and pointing to nuances other biographers have grievously missed -- or chosen to overlook (take your pick). Her opinionated lashing and revision of smug assessments and devaluations of Mitford and her work are, quite simply, hilarious. If you've only read Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love, you'll get a lot out of this bio, but to really get the most out of it, try to read Pigeon Pie, Christmas Pudding, Highland Fling and Wigs on the Green (if you can find it). You might want to reread LIACC and TPOL too just before reading this bio. Her bios of historical figures are mentioned in the book, but not to the degree that you will fail to grasp anything if you have not read them. Just really an engaging book and well worth owning -- I got it at the library, then went out and bought it to keep...

Written in a charming and chatty style not unlike that of Nancy Mitford herself, _Life in a Cold Climate_ analyzes Mitford's life, works, and relationships in an engaging and perceptive way; the book is clearly based on excellent research (including extensive interviews with the two sisters of Nancy still alive when the book was written, Lady Diana Mosley and Deborah Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire) and a deep knowledge of Nancy's writings. I highly recommend it for those who want new insights into the complex and controversial Nancy Mitford.