Book description
?How lovely ? green velvet and silver. I call that a dream, so soft and
delicious, too.? She rubbed a fold of the skirt against her cheek.
?Mine?s silver lamé, it smells like a bird cage when it gets hot but I
do love it. Aren?t you thankful evening skirts are long again?? Ah, the
dresses! But oh, the monotony of the Season, with its endless run of
glittering balls. Even fabulously fashionable Polly Hampton ? with her
startling good looks and excellent social connections ? is beginning to
wilt under the glare. Groomed for the perfect marriage by her mother,
fearsome Lady Montdore, Polly instead scandalizes society by declaring
her love for her uncle ?Boy? Dougdale, the Lecherous Lecturer, and
promptly eloping to France. But the consequences of this union no one
could quite expect . . . Love in a Cold Climate is the wickedly funny
follow-up to The Pursuit of Love and explores the mystery of sexual
attraction.
Nancy Mitford (1904-1973) was born in London, the eldest child of the
second Baron Redesdale. Her childhood in a large remote country house
with her five sisters and one brother is recounted in the early
chapters of The Pursuit of Love (1945), which according to the
author, is largely autobiographical. Apart from being taught to ride
and speak French, Nancy Mitford always claimed she never received a
proper education. She started writing before her marriage in 1932 in
order 'to relieve the boredom of the intervals between the recreations
established by the social conventions of her world' and had written
four novels, including Wigs on the Green (1935), before the
success of The Pursuit of Love in 1945. After the war she moved
to Paris where she lived for the rest of her life. She followed The
Pursuit of Love with Love in a Cold Climate (1949),
The Blessing (1951) and Don't Tell Alfred (1960). She
also wrote four works of biography: Madame de Pompadour, first
published to great acclaim in 1954, Voltaire in Love, The
Sun King and Frederick the Great. As well as being a
novelist and a biographer she also translated Madame de Lafayette's
classic novel, La Princesse de Cl ves, into English, and edited
Noblesse Oblige, a collection of essays concerned with the
behaviour of the English aristocracy and the idea of 'U' and 'non-U'.
Nancy Mitford was awarded the CBE in 1972.
Alan Cumming is an actor, director, producer, and writer. He has
adapted several plays for The Royal National Theatre and starred as
the Pope in his own adaptation of Jean Genet's Elle in New
York. With Jennifer Jason Leigh he wrote and directed the film The
Anniversary Party, which premiered at Cannes and won a National
Board of Review award and two Independent Spirit nominations. He has
written introductions and contributions for books on a range of
subjects including Andy Warhol, nude photography and the AIDS crisis,
and for publications such as Newsweek, BlackBook, Interview, Marie
Claire, Contents, OUT Traveler, the Independent and House and Garden.
His novel Tommy's Tale was published by Penguin in 2003.
