The Pursuit of Love

I recently read a biography about the Mitford Sisters, an interesting read about six sisters and their lives in Britain during the interwar period. One of those sisters was an author, and I wanted to read one of her books to understand more about how she saw the world, I just finished The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford.

It was a great read, following the story of a young woman, Linda, who is the second daughter of a set of siblings. She is looking for love, as the story implies. The narrator is her cousin, who tells about their childhood in the country with the rest of the raucous Radletts of Alconleigh. As is often the case in these things, Linda makes her way through life, trying to figure out what she should be doing. If there is one critique of Linda it’s that her character is quite shallow, so you wonder if she even understands what love is.

What was fascinating to me was the juxtaposition of Linda’s life with that of her cousin, Fanny, who tells her story. I don’t want to say too much because well, you should read the book. This was perfect bed time reading for me. I can’t fall asleep until I’ve read for a bit and I prefer something a bit lighter and this fit the bill. But I also was sent off into my thoughts, wondering about how we all look for love, how we find it, and what it takes to sustain it.