The Radlett family are large, mad and very exciting. There’s the Bolter who gave birth to Fanny the narrator and then ran away; Aunt Emily who falls in love and marries late (she was all of 40). And there is Linda who makes a mess of her choices in men whilst pursuing love.

The interesting characters

Linda’s first husband was handsome and wealthy but very pompous and such a bore. She left him. Her second husband was a beautiful communist, an idealist. Here we learn that idealism is not romantic. It is drudgery, repetitive and a little bit grubby. Leaving the communist, Linda meets Fabrice Sauveterre who picks her up at a train station as she sits on her suitcase crying because she has run out of money and can’t get home. He becomes the love of her life with the relationship almost being a Pygmalion one where he teaches her how to dress and behave in society.

Louise, Linda’s sister, marries Lord Fort William, a man much older than her and settles down to a conventional relationship of raising children. Everything about Fort William, including his name, is staid and sensible which left Linda wondering why her parents did not favour her more as she had achieved the pathway they had set out for her with little emphasis on the pursuit.

Lord Fort William was thirty nine, but he certainly looked much more. His hair seemed to be slipping off backwards like an eiderdown in the night, Linda said, and he had a generally uncared for middle-aged appearance.

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Uncle Matthew must be mentioned. He is the father of Louisa and Linda and Uncle to Fanny. Fanny spent many holidays at her cousins’ home with her Uncle present who was a fuming tyrant. He hunts his children with dogs, one of their favourite games, hates all foreigners and detests the use of vocabulary such as notepaper instead of writing paper. A true monster.

What do we learn about love?

The path to love is not an easy one and it is hard to know which one to follow. Handsome or beautiful men may not bring happiness; wealth may not bring joy and idealism can be downright hard work. Love can be found in the most unexpected places such as a railway station when you are at your lowest point.

The impact of family on love is strong. The relationships and bonds within the family can influence the pursuit of love and its expectations and a father like Matthew is enough to put any suitor off. The book is strongly critical of marriage amongst the upper classes and the constraints it puts upon women, often leaving Linda with a desire to be amongst the working classes.

We also learn that whilst love may be forever, relationships might not be. World wars had a tremendous effect, as does any war, on love and loss and Linda finds that Fabrice is killed during active service for his country.

Any surprises?

Whilst this is a book that tracks Linda’s pursuit of love as told by Fanny, the ending suggests that the love or abandonment of a parent has one of the most lasting effects. I wondered as I got closer to the end how Linda was going to end up only to find that she is written out in the most pragmatic manner. It turns out that one of the loves being pursued was that of Fanny and her desire to be loved by her mother.

This book was funny. So much funnier than The Finishing School by Muriel Spark. I loved it and have ordered the complete works of Nancy Mitford.