The Pursuit of Laughter
Encyclopedia
The Pursuit of Laughter is a 2008 collection of diaries, articles, reviews and portraits by Diana Mitford
. The book was published by Gibson Square and edited by Martin Rynja. Mitford's sister, Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
provides the introduction. The title is a homage to another Mitford sister's book, Nancy Mitford
's The Pursuit of Love
.
, a cultural magazine she also edited during its tenure in the 1950s. Similar works published for publications such as Tatler
, London Evening Standard, The Spectator
, The Daily Mail, The Times
, The Sunday Times
and Books & Bookmen have also been republished. The collection also includes selected portraits from her 1977 autobiography, A Life of Contrasts
and her 1985 publication of pen portraits, Loved Ones
.
The book has also been satirized by the "Digested Read" column in The Guardian
.
Valerie Grove
of The Times
attempted to distance herself from any political position in reviewing the book "I hope I can praise Diana Mosley without being suspected of fascist sympathies". She continued with praise "Her opening gambits are arresting...Dipping into this book at your bedside is like browsing in a great nonfiction library stuffed with lives and letters, each subject brightly and sharply illuminated."
David Sexton of the Evening Standard
described the book as "Sharp, funny, debunking." But he criticized her political positions citing "her completely unrepentant support not just of her beloved Mosley but of "the Führer" as she continued to call him (attentive to titles, she liked to snub Churchill by referring to him as "Mr Churchill") is ultimately indefensible and that fact has to be faced, not sidestepped or swept under the carpet."
"Like her thin, upright, elegant figure her prose, which she did not begin to write until in her 40s, has no fat on it - a succinctness also to be found in her letters...She was also the possessor of an oblique, ironic wit that pervades most of her writings". de Courcy also praised Mosley's "sharp and receptive" published book reviews as well as the portraits included. Anne de Courcy, Daily Mail
Writing in the Daily Telegraph reviewer Duncan Fallowell
questioned Mosley's contradictions between her personal and political life. Fallowell described the publication; "this strange, fascinating book revives the turbulence at a time when the Mitford industry seemed to be moving into a cosy corner. It is made up mostly of book reviews but her agile mind and the sulphurous life lend them weight."
"It represents the life in writing of a fascinating woman...these writings are testimony to the sheer rigour of her thought and the crispness and elegance of her prose...Her command of history and understanding of the machinations of politics are formidable, and evident in pieces on the Dreyfus affair
, Suez crisis
and Profumo scandal." Catherine Heaney, Irish Times
The Sunday Telegraph
recently selected the book for its section "pick of the paperback". The reviewers praised Mosley's "love of laughter and witty observation of friends such as Evelyn Waugh, Harold Action and James Lees-Milne" and described her recollection as a "delight". They also described the book as a "fascinating" collection.
Acknowledgements (466)
Index (467)
Diana Mitford
Diana Mitford, Lady Mosley , was one of Britain's noted Mitford sisters. She was married first to Bryan Walter Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, and secondly to Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, leader of the British Union of Fascists; her second marriage, in 1936, took place at the...
. The book was published by Gibson Square and edited by Martin Rynja. Mitford's sister, Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
Deborah Vivien Cavendish, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire DCVO , née The Hon. Deborah Freeman-Mitford is the youngest and last surviving of the six noted Mitford sisters whose political affiliations and marriages were a prominent feature of English culture in the 1930s and 1940s...
provides the introduction. The title is a homage to another Mitford sister's book, Nancy Mitford
Nancy Mitford
Nancy Freeman-Mitford, CBE , styled The Hon. Nancy Mitford before her marriage and The Hon. Mrs Peter Rodd thereafter, was an English novelist and biographer, one of the Bright Young People on the London social scene in the inter-war years...
's The Pursuit of Love
The Pursuit of Love
The Pursuit of Love is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1945. It is the first in a trilogy about an upper-class family in the period between the wars...
.
Overview
The book includes several of her articles, diaries and book reviews previously published in The EuropeanThe European (magazine)
The European was a privately circulated far-right cultural and political magazine that was published between 1953 and 1959. During this tenure, it was edited by Diana Mosley...
, a cultural magazine she also edited during its tenure in the 1950s. Similar works published for publications such as Tatler
Tatler
Tatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. The current incarnation, founded in 1901, is a glossy magazine published by Condé Nast Publications...
, London Evening Standard, The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
, The Daily Mail, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
and Books & Bookmen have also been republished. The collection also includes selected portraits from her 1977 autobiography, A Life of Contrasts
A Life of Contrasts
A Life of Contrasts is an international bestseller by Diana Mitford that was first published by Hamish Hamilton in 1977. She later released a revised edition of the book that was published in 2002 by Gibson Square.-Synopsis:...
and her 1985 publication of pen portraits, Loved Ones
Loved Ones (book)
Loved Ones is a 1985 collection of pen portraits by Diana Mitford. It was published by Sidgwick & Jackson. In 2008, three of the portraits were republished in the collection, The Pursuit of Laughter.-Synopsis:...
.
Reception
The book received a wide UK release in December 2008 and has so far been generally favorably reviewed. Although several reviewers were not able to reconcile Mitford's previous association with the Nazi regime.The book has also been satirized by the "Digested Read" column in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
Valerie Grove
Valerie Grove
Valerie Grove is a British journalist and writer, for many years a feature writer, interviewer and columnist for The Times newspaper....
of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
attempted to distance herself from any political position in reviewing the book "I hope I can praise Diana Mosley without being suspected of fascist sympathies". She continued with praise "Her opening gambits are arresting...Dipping into this book at your bedside is like browsing in a great nonfiction library stuffed with lives and letters, each subject brightly and sharply illuminated."
David Sexton of the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
described the book as "Sharp, funny, debunking." But he criticized her political positions citing "her completely unrepentant support not just of her beloved Mosley but of "the Führer" as she continued to call him (attentive to titles, she liked to snub Churchill by referring to him as "Mr Churchill") is ultimately indefensible and that fact has to be faced, not sidestepped or swept under the carpet."
"Like her thin, upright, elegant figure her prose, which she did not begin to write until in her 40s, has no fat on it - a succinctness also to be found in her letters...She was also the possessor of an oblique, ironic wit that pervades most of her writings". de Courcy also praised Mosley's "sharp and receptive" published book reviews as well as the portraits included. Anne de Courcy, Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
Writing in the Daily Telegraph reviewer Duncan Fallowell
Duncan Fallowell
Duncan Fallowell is a novelist, travel writer and cultural commentator. Born in London in 1948, he graduated from Oxford in 1970, and at the age of 21 was given a rock column in the Spectator. He was subsequently the magazine's film critic and fiction critic...
questioned Mosley's contradictions between her personal and political life. Fallowell described the publication; "this strange, fascinating book revives the turbulence at a time when the Mitford industry seemed to be moving into a cosy corner. It is made up mostly of book reviews but her agile mind and the sulphurous life lend them weight."
"It represents the life in writing of a fascinating woman...these writings are testimony to the sheer rigour of her thought and the crispness and elegance of her prose...Her command of history and understanding of the machinations of politics are formidable, and evident in pieces on the Dreyfus affair
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
, Suez crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
and Profumo scandal." Catherine Heaney, Irish Times
The Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
recently selected the book for its section "pick of the paperback". The reviewers praised Mosley's "love of laughter and witty observation of friends such as Evelyn Waugh, Harold Action and James Lees-Milne" and described her recollection as a "delight". They also described the book as a "fascinating" collection.
Contents
- Editor's Note (V)
- Foreword by Deborah Devonshire (9)
- The 30s and 40s (17)
- On Love and Sex (103)
- Diaries 1953-1959 (143)
- A Talent to Annoy (Germany) (203)
- Champs Elysées (France) (297)
- U and Non-U (Britain) (353)
- The Lives of Others (393)
- Three Portraits (413)
Acknowledgements (466)
Index (467)