Available Formats
Darling: A razor-sharp, gloriously funny retelling of Nancy Mitfords The Pursuit of Love
By (Author) India Knight
Penguin Books Ltd
Fig Tree
20th October 2022
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
823.92
Hardback
288
Width 144mm, Height 222mm, Spine 28mm
407g
A razor-sharp, laugh-out-loud novel that re-imagines the cast of Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love Marooned in a sprawling farmhouse in Norfolk, teenage Linda Radlett feels herself destined for greater things. She longs for love, but how will she ever find it She can't even get a signal on her mobile phone. Linda's strict, former rock-star father terrifies any potential suitors away, while her bohemian mother, wafting around in silver jewellery, answers Linda's urgent questions about love with upsettingly vivid allusions to animal husbandry. When Linda eventually moves to London, she doesn't want to marry 'a man who looks like a pudding', as her good and dull sister Louisa has done, and marries the flashy, handsome son of a UKIP peer instead. But love, and her new life in London, are not quite what she expected . . .
It takes a brave author to attempt a contemporary reimagining of such a beloved novel. Luckily, India Knight [...] has courage and talent in spades ... It's beautifully and meticulously done, echoing the detail of the original plot as far as feasible, but with contemporary twists ... Knight is warmer than Mitford, and more comforting * Sunday Times *
Fans of Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit Of Love will adore this brilliant contemporary take ... The writing is as sharp, the details as perfect, the jokes as funny as [the] original * Daily Mail *
The delight is in the details. Knight's are bang on, and there's joy in spotting them ... There's heart as well as humour: it was, and remains, a sincere romance ... Pursuit of Love diehards can rest easy: your blood vessels are safe with this faithful, fiercely funny homage * Spectator *
In less talented hands, Knight's retelling of this classic novel might have gone horribly wrong. But Darling is a treat, with whip-smart dialogue, larger-than- life characters, witty observations and a heart-breaking twist ... Fans will love Knight's clever re-imagining of this classic tale - and new readers will relish the chance to discover the glorious Radletts * Daily Express *
India Knight is the author of four novels- Mutton, Comfort and Joy, Don't You Want Me and My Life on a Plate. She is a columnist for the Sunday Times and lives in Suffolk with her partner and three children.