Don't Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford

Don't Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford

Fanny is married to absent-minded Oxford don Alfred and content with her role as a plain, tweedy housewife. In the blink of an eye, Fanny's mixing with royalty, Rothschilds and Dior-clad wives, throwing cocktail parties and having every indiscreet remark printed in tomorrow's papers.

A comic genius * Independent on Sunday *

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 Clèves, 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. Sophie Dahl's first novel, Playing with the Grown-Ups, was published in 2007, following her bestselling illustrated novella, The Man with the Dancing Eyes. Sophie was contributing editor for Men's Vogue for three years and now works for, amongst others, British Vogue, American Vogue, Guardian, Telegraph Magazine, Spectator, The Times and writes a regular food column in Waitrose Food Illustrated. In 2009, Sophie published her first cookbook, Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights. She lives in London.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780141044002
ISBN 10	0141044004
Title	Don't Tell Alfred
Author	Nancy Mitford
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Penguin Books Ltd
Year published	2010-03-04
Number of pages	240
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.