Books like Nancy Mitford by Selina Hastings

A witty exploration of courtship and desire in upper‑class English society, following Polly Hampton’s scandalous elopement and the unexpected consequences of love.

Better known for her five volume portrait of English rural life, Our Village, Mary Russell Mitford (1787-1855) was one of the most prolific female writers of her day. Part critical essay, part autobiography, Recollections consists of a series of sketches on and selections from Mitford's favourite authors, stemming from her desire 'to make others relish a few favourite writers as heartily as I have relished them myself'. The collection is arranged according to Mitford's own eclectic system of categorization including 'fashionable poets', 'cavalier poets', and 'poetry that poets love'. Mitford wears her immense literary skill lightly and Recollections is masterfully written, full of lively wit and fascinating biographical detail. Published just three years before Mitford's death, it was based on earlier articles and letters. Authors included range from Chaucer to Sir Walter Scott and Mitford's friend Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

An autobiography of a young English woman who spent her formative years in India, recounting her marriage and the challenges of bringing up two children alone in poverty.

In her famous volume of autobiography, *Testament of Youth*, now an acclaimed BBC/PBS television serial, Vera Brittain passionately recorded the agonizing years of the First World War, lamenting the destruction of a generation which for her included those she most dearly loved - her lover, her brother, her closest friends. In *Testament of Friendship* she tells the story of the woman who helped her survive those tragic years - the writer Winifred Holtby. They met at Somerville College, Oxford, immediately after the war, and their friendship continued through Vera's marriage and their separate but parallel writing careers until Winifred's untimely death at the age of 37. *Testament of Friendship*, first published in 1940, records a perfect friendship between two women of courage and determination, a friendship that transformed their own lives and illuminated the world in which they lived. Winifred Holtby was a remarkable woman. In her short life she contributed greatly to the twin causes of pacifism and feminism. Her fame as a novelist reached its peak with the posthumous publication of *South Riding*.

Rosemary Sutcliff reflects on her childhood, youth and the profound challenges posed by rheumatoid arthritis, offering a candid autobiographical glimpse into the life of a celebrated English author.

Nancy Mitford’s witty debut, *The Pursuit of Love*, follows the eccentric Radlett family of Alconleigh as they navigate marriage, romance, and the looming shadows of World War II, offering a sharp satire of 20th-century English aristocracy.