English Literature, 20th cent. to the Present: Biographies

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature Further reading

Mitford, Nancy (Freeman)

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

Mitford, Nancy (Freeman) (1904–73), writer, daughter of the second Lord Redesdale, who appears in many of her novels as the eccentric ‘Uncle Matthew’. She achieved success with The Pursuit of Love (1945), in which the sensible Fanny, daughter of the irresponsible Bolter, describes the affairs of her six Radlett cousins. Subsequent works (Love in a Cold Climate, 1949; The Blessing, 1951; Don't Tell Alfred, 1960) accompany the family and its associates through various social and amatory trials and triumphs; the appeal of the novels lies in the reckless upper-class Bohemianism of many of the characters, and in Nancy Mitford's sharp ear for dialogue. Noblesse Oblige: An Enquiry into the Identifiable Characteristics of the English Aristocracy (1956, with A. S. C. Ross et al.), provoked a debate on ‘U’ and ‘Non-U’ vocabulary, terms she herself promoted in Encounter (1955). She also wrote several historical biographies. Her sister Jessica Mitford (1917– ) has written a vivid account of Mitford family life, Hons and Rebels (1960).

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Mitford, Nancy (Freeman)." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Mitford, Nancy (Freeman)." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-MitfordNancyFreeman.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	How could the Mitford girls have hated a place like this? INSPIRATION: Nancy... Newspaper article from: The Mail on Sunday (London, England); 2/3/2008
	Nancy Mitford. Madame de Pompadour.(Book Review) Magazine article from: Teaching History: A Journal of Methods; 9/22/2002
	The Letters of Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh. Magazine article from: World Literature Today; 6/22/1998