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gracer's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I was rather sad to come to the end of the series, but still glad I finally got to this enjoyable read.
Although still funny and entertaining, this book lacked the gravitas of the others in the series. While The Pursuit of Love obviously has a clear goal (and probable ending), and Love in a Cold Climate has its implied route that suddnely veers into the shocking, what they both really have is a perspective on a lost time, a lot of social commentary, some coming of age/girls coming into their own.
Don't Tell Alfred has none of that - well, maybe a little bit of the girls coming into their own, as our narrator is much more front and center than in the other books. But she doesn't manage to come into her own; in fact she is quite lame in the position. Really, this is a comedy of manners, more like a Wodehouse novel than the Nancy Mitford I was expecting. It has more stereotypes and cheap tricks (the adopted Chinese baby is a weak plot point and obviously the jokes and language around him are neither appealing nor amusing to the modern reader) than the others, pokes fun at the French and the Brits, and captures some interesting and entertaining individuals.
I would like to say something clever or intelligent here about how different this book is because it's set in the 1950s, but I don't have anything to add other than that I'm sure that's a big part of why the atmosphere feels so different. Maybe something about the way Mitford perceived the 50s felt less insightful, as though she didn't understand it the way she understood the interwar years. But I'm not sure if that's the case, or if it's that upper class socialites in the 50s are a less familiar culture class to me than the the landed gentry in their twilight years.
For an entertaining read, yes, this will do. But it hardly belongs next to the others two books in the series.
Although still funny and entertaining, this book lacked the gravitas of the others in the series. While The Pursuit of Love obviously has a clear goal (and probable ending), and Love in a Cold Climate has its implied route that suddnely veers into the shocking, what they both really have is a perspective on a lost time, a lot of social commentary, some coming of age/girls coming into their own.
Don't Tell Alfred has none of that - well, maybe a little bit of the girls coming into their own, as our narrator is much more front and center than in the other books. But she doesn't manage to come into her own; in fact she is quite lame in the position. Really, this is a comedy of manners, more like a Wodehouse novel than the Nancy Mitford I was expecting. It has more stereotypes and cheap tricks (the adopted Chinese baby is a weak plot point and obviously the jokes and language around him are neither appealing nor amusing to the modern reader) than the others, pokes fun at the French and the Brits, and captures some interesting and entertaining individuals.
I would like to say something clever or intelligent here about how different this book is because it's set in the 1950s, but I don't have anything to add other than that I'm sure that's a big part of why the atmosphere feels so different. Maybe something about the way Mitford perceived the 50s felt less insightful, as though she didn't understand it the way she understood the interwar years. But I'm not sure if that's the case, or if it's that upper class socialites in the 50s are a less familiar culture class to me than the the landed gentry in their twilight years.
For an entertaining read, yes, this will do. But it hardly belongs next to the others two books in the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism