Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by beatitude
Don't Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford
3.0
Don't Tell Alfred is the third book in Nancy Mitford's series that began with The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. Written 15 years after the first two books, it is quite a different book. The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate dealt with the 'bright young things' of the inter-war years of the 20s and 30s, satirising high society manners and concerned with the loves and foibles of upper class English families. Fanny was very much a secondary character; a narrator somewhat removed from the action. Don't Tell Alfred, by contrast, is set during the 1950s in France. Fanny takes centre stage as the now middle-aged wife of Alfred, the newly-appointed English ambassador to France. We see a lot more of her character and family, who are only passingly mentioned in the first two books. But this is 20 years on from the first two novels, and things have drastically changed in her life and the world around her.
On its own merits, Don't Tell Alfred is a decent-enough book. Mitford's awesome satirical skills are at work, with sharp and pithy commentary on the world of European cold-war politics. The characters are idiosyncratic, bizarre and endearing. The plot wanders somewhat, and Fanny is a rather insipid heroine, but the book was enjoyable enough to keep me reading.
Unfortunately, I found it impossible to read Don't Tell Alfred without comparing it to the first two novels. I felt much as I did when reading Titus Alone, the third book in Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast series. Like that book, this is a completely different novel from its predecessors, and disconcertingly bears little relationship to them. Stylistically it is very different, with less quiet reflection and more frenetic activity. Things that were merely hinted at in The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate are baldly stated here. The writing is sloppier and the plot less intriguing. Mitford was never very big on plot, but the one here is episodic and not really held together by a single brilliant character, as it was in The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate
Most disappointing of all, the characters are not consistent. Fanny in particular is very very different from her character in the other books. One could say that this is the passage of time I suppose, but I couldn't help feeling I was dealing with a different person altogether, one who was less insightful, clever and subtle than the narrator of the first two books. Fanny steps into the spotlight here, and it doesn't suit her. Nor does it suit Alfred, her husband. Both of them are insipid characters who fluster about and don't even seem particularly consistent within the story itself. It's hinted, for example, that Alfred was some kind of spy during the war, and is a keen political operator, and yet he makes silly blunders and seems to have no idea of what's going on in his own house. The saving graces of this novel are the young people, particularly Northey and Philip, although even they are frustrating.
Anyhow, it's an interesting enough period piece, giving a snapshot of a particular part of society in a particular era. It's funny and light-hearted and easy to read, if you avoid comparisons.
On its own merits, Don't Tell Alfred is a decent-enough book. Mitford's awesome satirical skills are at work, with sharp and pithy commentary on the world of European cold-war politics. The characters are idiosyncratic, bizarre and endearing. The plot wanders somewhat, and Fanny is a rather insipid heroine, but the book was enjoyable enough to keep me reading.
Unfortunately, I found it impossible to read Don't Tell Alfred without comparing it to the first two novels. I felt much as I did when reading Titus Alone, the third book in Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast series. Like that book, this is a completely different novel from its predecessors, and disconcertingly bears little relationship to them. Stylistically it is very different, with less quiet reflection and more frenetic activity. Things that were merely hinted at in The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate are baldly stated here. The writing is sloppier and the plot less intriguing. Mitford was never very big on plot, but the one here is episodic and not really held together by a single brilliant character, as it was in The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate
Most disappointing of all, the characters are not consistent. Fanny in particular is very very different from her character in the other books. One could say that this is the passage of time I suppose, but I couldn't help feeling I was dealing with a different person altogether, one who was less insightful, clever and subtle than the narrator of the first two books. Fanny steps into the spotlight here, and it doesn't suit her. Nor does it suit Alfred, her husband. Both of them are insipid characters who fluster about and don't even seem particularly consistent within the story itself. It's hinted, for example, that Alfred was some kind of spy during the war, and is a keen political operator, and yet he makes silly blunders and seems to have no idea of what's going on in his own house. The saving graces of this novel are the young people, particularly Northey and Philip, although even they are frustrating.
Anyhow, it's an interesting enough period piece, giving a snapshot of a particular part of society in a particular era. It's funny and light-hearted and easy to read, if you avoid comparisons.