Darling' is a modernised, re-imagined version of Nancy Mitford's classic, 'The Pursuit of Love'. Linda Radlett's quest for love is narrated by her best friend, and cousin, Fran. Their unique, somewhat cloistered, childhood let their imaginations run rife; growing up is an adventure. Although Linda believes she wants to be free from the family confines, really she only dreams of romance and marriage. Knight, a native French speaker, lived in Brussels until about the time she turned nine. After migrating to the United Kingdom, she was educated in London. She was awarded an exhibition to Trinity College, Cambridge, where she read Modern Languages from 1984-1987, before starting her career in journalism. Also, any book that manages to make me laugh out loud (or snort) multiple times, has a special place in my heart. It’s a decent enough, weekend read. The final third was less engaging but that didn’t spoil the overall impression.

And what a relief she took the risk. Darling is a real treat, destined to be reread as devotedly as its predecessor.

This book is gorgeous. Full of charm and whimsy, I want so badly to live at Alconleigh. Uncle Matthew is ridiculous and my favourite character with Davey as a close second. Emma Beddington Mitfordian mischief: Darling, by India Knight, reviewed A superb updating of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love will delight even diehard fans of the original Fans of Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit Of Love will adore this brilliant contemporary take ... The writing is as sharp, the details as perfect, the jokes as funny as [the] original' Daily Mail We might call this, as a genre, novels of the interior: interiors of places, and interiors of people. It’s easy to dismiss the domestic, but if home is where the heart is, the heart is where all humanity happens. And Darling is a very human book, full of feelings and heartbreak and humour and joy. What a book to begin 2023 with. It is a tad different from what I usually read, but I loved it. I laughed out loud throughout, and thought that the characters were so impeccably described that I feel as though I know them. Emotive, raw and really really thought-provoking. I think we can all relate to the struggles that Linda faces, as well as a loathe for the Christians and Tonys of the world. The fact that it is a modern adaptation has been done so well, it has avoided being a superficial reading of The Pursuit of Love so well. Here are a few of m favourite quotes captured from a few of the chapters:

In addition to writing for and contributing to major British magazines and newspapers, India Knight writes a prominent weekly column for The Sunday Times. She is also a regular guest on British radio and television. India Knight does a fantastic job of capturing the essence of Mitford's original story but brings overlays modernity that makes it more relatable for today. Knight's effervescence of language magnifies the eccentricities of the families to satirical levels. As crazy as things get, there are poignant moments scattered throughout which remind us that love is sometimes not what we imagined, but it can also come when we least expect it.

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He was obsessed with money and status, perhaps because, as Aunt Sadie pointed out, he was one of those people who are clever enough to work out that they aren't a sufficient draw on their own" Inevitably, Linda eventually rebels against her sheltered childhood, running away to London to be a model and then jumping into a duo of ill-fated marriages, which is Knight’s cue to skewer certain quarters of the British ruling class. After writing an article in The Sunday Times about her daughter's special needs - her youngest child has DiGeorge syndrome.

Eventually Linda does find her way out from the bosom of her deeply eccentric extended family, and moves to London to become a model. She knows she doesn't want to marry 'a man who looks like a pudding', as her good and dull sister Louisa has done, and marries the flashy, handsome son of a UKIP peer instead. But her new life is unromantic: darker, wilder and more complicated than she expected. But this is only the beginning of Linda's pursuit of love, a journey that will be wilder, more surprising and more complicated than she could ever have imagined. I'm glad that I read the original text that this retelling is taken from so that I had that knowledge of the storyline and could appreciate the masterful way that India Knight has revamped the story but kept the heart of the characters the same. In my opinion, this version is better than the original! So fresh, fun and full of heart, charm and whimsy - and that devastating ending comes all the more sharply because the reader has been having such a good time with the Radletts (extra points for including a reference to Cromer!!). I haven’t read the original upon which it’s based - The Pursuit of Love - but will hunt down a copy to compare.It’s an “haute bohemia”, as the papers put it, lifestyle. Between Aunt Sadie’s hippy leanings and Uncle Matthew’s desire to shield his family from fame, the Radlett children are insulated from much of the modern world, home-schooled and banned from electronic devices. A savagely funny, bracingly sad, dazzlingly clever reimagining of The Pursuit of Love. I loved it' Meg Mason, author of Sorrow and Bliss I was good at becoming whatever was required: you could pour me into any vessel and I'd take on its shape" For a reader unfamiliar with Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love, India Knight’s reimagining would be a perfect comfort read: the kind of book you take into the bath and keep reading even when the water has gone cold, a one-sitting dark-at-four joy. There is a lot of pressure, taking on a novel that is beloved of so many people, me included, and I approached this with some trepidation, but I have to say that this is an absolute triumph.