Last updated on May 27th, 2021
Nancy Mitford was born in London and spent many years in the capital, writing her bestseller The Pursuit of Love here. In advance of the much-anticipated release of the BBC series, let’s discover Nancy Mitford’s London and see she was born and where she lived, partied and romanced.
Nancy Mitford
Nancy was the eldest of seven children – six girls and one boy. They were as famous as the Kardashians – some for all the wrong reasons. Nancy, the writer and wit, went onto become a bestselling author; Pamela was the domestic one who bred chickens; Diana was the great beauty and bagged herself a Guinness first, followed by the fascist Oswald Mosely (for whom she would eventually go to prison); Unity was Hitler’s number one fan and shot herself when the war started; Jessica the Communist eloped and went to live in America; and Deborah “Debo” became Duchess of Devonshire and ran Chatsworth House. Tom was killed in Burma during the war.
Nancy Mitford, Bassano, 1932 (National Portrait Gallery)
These little darlings were the offshoots of David Freeman-Mitford (the second Baron Redesdale) and Sydney Bowles, whose father founded and owned The Lady and Vanity Fair. They were eccentric stock, to say the least. The Radletts from The Pursuit of Love could just as well be the Mitfords: the children are modelled on Nancy’s colourful siblings and the grouchy, opera-loving and whip-cracking Uncle Matthew who hunts children for fun is a fictional facsimile of her father.Other characters in the novel mirror her real life. Nancy would marry Peter Rodd (Tony Kroesig), but it was an unhappy marriage and they spent much of it apart. During World War II, she became involved with a Free French officer named Gaston Palewski (Fabrice de Sauveterre) who became the love of her life.
Nancy Mitford’s London
1 Graham Street, Sloane Square
Nancy’s parents moved to 1 Graham Street (now Terrace) in 1904 after their honeymoon. She was born on the 28 November of that year. Nancy’s first home was a modest one. During her childhood, she spent time in the London Zoo, would shop at Harrods and enjoy a visit to the South Kensington museums.
49 Victoria Road
The family moved to a larger home just off Kensington High Street. Unity Valkyrie was born here in August 1914.
Francis Holland School
Nancy’s short schooling here (of only a few months) would be the sum total of her formal education. She was henceforth educated by governesses at home and enjoyed a voracious appetite for books.
26 Rutland Gate
Rutland Gate would become a main Mitford residence. Nancy returned here for some time during the Second World War when the house became a refuge centre for Jews from London’s East End during the Blitz, as well as Jewish evacuees from Poland.
Bright Young Things
Nancy came out in 1922 on her eighteenth birthday and was formally presented to King George V at Buckingham Palace court in June 1923. She became a regular member of the Bright Young Things whose other notable members included Noel Coward, Cecil Beaton, PG Wodehouse and Evelyn Waugh.
Nancy Mitford’s party haunts included Café Royal, Café de Paris (now permanently closed due to Covid-19) and the Ritz Hotel.
Slade School of Art
Nancy only lasted a month at this famous fine art school in Bloomsbury London. The director of the school suggested she learn how to cook as she had no aptitude for art. Nancy wept.
St John’s Smith Square
Nancy married Peter Rodd in the church of St John Smith’s Square on 4 December 1933 (image: SJSS)
Rose Cottage, Strand-on-the-Green
The newlyweds moved into Rose Cottage where Nancy wrote her third novel, Wigs on the Green, a dig at fascism and at her brother-in-law, Oswald Mosely. The book would tarnish her relationship with sister Diana for life.
12 Blomfield Road, Maida Vale
The marriage between Mitford and Rodd was on the rocks when the couple moved to Maida Vale. The house was small but it had “enchanting” views over the Grand Union Canal.
Nancy Astor and Heywood Hill
Heywood Hill is one of London’s most-loved independent bookshops. Nancy came to work here in March 1942, earning three pounds a week. She stayed for three years during which time, and thanks to her connections, the bookshop became a London social and literary hub.
During her time here, Evelyn Waugh encouraged Nancy to pick up the pen again, the result of which was The Pursuit of Love. She left Heywood Hill for two months, churning the autobiographical book out at top speed.
Nancy met the love of her life, a Free French officer named Gaston Palewski, during her stint at Heywood Hill. He left London for Algeria in 1943, and she would later follow him to Paris in 1945. She stayed in France until her death in in 1973. Although her love for Gaston was unrequited, they remained firm friends for the rest of her life.
The Connaught Hotel
It was imperative that Palewski and Nancy’s affair remain a secret, as Nancy was still married. On one occasion, they were caught out by a Connaught receptionist who saw them sneaking up to Palewski’s room after dinner. He would often tease Nancy with a reminder of that embarrassing occasion by ending his letters to her with “P.S. Connaught Hotel”
The Pursuit of Love
Nancy Mitford published The Pursuit of Love in 1945 (followed by its companion novel, Love in a Cold Climate in 1949). Although much of the plot takes place in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and in Paris, there are scenes set in London, namely during her Bright Young Things years and again, when she worked at Heywood Hill.
The BBC adaptation of The Pursuit of Love is a three-part series written by Emily Mortimer. It stars Lily James as Linda, Emily Beecham (Daphne) as cousin Fanny, Dominic West (The Affair) as Uncle Matthew, Andrew Scott (of sexy priest Fleabag fame) as Lord Merlin, Assaad Bouab (Call my Agent) as de Sauveterre and the fabulous Freddie Fox (White House Farm, The Three Musketeers) as Tony Kroesig. It airs on BBC One on Sunday 9 May at 9pm. The Pursuit of Love London locations were largely filmed in Bath.
The Pursuit of Love: London Locations
St Margaret’s, Westminster
Linda’s big bash wedding to Tony Kroesig takes place at the church of St Margaret’s, Westminster Abbey. In real life, Nancy’s sister Diana married Bryan Guinness here. It was the society wedding of the year.
Bryanston Square
Linda moves into a large house in Bryanston Square with Kroesig. No sooner does Tony leave for work that her friends from the Bright Young Things brigade settle in for hours of debauched partying “…Her house was full of people from morning till night, chatting…clustered around Linda like bees around honey, buzz, buzz, buzz, chat, chat, chat.”
Hyde Park Gardens
The crusty old Kroesigs live in a house on Hyde Park Gardens, although they prefer spending time in their Surrey country pile. Linda is not a frequent visitor due to the fact that her in-laws find her thoroughly unsuitable as wife material for their illustrious son.
Cheyne Walk
The Cheyne Walk Brasserie. Whistler’s home at 96 Cheyne Walk is close to Linda’s pretty “doll’s house.” Go check out the Whistler Statue on the embankment.
Lord Merlin buys a freehold for Linda on Cheyne Walk, “on that great bend of the river where Whistler lived.” She moves in here with her second husband, Christian, before they both depart for Perpignan. The house is always full of communist comrades “not chatting to Linda, but making speeches to each other, restlessly rushing about, telephoning, typewriting, drinking, quite often sleeping in their clothes…”
Later, her lover, Fabrice de Sauveterre, visits her here for their final night together. The house is bombed and destroyed during the Blitz.
Postscript: Nancy Mitford’s U and Non U
In 1954, a university professor used Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love as a linguistic example for differentiating between upper and lower class English vocabulary. U referred to language used by the upper-classes and Non-U to the middle class. Mitford went onto incorporate this classification into an essay she was writing, Noblesse Oblige. Although it was all tongue-in-cheek, it went on cause a big furor. U and Non-U became the barometer for which class people belonged to and in parallel, and Mitford consequently became the arbiter of good manners. Are you a U or a non-U? Or perhaps you don’t give a fig?
Examples of Nancy Mitford’s U and Non-U glossary:
| U | Non-U |
| Jam | Preserve |
| What? | Pardon? |
| How d’you do? | Pleased to meet you |
| Sitting Room | Lounge |
| Vegetables | Greens |
| Dinner Jacket | Dress Suit |
| Scent | Perfume |
| Bicycle or Bike | Cycle |
| Looking Glass | Mirror |
Sources: Mary S Lovell, The Mitford Girls, Wikipedia
