Nancy Mitford (1904-1973) was born in London, the eldest child of the second Baron Redesdale. She had written four novels, including Wigs on the Green (1935), before the success of The Pursuit of Love in 1945, which she followed with Love in a Cold Climate (1949), The Blessing (1951) and Don't Tell Alfred (1960). She also wrote four works of biography. Nancy Mitford was awarded the CBE in 1972.
Mitford has a gift for detecting the absurdities of character. The Times Literary Supplement (London) Devastatingly witty, Miss Mitford [was] one of Britain s most piercing observers of social manners. The New York Times