Nancy Mitford

A “devastatingly witty” biography of Louis XIV and the Court of Versailles—at once a historical record of late 17th- and early 18th-century France and a gossip-filled narrative of lovers and rivals, artists and warriors (New York Times)

The Sun King is a dazzling double portrait of Louis XIV and Versailles, the opulent court from which he ruled. With characteristic élan, Nancy Mitford reconstructs...

One of Mitford's most enduringly popular works, "The Pursuit of Love" is a classic comedy about growing up and falling in love among the privileged and eccentric. This edition includes an Introduction by the author of "The Believers" and "What Was She Thinking? Notes on a Scandal."

When Grace Allingham, a naïve young Englishwoman, goes to live in France with her dashingly aristocratic husband, Charles- Edouard, she finds herself overwhelmed by the bewilderingly foreign cuisine and the shockingly decadent manners and mores of the French. But it is the discovery of her husband's French notion of marriage - which includes a permanent mistress and a string of casual affairs - that sends Grace fleeing back to London with their "blessing,"...

Fanny Wincham has lived contentedly for years as housewife to an absent-minded Oxford don, Alfred. Her life changes overnight when her beloved Alfred is appointed English Ambassador to Paris. Soon she finds herself mixing with royalty and Rothschilds while battling her hysterical predecessor, Lady Leone, who refuses to leave the premises. When Fanny's tender-hearted secretary begins filling the embassy with rescued animals and her teenage sons run...

Overview: The Sun King is a dazzling double portrait of Louis XIV and Versailles, the opulent court from which he ruled. With characteristic elan, Nancy Mitford reconstructs the daily life of king and courtiers during France's golden age, offering vivid sketches of the architects, artists, and gardeners responsible for the creation of the most magnificent palace Europe had yet seen. Mitford lays bare the complex and deadly intrigues in the stateroom...