The Mitfords in pictures: parties, politics and the real Pursuit of Love
Meet the stranger-than-fiction family behind the BBC drama, who kept horses on the staircase and Nazis in the closet
17 May 2021 • 6:57am
When The Pursuit of Love came out in 1945, Evelyn Waugh noted in his diary: “Nancy has written a novel full of exquisite detail of Mitford family life”. Nancy Mitford never found a muse to match her own family. Even later, when she came to write historical biography, starting with her acclaimed Madame de Pompadour, she couldn’t help turning it into a breed of memoir: “I do love it... They were all exactly like ONE,” she wrote in a letter.
Perhaps the real stars of the new BBC adaptation of Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love are the sumptuous stately homes where the action takes place as ANNABEL VENNING reveals.
Explorer map OL45: Grid Reference SP071342
Arguably the most beautiful Cotswold village of them all, Stanton is refreshingly free of gift shops. This delightful ‘highland’ yomp includes Snowshill (nationaltrust.org.uk) and Stanway (stanwayfountain.co.uk), both famous for their exquisite manor houses. The latter, with its superb water garden and 300ft fountain, was a favourite of Peter Pan author, JM Barrie. Along the way you’ll also see Neolithic Shenberrow Hill Fort.
Leaving ‘The Mount’, as the pub is known, follow the Cotswold Way in a U around Shenberrow Hill to where it meets the Winchcombe Way, then loop around via Buckland Wood to Snowshill. The return leg takes you through Lidcombe Wood and down the steep hill to Stanway. Finally, head north for the final leg back to Stanton along the Cotswold Way once more.