The Pursuit of Laughter
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| Author | Diana Mitford Martin Rynja (editor) |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Collection |
| Publisher | Gibson Square |
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Publication date
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2008 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) (2009) |
| Pages | 473 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 311080462 |
| Preceded by | ''The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters'' |
The Pursuit of Laughter is a 2008 collection of diaries, articles, reviews and portraits by Diana Mitford. The book was published by Gibson Square and edited by Martin Rynja. Mitford's sister, Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, provides the introduction. The title is a homage to another Mitford sister's book, Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love.
The book includes several of her articles, diaries and book reviews previously published in The European, a cultural magazine she also edited during its tenure in the 1950s. Similar works published for publications such as Tatler, London Evening Standard, The Spectator, The Daily Mail, The Times, The Sunday Times and Books & Bookmen have also been republished. The collection also includes selected portraits from her 1977 autobiography, A Life of Contrasts and her 1985 publication of pen portraits, Loved Ones.
The book received a wide UK release in December 2008 and was generally favorably reviewed, although several reviewers were not able to reconcile Mitford's previous association with the Nazi regime.
The book has also been satirized by the "Digested Read" column in The Guardian.
Valerie Grove of The Times attempted to distance herself from any political position in reviewing the book "I hope I can praise Diana Mosley without being suspected of fascist sympathies". She continued with praise "Her opening gambits are arresting...Dipping into this book at your bedside is like browsing in a great nonfiction library stuffed with lives and letters, each subject brightly and sharply illuminated."
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