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{{Short description|2008 collection of diaries, articles, reviews and portraits by Diana Mosley}}
{{ad}}
{{Infobox Book | <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
{{Infobox book | <!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Novels]] or [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Books]] -->
| name = The Pursuit of Laughter
| name = The Pursuit of Laughter
| title_orig =
| title_orig =
| translator =
| translator =
| image = <!--prefer 1st edition--> [[Image:Pursuitoflaughterdianacover.jpg|180px]]
| image = <!--prefer 1st edition--> Pursuitoflaughterdianacover.jpg
| image_caption =
| caption =
| author = Diana Mitford <br> Martin Rynja (editor)
| author = Diana Mosley <br> Martin Rynja (editor)
| illustrator =
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| cover_artist =
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| country = United Kingdom
| language = [[English language|English]]
| language = English
| series =
| series =
| genre = Collection
| genre = Collection
Line 18: Line 18:
| media_type = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]] & [[Paperback]]) (2009)
| media_type = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]] & [[Paperback]]) (2009)
| pages =473
| pages =473
| isbn = 1906142106
| isbn = 1-906142-10-6
| oclc= 311080462
| preceded_by = '''''[[The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters]]'''''
| preceded_by = [[The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters]]
| followed_by =
| followed_by =
}}
}}


'''''The Pursuit of Laughter''''' is a [[2008]] compilation book 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 hommage to another Mitford sister's book, [[Nancy Mitford]]'s ''[[The Pursuit of Love]]''.
'''''The Pursuit of Laughter''''' is a 2008 collection of diaries, articles, reviews and portraits by [[Diana Mosley]] ({{nee|Mitford}}). The book was published by Gibson Square and edited by Martin Rynja. Mosley'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]]''.


==Overview==
==Overview==
The book includes several of her articles, diaries and book reviews previously published in ''[[The European (magazine)|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 (book)|Loved Ones]]''.
The book includes several of her articles, diaries and book reviews previously published in ''[[The European (1953 magazine)|The European]]'', a magazine she also edited during its tenure in the 1950s. Similar works published for publications such as ''[[Tatler (1901)|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 (book)|Loved Ones]]''.


==Reception==
==Reception==
{{over-quotation|section|date=April 2022}}
The book received a wide UK release in December 2008 and has so far been generally favorably reviewed.
The book received a wide UK release in December 2008 and was generally favourably reviewed, although several reviewers were not able to reconcile Mosley's previous association with [[fascism]] and [[Nazism]] (Mosley was the wife of [[Oswald Mosley]], former leader of the [[British Union of Fascists]]).
The book has also been satirized by the "Digested Read" column in [[The Guardian]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/dec/16/1 | title=The Pursuit of Laughter: Essays, Articles, Reviews & Diary by Diana Mosley | publisher=The Guardian | date=16 December 2008}}</ref>


"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." [[Valerie Grove]], ''[[The Times]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_reviews/article5330218.ece| title=REVIEW: The Pursuit of Laughter by Diana Mosley | publisher=The Times |date =12 December 2008}}</ref>
The book has also been satirized by the "Digested Read" column in ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/dec/16/1 | title=The Pursuit of Laughter: Essays, Articles, Reviews & Diary by Diana Mosley | publisher=The Guardian | date=16 December 2008 | location=London | first=John | last=Crace | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref>


[[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."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_reviews/article5330218.ece| title=REVIEW: The Pursuit of Laughter by Diana Mosley | work=The Times |date =12 December 2008 | location=London | accessdate=25 May 2010}}</ref>
"Sharp, funny, debunking." [[David Sexton]], ''[[Evening Standard]]''<ref>Sexton, David. (BOOK OF THE WEEK)"Always the Lady Hitler ; A new collection of Diana Mosley's journalism shows her to be both better and worse than would be expected", Evening Standard, 24 November 2008 </ref>


[[David Sexton]] of the ''[[Evening Standard]]'' described the book as "Sharp, funny, debunking." But he criticised her political positions citing "her completely unrepentant support not just of her beloved Mosley but of "the Führer" as she continued to call him (attentive to titles, she liked to snub [[Churchill]] by referring to him as "Mr Churchill") is ultimately indefensible and that fact has to be faced, not sidestepped or swept under the carpet."<ref>[http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-home/article-23611752-details/The+Pursuit+of+Laughter+by+Diana+Mosley/article.do The Pursuit of Laughter (review)] Evening Standard, 5 January 2009</ref>
"Like her thin, upright, elegant figure her prose, which she did not begin to write until in her 40s, has no fat on it - a succinctness also to be found in her letters...She was also the possessor of an oblique, ironic wit that pervades most of her writings". de Courcy also praised Mosley's "sharp and receptive" published book reviews as well as the portraits included. Anne de Courcy, ''[[Daily Mail]]''<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-1109382/The-dazzling-beauty-poison-pen-DIANA-MOSLEY-THE-PURSUIT-OF-LAUGHTER.html The dazzling beauty with a poison pen] Daily Mail. 9 January 2009</ref>


Writing in the ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' reviewer [[Duncan Fallowell]] questioned Mosley's contadictions between her personal and political life. Fallowell described the publication; "this strange, fascinating book revives the turbulence at a time when the Mitford industry seemed to be moving into a cosy corner. It is made up mostly of book reviews but her agile mind and the sulphurous life lend them weight."<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/3919006/Nazi-but-nice.html Nazi but nice] 30 December 2008. Daily Telegraph </ref>
Writing in the ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' reviewer [[Duncan Fallowell]] questioned Mosley's contradictions between her personal and political life. Fallowell described the publication; "this strange, fascinating book revives the turbulence at a time when the Mitford industry seemed to be moving into a cosy corner. It is made up mostly of book reviews but her agile mind and the sulphurous life lend them weight."<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/3919006/Nazi-but-nice.html Nazi but nice] 30 December 2008. Daily Telegraph</ref>


"It represents the life in writing of a fascinating woman...these writings are testimony to the sheer rigour of her thought and the crispness and elegance of her prose...Her command of history and understanding of the machinations of politics are formidable, and evident in pieces on the [[Dreyfus affair]], [[Suez crisis]] and [[Profumo scandal]]." Catherine Heaney, ''[[Irish Times]]''<ref>[http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0114/1231738221830.html Controversial opinions and catty humour prevail in aristocrat's writings] Irish Times. 14 January 2009</ref>
"It represents the life in writing of a fascinating woman...these writings are testimony to the sheer rigour of her thought and the crispness and elegance of her prose...Her command of history and understanding of the machinations of politics are formidable, and evident in pieces on the [[Dreyfus affair]], [[Suez crisis]] and [[Profumo scandal]]." Catherine Heaney, ''[[Irish Times]]''<ref>[http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0114/1231738221830.html Controversial opinions and catty humour prevail in aristocrat's writings] Irish Times. 14 January 2009</ref>

The ''[[Sunday Telegraph]]'' recently selected the book for its section "pick of the paperback". The reviewers praised Mosley's "love of laughter and witty observation of friends such as [[Evelyn Waugh]], [[Harold Acton]] and [[James Lees-Milne]]" and described her recollection as a "delight". They also described the book as a "fascinating" collection.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/5567701/Pick-of-the-paperbacks.html Pick of the paperbacks] ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]''. 21 June 2009</ref>

[[Rachel Cooke]] of ''[[The Observer]]'' reviewed the book negatively as a "pointless and badly edited collection" and continued to add that "if a book is not going to deal with the problem of Diana's politics, then at least let it give us a little of her wit. ''The Pursuit of Laughter'' does neither and thus the Diana who emerges from its pages is, unforgivably, nothing more than a snobbish dullard with a startling line in rhetorical leaps."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/04/review-pursuit-laughter-diana-mosley What on earth did Hitler see in her?] The Observer. 4 January 2009</ref>


==Contents==
==Contents==
Line 46: Line 51:
*Foreword by Deborah Devonshire (9)
*Foreword by Deborah Devonshire (9)
*The 30s and 40s (17)
*The 30s and 40s (17)
*On Love and Sex (1030
*On Love and Sex (103)
*Diaries 1953-1959 (143)
*Diaries 1953-1959 (143)
*A Talent to Annoy (Germany) (203)
*A Talent to Annoy (Germany) (203)
Line 63: Line 68:


{{DEFAULTSORT:Pursuit of Laughter}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pursuit of Laughter}}
[[Category:2008 books]]
[[Category:2008 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Books by Diana Mitford]]
[[Category:Books by Diana Mitford]]
[[Category:Autobiographies]]
[[Category:British autobiographies]]
[[Category:Works originally published in French magazines]]
[[Category:Works originally published in political magazines]]

Latest revision as of 00:32, 27 March 2024

The Pursuit of Laughter
AuthorDiana Mosley
Martin Rynja (editor)
LanguageEnglish
GenreCollection
PublisherGibson Square
Publication date
2008
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback) (2009)
Pages473
ISBN1-906142-10-6
OCLC311080462
Preceded byThe Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters 

The Pursuit of Laughter is a 2008 collection of diaries, articles, reviews and portraits by Diana Mosley (née Mitford). The book was published by Gibson Square and edited by Martin Rynja. Mosley'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.

Overview[edit]

The book includes several of her articles, diaries and book reviews previously published in The European, a 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.

Reception[edit]

The book received a wide UK release in December 2008 and was generally favourably reviewed, although several reviewers were not able to reconcile Mosley's previous association with fascism and Nazism (Mosley was the wife of Oswald Mosley, former leader of the British Union of Fascists).

The book has also been satirized by the "Digested Read" column in The Guardian.[1]

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."[2]

David Sexton of the Evening Standard described the book as "Sharp, funny, debunking." But he criticised her political positions citing "her completely unrepentant support not just of her beloved Mosley but of "the Führer" as she continued to call him (attentive to titles, she liked to snub Churchill by referring to him as "Mr Churchill") is ultimately indefensible and that fact has to be faced, not sidestepped or swept under the carpet."[3]

Writing in the Daily Telegraph reviewer Duncan Fallowell questioned Mosley's contradictions between her personal and political life. Fallowell described the publication; "this strange, fascinating book revives the turbulence at a time when the Mitford industry seemed to be moving into a cosy corner. It is made up mostly of book reviews but her agile mind and the sulphurous life lend them weight."[4]

"It represents the life in writing of a fascinating woman...these writings are testimony to the sheer rigour of her thought and the crispness and elegance of her prose...Her command of history and understanding of the machinations of politics are formidable, and evident in pieces on the Dreyfus affair, Suez crisis and Profumo scandal." Catherine Heaney, Irish Times[5]

The Sunday Telegraph recently selected the book for its section "pick of the paperback". The reviewers praised Mosley's "love of laughter and witty observation of friends such as Evelyn Waugh, Harold Acton and James Lees-Milne" and described her recollection as a "delight". They also described the book as a "fascinating" collection.[6]

Rachel Cooke of The Observer reviewed the book negatively as a "pointless and badly edited collection" and continued to add that "if a book is not going to deal with the problem of Diana's politics, then at least let it give us a little of her wit. The Pursuit of Laughter does neither and thus the Diana who emerges from its pages is, unforgivably, nothing more than a snobbish dullard with a startling line in rhetorical leaps."[7]

Contents[edit]

  • Editor's Note (V)
  • Foreword by Deborah Devonshire (9)
  • The 30s and 40s (17)
  • On Love and Sex (103)
  • Diaries 1953-1959 (143)
  • A Talent to Annoy (Germany) (203)
  • Champs Elysées (France) (297)
  • U and Non-U (Britain) (353)
  • The Lives of Others (393)
  • Three Portraits (413)

Acknowledgements (466) Index (467)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Crace, John (16 December 2008). "The Pursuit of Laughter: Essays, Articles, Reviews & Diary by Diana Mosley". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  2. ^ "REVIEW: The Pursuit of Laughter by Diana Mosley". The Times. London. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  3. ^ The Pursuit of Laughter (review) Evening Standard, 5 January 2009
  4. ^ Nazi but nice 30 December 2008. Daily Telegraph
  5. ^ Controversial opinions and catty humour prevail in aristocrat's writings Irish Times. 14 January 2009
  6. ^ Pick of the paperbacks The Sunday Telegraph. 21 June 2009
  7. ^ What on earth did Hitler see in her? The Observer. 4 January 2009
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