Thursday, July 8, 2021

Life in a Cold Climate: Nancy Mitford, the Biography by Laura Thompson

 

BOOK BEGGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

How often do you post on your blog each week? Ideally, I like to post three or four times a week. I had a short little stretch there when I was posting several times a week. 

But now I am up to my eyeballs in trial prep for a big sex abuse trial starting September 7. My law partner and I are working seven days a week and will be through the end of September, unless the case settles "on the courthouse steps" as they say. But, that's what I signed up for when I became a trial attorney. It's not 9 - 5 and it's not for the feint hearted.

So for a while, it will be all I can do to get these Book Beginnings posts up! These have become my anchor. I enjoy seeing what everyone has posted, even when I don't have time to leave a comment for everyone. Thank you for playing along!

Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading or want to highlight. You can participate with a blog or on social media. Add the link to your blog or SM post in the Linky box below. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

From Life in a Cold Climate: Nancy Mitford, the Biography by Laura Thompson (2019, Pegasus Books):

The little grave at Swinbrook church is sad right now.

Starting a biography with a visit to the subject's grave is melancholy. But if you are going to write a biography of a dead person, everyone knows how the story ends. Maybe it's best to acknowledge it up front and then go back and fill in the life story.

I love Nancy Mitford's novels. And I love all the stories of the Mitford Sisters. I have a stack of Mitford Sisters books. I may dip into a few now and then, but my plan is to gorge myself on all of them at once when I get a chance.


YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add your link in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

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THE FRIDAY 56

Another weekly teaser event is The Friday 56, hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice, where you can find details and add a link to your post. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book you are featuring. You can also find a teaser from 56% of the way through your ebook or audiobook.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Life in a Cold Climate:
When, in Pursuit of Love, Nancy conceived the childhood of Fanny as an alternative to the one lived by the Radlett-Mitfords, she was of course having a dig at her parents for their failure to educate her. She wrote of the Radlett children that 'they never acquired any habit of concentration, they were incapable of solid hard work', and this frustration with her own mind was something real and lasting.




9 comments :

  1. Life in a Cold Climate looks like a good one. Have a great weekend! :-)

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  2. This sounds like a really good one. Have a great weekend!

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  3. Life in a Cold Climate sounds really interesting. Though I must admit I had to give Nancy Mitford a quick google. Turns out I have heard of her and even watched the BBC adaptation of The Pursuit of Love earlier this year (highly recommend it if it's available where you are!).

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  4. Ooh good luck with your case! It sounds intense but also very important, so thank you for taking on all that work! And that is indeed a very melancholy but also eye-catching opening. Thanks for hosting and I hope you have a lovely weekend :)
    Juli @ A Universe in Words

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  5. Sounds like a great biography. Mine (#13 in Mister Linky) is a historical novel on Monet!

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  6. Good luck with the trial, Gillion. I hope the outcome is a good one. I know all too well how life (especially work) can get the way of blogging.

    Cold Climate sounds really interesting. I don't know much about Nancy Mitford.

    I hope you have a good weekend and find time for yourself in between all the work.

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  7. I've never read anything by Nancy Mitford. Obviously I need to correct that omission. Thanks for posting Book Beginnings despite your crazy schedule right now.

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  8. Good luck with your case! That sounds like such a tough subject, but it sounds like you are really helping those people, so that's great.

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  9. I have not heard of Nancy Mitford, happy reading! This is my first week joining in on Book Beginnings. Thanks for the opportunity to link up.

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