BBC Radio adaptations of Nancy Mitford's most famous novels and acclaimed biography of Madame de Pompadour plus bonus programmes.

The eldest of the notorious Mitford sisters, Nancy Mitford was renowned for her comic novels of upper-class life. An aristocrat and socialite, she mingled with the 'Bright Young Things' in interwar London, and went on to satirise their foibles in razor-sharp, wickedly funny prose. Collected here are adaptations of her two best sellers, the semi-autobiographical The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, her delightful biography of Louis XV's chief mistress, and a pair of fascinating programmes exploring her own unconventional life.

The Pursuit of Love

This bittersweet tale follows the fortunes of Fanny Logan and her eccentric aristocratic cousins, the Radletts, as they embark on disastrous love affairs and misconceived marriages while searching for Mr Right.

Cast:

Lord Radlett - Rolf Lefebvre

Lady Radlett - Joan Matheson

Fanny - Susan Maudslay

Linda - Jane Knowles

Matt - Brian Hewlett

Captain Davey Warbeck - Godfrey Kenton

Emily - Joan Hart

Tony Kroesig - Michael Spice

Lord Merlin - John Rye

Bessie - Olwen Griffiths

Mrs Fletcher - Barbara Mitchell

The Bolter - Cecile Chevreau

Other parts played by Sion Probert, George Raistrick, Alan Rowe and William Sleigh.

Adapted by Alan Melville. Produced by Norman Wright.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23rd February 1974.

Love in a Cold Climate

A glamorous invitation to a grand party at Hampton—home of the fantastically rich Montdores and their beautiful daughter Polly—brings Fanny into the world of 1920s high society: and in and out of love when the temperature drops.... Amanda Root stars in this sparkling sequel to The Pursuit of Love.

Cast:

Fanny - Amanda Root

Lady Montdore - Barbara Jefford

Polly - Teresa Gallagher

Veronica - Jenny Howe

Uncle Davey - Jon Strickland

Aunt Emily - Patience Tomlinson

Aunt Sadie - Tessa Worsley

Uncle Matthew - Ioan Meredith

Boy Dougdale - Stephen Critchlow

Jassy - Sarah-Jane Holm

Victoria - Tilly Gaunt

Cedric - William Hope

Alfred - Tom Beard

Dramatised by Claire Luckham. Directed by Marion Nancarrow.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 3rd May 1999.

The King's Favourite

Based on Mitford's Madame de Pompadour, this three-part drama vividly evokes the colourful atmosphere of 18th-century Versailles, and Louis XV's tempestuous relationship with his adored mistress, Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour.

Cast:

Narrator - Alan Melville

Duc d'Orléans - Patrick Tull

Madame de Ventadour - Katherine Parr

Infanta Maria of Spain - Elizabeth Proud

Louis XV (as a youth) - Nigel Anthony

Duc de Bourbon - James Thomason

The Queen - Pauline Letts

Louis XV - Edward de Souza

Lebel, concierge - Robin Browne

Marquise de la Ferté - Margot Boyd

Monsieur Poisson - Harold Kasket

Madame d'Etioles - Moira Lister

Monsieur d'Etioles - John Gabriel

Lasmartre, a huntsman - David Timson

Lady of the Court - Olwen Griffiths

Produced by Norman Wright.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 10th - 24th December 1971.

Dearest Evelyn, Darling Nancy

Adapted from the witty correspondence of lifelong literary friends Evelyn Waugh and Nancy Mitford, this entertaining, gossipy 'conversation in letters' stars Timothy West and Prunella Scales.

Cast:

Evelyn Waugh - Timothy West

Nancy Mitford - Prunella Scales

Adapted by Alan Bell. Produced by Pete Atkin.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30th December 1993.

Greatest Lives - Nancy Mitford

Grace Dent loves Nancy Mitford for her wit, and for the way in which she showed women that it was possible to live your life fully and unconventionally. Matthew Parris asks what it is about Nancy that so inspires Grace, with the aid of Mitford biographer Lisa Hilton.

Produced by Beth O'Dea.

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22nd January 2013.