Christmas Pudding [Hardcover]

Nancy Mitford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 1975

An outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease may have terminated the hunting at the Compton Bobbins' in the Cotswolds, but it has not dampened the Yuletide spirit of the Bright Young Things who find themselves among the oddly assorted guests of the not-so young and quite formidable Lady Maria Bobbin. Hilarious misadventures abound as Lady Bobbin's serenely beautiful daughter, Philadelphia, meets the advances of the very eligible, and equally dull, Lord Lewis and of the charming but penniless Paul Fotheringay, whose terribly serious first novel has, to his dismay, just been hailed by critics as the funniest book of the year. With signature wit and gentle mockery, not to mention her acid malice for the second-rate, Nancy Mitford romps rippingly through the wold and the life of the county set in the cozy English 1930s.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd; New edition edition (September 8, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0241893100
• ISBN-13: 978-0241893104
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,367,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Doings at the country house, March 20, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Christmas Pudding (Paperback)

With sly, often understated wit and a true ensemble cast, I don't know why I hadn't heard of this book before. It's less arch than Mapp and Lucia, and more worldly than Jeeves. The subtle references to everything from the art world to politics to animal husbandry will keep the reader entertained to the last. An excellent find.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I liked this book, August 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Christmas Pudding (Paperback)

This was my first Nancy Mitford book and I like her style very much. Brief and breezy, light and entertaining and yet also carrying some very thought-provoking passages. Mainly deals with relationships and the silliness of the landed gentry of England. I was laughing out loud in some public places while reading this. I think that in a subtle kind of way Bobbie is the real hero of the story. Read it and see if you agree! I will definitely read more of her books.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Infernal and all too Rare Screaming Laugh, October 19, 2002

By 

L. Dann "adhdmom" (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christmas Pudding (Paperback)

There is one scene in this book that struck me as so violently funny that Christmas Pudding will retain a place in my lifetime's hall of humor. Re-reading and even remembering brings on laughter that exceeds 98% of competing satires. Yet, I say that with hesitation because I've learned often that its foolish to bet on humor. ... I am a sucker for those descriptions of the most stuffy and stupid British upperclass near phobic reactions to suspected foreign invasions and insidious socialists and Germans. This scene involves what is a suspected assasination by means of an "infernal machine." I'll say no more.
There's the book- if you value that kind of pleasure/pain breakup- I hope you get it. I sure did.