Knight is a columnist for the Sunday Times Style, who has also written four other novels and some non-fiction books, along with a children’s book. Like the modernised versions of Jane Austen’s canon before it, Darling has to stretch itself a bit to fit anything resembling contemporary reality, and in failing to do so in any meaningful way ends up becoming somewhat dream-like and fantastical in places. Purists greeted last year’s television adaptation much as cat-owners might welcome a partially eviscerated mouse.

There is an eclectic supporting cast who are excellently described – Davey and his gut health being very informative! Darling is also in that vein, that serves a heightened sense of reality in a decidedly upper-middle-class world, where worries are real but they are less where the money for the mortgage is going to come from and more will they be able to afford a junior suite at the Ritz in Paris, or will it have to be a mere double room. Fans will love Knight's clever re-imagining of this classic tale - and new readers will relish the chance to discover the glorious Radletts ― Daily Express --This text refers to the hardcover edition.Delight the bookworm in your life with the gift of this hilarious and heartbreaking modern-day adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s classic, The Pursuit of Happiness. Their parents are global rock icon Matthew and former private chef Sadie, who herself is the daughter of an Indian diplomat and an English debutante. She knows she doesn’t want to marry ‘a man who looks like a pudding’, as her good and dull sister Louisa has done, and marries the flashy, handsome son of a UKIP peer instead. A perfect comfort read: the kind of book you take into the bath and keep reading even when the water has gone cold, a one-sitting, dark-at-four joy . It takes chutzpah to tackle a national treasure as jealously loved and gatekept as Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love.

Public service announcement for fellow Nancy Mitford fans: India Knight’s modern retelling, Darling, is HEAVEN. Even so, this is a gorgeously bittersweet portrait of growing up, where happiness is only ever fleeting. A family setup that might have sounded feasible in the 1920s seems beyond what my suspension of disbelief is willing to handle; the main character, India, comes across as a bit vacant - we're constantly told that she's endlessly fascinating, charming, clever etc.Without a formal education Linda’s head is permanently in the clouds, but her natural curiosity and sharp mind means she has no qualms about her unconventional schooling, and absolutely no pretentions.

India Knight has daringly brought Nancy Mitford’s best loved novel ‘The Pursuit of Love’ to a new generation of readers. My favourite passage is the list of Things That Uncle Matthew Doesn't Like - absolute comedy genius. Uncle Matthew’s list of hates now includes “anyone with any kind of special food regimen or intolerance whatsoever … imported mushrooms, salted caramel (‘not a flavour’) … skiing, racists … people whose arms he considered too long … ‘wellness’, the use of the word ‘cis’ to describe anyone who wasn’t one’s sister.

I actually snorted with laughter in several bits of it - particularly when Uncle Matthew and Davey get obsessed with Instagram.