Highland Fling

Highland Fling

In <i>Highland Fling</i>—Nancy Mitford’s first novel, published in 1931—a set of completely incompatible and hilariously eccentric characters collide in a Scottish castle, where bright young things play pranks on their stodgy elders until the frothy plot climaxes in ghost sightings and a dramatic fire. <br><br>Inspired in part by Mitford’s youthful infatuation with a Scottish aristocrat, her story follows young Jane Dacre to a shooting party at Dulloch Castle, where she tramps around a damp and chilly moor on a hunting expedition with formidable Lady Prague, xenophobic General Murgatroyd, one-eyed Admiral Wenceslaus, and an assortment of other ancient and gouty peers of the realm, while falling in love with Albert, a surrealist painter with a mischievous sense of humor. Lighthearted and sparkling with witty banter, <i>Highland Fling</i> was Mitford’s first foray into the delightful fictional world for which the author of <i>The Pursuit of Love </i>and <i>Love in a Cold Climate </i>later became so celebrated.<br><br>With an Introduction by Julian Fellowes, creator of <i>Downton Abbey.</i>