Here's the thing about publishing a person's letters post mortem: they were written to friends - in this case one, very good, very long-time friend - and as such contain all sorts of personal references, names of mutual friends, inside jokes, and most frustratingly, a shorthand form of communication built up over years that's really only obvious to the correspondents themselves. The editor Johns Saumerez Smith, does his best to clarify as much as possible, but there's quite a lot that went over my head regardless.

In addition to the insider knowledge required to really, really appreciate this collection, Johns Saumerez Smith, in an effort at conciseness, interest, and probably respect of Haywood's and Mitford's privacy, edited each letter down to the bits he felt were humorous, with the effect that as a reader, I felt a bit frustrated - because references would be made to one thing or another in one letter that were never followed up on in subsequent letters. There are letters in their chain of correspondence that are missing in the archives, and Johns Saumerez Smith did his best to summarise (I assume from other sources) the gaps. But the one thing that really irritated me is that Saumerez Smith left out letters that exist but have already been published in one of the other 2 broader collections of Mitford's letters, making the (erroneous in my case) assumption that the reader had already seen them, because, of course, the reader would have already read both the other collections.

Overall though, I enjoyed this glimpse into Mitford's life, and the drama at the Haywood Hill bookshop ... I wish they'd discussed it more and in fuller detail; it sounds like quite a drama. A lot of joy comes through though, and a lot of irreverence, so that even if I didn't understand all the references, I enjoyed the glimpse I got into a valued friendship. ( )

Once again, it's difficult to give a book of this type a very high rating but it was a nice summer read. Both, but especially NM, exude class, intelligence, wit, humaneness, self-knowledge and quiet self-confidence. The whole nine yards. ( )

A collection of letters between Nancy Mitford and bookseller Heywood Hill. I wish these had been less heavily excerpted and slightly more annotated; I would have liked more material and more context for them. That said, what's here makes for fun reading (even if it's not quite 84, Charing Cross Road). ( )

This was so interesting. I have read so may books by and about the Mitford family but we all show different personas to different people - friends, family, work etc. And this is Nancy with a friend .... away from the confines of being "a Mitford" (if she ever was). Very interesting ( )

These letters are often hilarious, and provide a wonderful insight into a really lovely friendship that survived several decades. Whenever I think of Nancy Mitford - I suppose like many people I immediately conjour up for myself images of the 1920's 1930's or 40's. But of course Nancy lived untill the 1970's and these letters dated from 1952 - 1973 puts Nancy Mitford and Heywood Hill in a more modern world - and their occaisional horror at it is quite often very funny. For example: From NM from Venice 1962 - All the boys here wear a tiny wireless tucked in among their private parts - you wouldn't believe the din these things give out" and From HH 1963:
"One of the reasons we took Lucy to Corfu is that her friend Jane Asher is in love with a Beatle and told Lucy she would produce another Beatle for her.....They did turn up but luckily the other Beatle was already mated with a Liverpudlian hairdresser" hilarious!! ( )