Nancy Mitford's novels satirize British aristocracy in the 1920s and 1930s through the amorous adventures of the Radletts, an exuberantly unconventional family closely modeled on that of the notorious Mitford sisters. The Radletts of Alconleigh occupy the heights of genteel eccentricity, from terrifying Lord Alconleigh (who, like Mitford's father, used to hunt his children with bloodhounds when foxes were not available) to his gentle wife, Sadie, their wayward daughter Linda, and the other six lively Radlett children. Mitford's wickedly funny prose follows these characters through misguided marriages and dramatic love affairs, as the shadow of World War II begins to close in on their rapidly vanishing world.