A summer in Scotland

Highland Fling by Nancy Mitford is her first novel and was published in 1931. The author is probably best known for being one of six aristocratic sisters most of whom made their mark on society, politics and popular culture in the early twentieth century. Nancy, however, made writing her career and some of her later books are still regarded as classics.

This story is a slight but entertaining and witty one, featuring a young married couple, Walter and Sally, and their friends, Albert and Jane. Walter and Sally are impecunious and so agree to spend a summer in charge of a Scottish castle populated by rather eccentric characters who are visiting. They are effectively running a summer long house party including shooting expeditions and a visit to a Highland Games. The book is episodic and each event related provides lots of opportunities for miscommunication and misunderstanding. Albert is an artist and during the story he and Jane find romance.

There is a lot to enjoy in this story of the Bright Young Things. The main characters frequently challenge the old ways of doing things and there is a surprisingly serious passage in which they declare that they will never go to war again which annoys the older men who are veterans of WW1 and the Boer War. All the characters are slightly exaggerated and most were caricatures of people that the author knew. It’s a light, witty and enjoyable read, albeit one with very little substance.