Name: Highland Fling
ISBN: 9780881843903

Nancy Mitford

Vacationing at Dalloch Castle in Scotland, Jane Dacre falls in love with Albert Gates, a surrealist painter whose practical jokes rub some people the wrong way

Highland Fling

Combining physical humour and verbal sharpness, 'Highland Fling' captures with precision the mode de vivre of the upper classes in the decades immediately before and after World War II.

Eleanor Luhar

I can't say there are many classic novels that I've really enjoyed, but I was pleasantly surprised by this book when I really focused on it. It is a comedy, and I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't appreciate the humour as the book was originally published back in 1931. I will admit that I maybe didn't enjoy it as much as I could have, but I did quite like it and find it quite interesting.

It follows Albert Gates, an artist who has moved to Paris, as he accompanies friends to Dalloch Castle in the Scottish Highlands. He meets Jane there, and they bond while irritating the other guests to keep themselves amused. The friends of Albert's, Sally and Walter, have their own happenings both during the holiday and after returning home.

Albert opens an art exhibition that receives more attention than Jane anticipated, and Jane starts to panic. Is there a wedding on the horizon, or will Albert be going back to Paris alone?

This actually has some rather dramatic moments, including a fire that strikes in the night. The characters are all very different, such as the foreigner-hating General Murgatroyd (whom Albert takes great joy in winding up). At first, I really wasn't taken with this book. But when I sat and really read it, I actually did start to enjoy it.

I really don't read books like this usually, and I wasn't sure how much I would like it. But it is a good book, and I definitely recommend it for lovers of classics or similar genres to this. 3 to 3.5 stars.

Jade Flynn

Read for the 'Tis' the Damn Readathon' prompt - Evermore: Surprise yourself with your book: pick it with your eyes closed, use a random number generator/ TBR jar

Read for the 'BTS Readathon' prompt -Jimin: 13 - 13 letters in the title/number 13 in title

Vacationing at Dalloch Castle in Scotland, Jane Dacre, while mingling with an assortment of ancient and gouty peers of the realm, falls in love with Albert Gates, a surrealist painter whose practical jokes rub some people the wrong way. Original.