The Art of the "bespoke" shoe in Paris. Pierre Corthay and Aubercy, Bottiers a Paris.

Pierre Corthay Bottier

 Pierre Corthay

The Corthay Brothers Cristophe and Pierre

 History

Early days
The Artist as a Young Man
Pierre Corthay was born into a family of actors and artists who lived for and from their art. Very early on, an aunt who sculpted leather transmitted her love of the noble material to young Pierre. As an adolescent, he took up his actor father‟s advice to join the brotherhood of French master artisans, Les Compagnons du Devoir, and to learn and perfect his art during a years-long “Tour de France”. Shoemaking was his obvious discipline of choice.
Under the Master’s Eye
Pierre‟s family was always a source of encouragement and inspiration, and it extended to include great masters such as luxury bottiers John Lobb and Talbinio Berluti. At only 23 years old, after a year working at Berluti‟s side to serve a demanding and impassioned clientele, Pierre took over the made-to-measure atelier which he ran for five years. This was the ideal preparation for his next big step.
The philosophy of “bespoke”
Between a master shoemaker and his client—two strangers who learn to communicate ideas, desires, approaches and alternatives on the way to fashioning unique creations for a unique individual. Over time the two people learn to know, appreciate and respect each other... The artist/artisan shares a special part of his client‟s life. There is a creative relationship rare in today‟s fast-paced and impersonal world, where the artisan‟s skill and sensitivity are fully dedicated to his client‟s discrete and personalized elegance. The bespoke shoe becomes part of the wearer‟s own aesthetic expression.
First creations
1990: It is indeed a big step for a 28 year old shoemaker to open his own atelier just minutes away from the Place Vendôme where the most prestigious names have been housed for centuries. And, thanks to Pierre Corthay‟s courage, determination, talent and flair, he succeeds! His first order comes quickly: 150 pairs of bespoke shoes for the Sultan of Brunei. His big and daring step has led to a successful leap forward.
The next big step
Ready-to-wear
In 1995 Pierre Corthay‟s brother Christophe, also a „Compagnon‟, joins in the adventure. Buoyed by complementary skills and talents, the two young craftsmen pooled their energy and enthusiasm to further develop the atelier‟s activity. Five years later they launched their ready-to-wear collection in collaboration with an Italian sub- contractor/manufacturer.
Unheard of!
In the expression sub-contractor there‟s the prefix “sub”, as in substitute or even sub-standard—a concept that doesn‟t fit with the Corthay brothers‟ demands for the highest quality of material, cut, assembly, and finish. In 2003, for the first time ever, artisans recognized for the highest degree of excellence in custom-made shoes decide to set up their own ready-to-wear manufacturing operation... A world premiere! The Corthays wanted full control of every aspect of production to meet their uncompromising standards for quality in the ready-to-wear line that would bear their name.
The Corthay manufacture
A small facility just outside Paris in Neuilly Plaisance (93) became the flagship installation. Some forty machines were switched on to produce a collection 100% « Made in Corthay ». Born from the art and style of the now well established creators of the Corthay custom- made label, the ready-to-wear line is produced by the most highly qualified technicians- masters of modern shoe manufacturing processes, as committed as their employers to perfection at every stage.
Art and luxury materials come to ready-to-wear
State-of-the-art technology and the highest quality materials came together to produce an exemplary top-shelf collection. Beechwood shanks ensure rigidity of the arches. Natural cork provides perfect insulation. The «extra slow» leathers used for soles have spent a full year in a tanning basin in order to obtain an even and dense fibre. Hides come only from the world‟s finest calf tannery, located in the town of Le Puy. Aniline finishing and casein polishes yield an incomparable transparency and depth of color, at once smooth and exciting to the touch. The patina process is respectful of the raw materials that it ennobles with pigments used to highlight and enrich the natural colors. Such a craftsmanlike approach to manufacturing is unique in the world of luxury ready-to-wear shoes.
Around the world
In the land of the rising sun...
Success breeds success. The creation of the ready-to-wear facility led to the signing of a distribution contract with a Japanese group. As of March, 2004, exclusive Pierre Corthay shops came to Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. In this tradition-conscious nation, the arrival of a Parisian bottier was exceptionally well received. Two years later a meeting with Yohji Yamamoto, an icon of oriental fashion, brought about another milestone. Seduced by Corthay‟s purity of style, the Japanese master suggested collaboration. Pierre Corthay agreed to create a shoe for the new Y‟Classic collection.
From National to International
At the same time, Pierre‟s work is “discovered” by Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune, who raves about the beauty of the shoes and the excellence of the craftsmanship. Orders and interest increase and Corthay‟s geographical reach expands: the brand is presented in Bergdorf Goodman in New York, Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, Geneva, Bordeaux, Lyon, Osaka, Tokyo, Brussels, Munich, Maastricht....
In 2008 Pierre is recognized as the leading craftsman in his field and is awarded the highest possible recognition of “Maitre d‟Art” from the French Ministry of Culture. It comes as a further testimony to his skills: indeed he is one of the only two shoemakers in France to be a “Maitre d‟Art”.
In 2010 having established such a strong base, the brand is ready for further expansion, new products and new customers with the firm commitment to maintain excellence. To this aim, a new management team joins Pierre Corthay to see that the ambitions are fulfilled at the dawn of the brand‟s third decade.
The new Corthay boutique in Paris
As an expression of the brand‟s identity the historic Pierre Corthay store is redecorated in October 2010. Elegance and modern charm permeate the store located at 1 rue Volney behind Place Vendome, where clients are welcomed not by sales assistants but by craftsmen who can guide them in their choice of style and fit for a custom-made shoe that combines functionality, style and ultimate comfort.
Despite renovations inside the boutique, the basement that has been occupied by the ateliers Corthay for the past 20 years still remain untouched. To visit them is a journey back in time, a reminder of the true art of shoe making and what luxury originally meant. In 2011 the store of Aoyama in Tokyo will also be renewed, aiming to create the same feel and identity in the Corthay boutiques all around the world.
In Pierre Corthay Blog

Aubercy Bottier

The firm was created in 1935 by Renée and André AUBERCY. First, it was essentially a shop for men, situated 34 Rue VIVIENNE in the stock exchange quarter.

   In 1950, thanks to his friend Arturo LOPEZ the famous after war mentor, Emile AUBERCY had the chance to be in touch with the most famous Londoner shoemakers.

   During his stay, he was immersed in the crafts men's qualities wich give the fame of english shoes. Rich of their knowing, of their rigour and traditionalism, of their research in the perfection of the material, all those different qualities wich give to english shoes their own style and inimitable looking.

   In 1956, he decided to create his own work in order to give his clients, in a changing world where the values of tradition and qualities tended to disappear, a shoe corresponding to his demands that is to say to transpose in confection ; shoes made with the same rigour, the same quality and the same demand than the shoemakers.

   To point his difference, he worked with Italian workers and added English qualities to the making of another view of the shoe wich led him to the perfection in the details and the only sense of esthetic and refinement.

   It is the mixing and the qualities of english traditional rigour, and the italian creativity associated to the french liking wich have given the specificity of the styles created since 1935 by AUBERCY Firm.

   In 1970, his son Philippe and his wife immersed in the same culture have been perpetuated the way. They have decided to enlarge the proposed choice to the client's wives, a large choice of classical shoes made with the same accuracy of perfection. At the same time, acknowledged himself as a craftsman in women shoes made in the way as his men's shoes ( same skin, hard ends, stiffenings, sewn soles.) later a collection wich was composed of highheels, ballerinas, classical pumps, specialist of material as lizard, crocodile or ostrich.

    In 1995, his grand-son, Xavier, wishing to ensure the continuity of the house through the same values, by reorganising his workshops towards an even greater emphasis on hand-crafts, made it possible for his clients to have made-to-measure products in small numbers, as well as large numbers. This was led by Mr Didier Martinez, following in the traditions of the most beautiful boot-making in the world, with the desire of creating the most beautiful items, including technical difficulties and unique possibilities.

 Xavier Aubercy

 Didier Martinez

Photographs of Aubercy by Thelondonlounge.net

Moi, mes souliers... Pierre Corthay

Remembering the Magnificent Restoration of St. George's Hall in Windsor Castle

Thank God the Restoration Vision of the Prince of Wales prevailed.
Jeeves

On Fire's 5th Anniversary, Windsor Castle Sparkles
November 18, 1997|By Ray Moseley, Tribune Staff Writer. in Chicago Tribune

 WINDSOR, England — Five years to the day after fire laid waste to a large part of Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip will celebrate its magnificent restoration Thursday, which also happens to be their 50th wedding anniversary.

The restoration project, believed to be the biggest undertaken anywhere in this century, originally was scheduled to be completed next May. But an army of architects, builders and craftworkers who have kept alive medieval decorating skills have brought it to completion six months early at a cost of $64 million--about $5 million below estimate.

Officials conducted a media tour of the restored sections of the palace Monday. The public will be admitted starting Dec. 27.

The queen and Philip gave a private party last Friday for nearly 1,500 people who worked on the project, and she told them she was "absolutely delighted" with the result. She added that she could not have received a better anniversary gift.

Many of those who worked on the restoration also are proud of the result, saying they believe Windsor is now a far finer structure than before the fire.

The queen and Philip will hold a private dinner Thursday evening, followed by a ball for about 600 people, in the largest of the rooms that has been restored, St. George's Hall.

Windsor, which sprawls over 13 acres on a hilltop beside the Thames River 25 miles northwest of London, was set alight on Nov. 20, 1992, when a spotlight being used by workers apparently ignited a 15-foot curtain in the Private Chapel. The blaze quickly spread through about one-fifth of the castle.

Fortunately, the fire started between two rooms that had been emptied of their treasures for maintenance work, so those were all saved.

But nine principal rooms, and more than 100 smaller ones, were destroyed or damaged by the fire, which burned 15 hours. The biggest loss of a work of art was the destruction of a vast 19th Century canvas portraying King George III.

Windsor, the largest inhabited castle in Europe, was started by William the Conqueror in 1070 and additions were made by other monarchs over the years. King George IV, one of the greatest patrons of the arts among British rulers, had the castle extensively restored and redecorated in the early 19th Century.

Much of that restoration covered over medieval construction and decoration, and the fire had the important advantage to archeologists of laying bare medieval elements.

A 14th Century undercroft, used for storing wine and other provisions, was found beneath St. George's Hall. In the Great Kitchen, the fire revealed 14th Century timbers in the lantern roof, which had been covered over by George IV, and even a 14th Century cesspit, which enabled archeologists to learn much about people's diets and food preparation in the Middle Ages.

The most extensive change made in the restoration was to the 235-foot-long St. George's Hall, which had been remodeled in Gothic style under George IV.

Journalist Adam Nicolson, who has written a book on the restoration that was commissioned by the royal family, said the hall "had previously been a long and rather dreary box." Architect Giles Downes designed a higher roof with a steeper pitch to give the room more proportion.

Prince Charles, heir to the throne and head of a committee that selected architects, expressed particular pleasure over Downes' reworking of St. George's Hall.

"I think that what was done during King George IV's time to Windsor in some parts of the castle was disastrous," he said. "What was done to St. George's Hall I think was awful."

Charles made his comments in a film to be shown on British television Thursday night that was produced by his brother, Prince Edward, who called the restoration "breathtaking."

Prince Philip played his part in the work, suggesting that a mounted figure in armor that had been in another part of the castle be placed on a balcony at one end of St. George's Hall. He also made a sketch outlining his ideas for stained-glass windows in the Private Chapel, but his plan was only partly followed.

One of the most elaborate restoration jobs involved the huge, ornate chandeliers that adorn the Crimson Drawing Room, the Green Drawing Room and others. Thousands of glass facets were salvaged from the ashes, and the chandeliers have been returned to pristine condition.

Many of the British craftsmen and women who worked on the castle had gained previous experience at Uppark, a stately home destroyed by fire in 1989 and since rebuilt, and Hampton Court Palace, also heavily damaged by fire in the 1980s.

Micheal Peat, keeper of the privy purse and the man who oversaw the restoration, said more than $20 million has been spent on a computerized fire-protection system to try to make sure Windsor does not burn again. "We had an automated fire-protection system before, but it was not as comprehensive as what we have now," he said.

Seventy percent of the restoration work has been financed through fees charged to visitors to Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. The palace tours, started because the public balked at a proposal to pay for the restoration through taxpayers' money, will continue at least through the year 2000, officials said.

The remaining 30 percent of the restoration cost has come from the annual grant-in-aid that the government provides for maintenance of the various royal castles.

Architecture: Barriers to change at Windsor Castle: The restoration of St George's Hall was settled before 'consultations', says Amanda Baillieu

in The Independent  AMANDA BAILLIEU    WEDNESDAY 07 JULY 1993

AFTER the big fire last November, the debate about Windsor Castle's restoration has failed to ignite. Conservationists thought the challenge of Windsor would clarify issues about restoration: it would be a textbook case of how to rebuild a ravaged historic building.

If conservationists imagined Windsor being restored to its exact former state, architects hoped contemporary design would be used to set Windsor aright - especially St George's Hall, an unremarkable example of Regency 'Gothick' designed in the 1820s by Sir Jeffry Wyatville, in which plaster walls imitated stone and the plaster ceiling imitated wood. The fire destroyed the roof of the hall.

At the end of April, it was announced that St George's Hall would be restored 'as it was before', although the possibility of further discussion about the roof was left open. Peter Brooke, Secretary of State for National Heritage, said that the Royal Household had been consulting with the leaders of the Royal Fine Art Commission (RFAC), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and English Heritage about Windsor's rebuilding. But, in fact, crucial decisions regarding refurbishment had already been taken in principle months before this public relations exercise in consultation. The need for swift action was justified officially by the desire to cover St George's Hall with a new roof to protect what remained from the weather.

Last month Buckingham Palace announced that Donald Insall, the respected conservation architect, had been appointed as the co-ordinating architect for phases three and four of the reconstruction, which includes the ceiling of St George's Hall.

So the case for rebuilding St George's Hall in a contemporary style was scuppered before it had a chance of being developed seriously. Soon after the fire, the RIBA had argued that there was now an opportunity for the Queen to commission a dramatic new roof for the hall. The Royal Household itself had been divided. The Prince of Wales favoured a new, albeit conservative design - an oak hammer beam roof.

The Palace still insists that only a few irrevocable decisions about refurbishment have been made; nevertheless, work went ahead in February and March on drawing up the Palace's specifications for the new roof of St George's Hall, before the consultation with the experts of British architecture and heritage.

Lord Rodgers, director-general of the RIBA, says: 'I think in the end it was a disappointing outcome. We had been led to believe that everything was open to discussion. But it became plain that decisions had already been taken.'

Oddly, Lord St John of Fawsley, chairman of the RFAC, failed to make a case for a new roof at a meeting held on 22 April at Windsor chaired by the Duke of Edinburgh. The RFAC is normally a champion of modern architectural causes. Lord St John, who had been invited to Windsor in a 'personal capacity', agreed with English Heritage that the Wyatville interior should be restored. He must have known that his view about Windsor would not match that of his fellow commissioners.

When it became known that the Windsor meeting had taken place, Lord St John faced a rebellion. The commission met in May and agreed unanimously that to restore the Wyatville interior at St George's Hall would be wrong.

The Royal Fine Art Commission is empowered by a royal warrant to intervene in any project or development that 'may appear to affect amenities of a national or public character'. Several commissioners thought it odd that they had been debarred from doing just that in this case.

So after the fire we have the ashes of British muddle, a bungled consultation. As one senior conservationist working at Windsor admitted, 'People at the top put their foot down. We will never know what we could have had because the debate about Windsor's future was never thrown open.'

Giles Downes is a British architect most notable for his work at Windsor Castle following the fire in 1992.

 Design work at Windsor CastleOn 20 November 1992, a major fire occurred at Windsor Castle, lasting for fifteen hours and causing widespread damage to the Upper Ward. The fire spread quickly and destroyed nine of the principal state rooms, and severely damaged over a hundred more. There was considerable debate over how to repair the castle. Some suggested that the damaged rooms should be restored to their original appearance, but others favoured repairing the castle so as to incorporate modern designs. The decision was taken to largely follow the pre-fire architecture with some changes to reflect modern tastes and cost, but fresh questions emerged over whether the restoration should be undertaken "authentic" or "equivalent" restoration standards. Modern methods were used at Windsor to reproduce the equivalent pre-fire appearance, partially due to the cost.

Parts of the State Apartments - the area broadly covering the current St George's Hall, the Lantern Lobby, the Octagonal Dining Room and the Private Chapel - had been completely destroyed in the 1992 fire and the architectural partnership of Siddell Gibson were selected to conduct the design. Giles Downes, a partner at the firm, was commissioned to produce a coordinated set of designs for the rooms. Downes style of design in the castle, sometimes called "Downesian Gothic", involves "the rather stripped, cool and systematic coherence of modernism sewn into a reinterpretation of the Gothic tradition". Downes himself argues that the style avoids "florid decoration", emphasising an organic, flowing Gothic structure.

Downes' new roof of the St George's Hall is the largest green-oak structure built since the Middle Ages, and is decorated brightly coloured shields celebrating the heraldic element of the Order of the Garter; the design attempts to create an illusion of additional height through the gothic woodwork along the ceiling. Commentators have noted that Downes' work does much to compensate for the originally flawed dimensions of the hall. The Lantern Lobby features flowing oak columns forming a vaulted ceiling, imitating an arum lily. The new Private Chapel is relatively small, only able to fit thirty worshippers, but combines architectural elements of the St George's Hall roof with the Lantern Lobby and the stepped arch structure of the Henry VIII chapel vaulting at Hampton Court. The result is an "extraordinary, continuous and closely moulded net of tracery", complementing the new stained glass windows commemorating the fire, designed by Joseph Nuttgen.

 Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Starting on Monday, 12 September, BBC One will broadcast The Queen’s Palaces, a three-part landmark television series presented by BBC News reader Fiona Bruce.

The series tells the stories behind the creation of Her Majesty’s official residences – Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse – of the Kings and Queens whose vision and taste left their mark on these great buildings.

Throughout each programme Fiona meets curators from the Royal Collection and discovers how the works of art housed within the Palaces shed light on both the history of the royal residences and the artistic development of the nation.
Series schedule on BBC One

Buckingham Palace: 9pm on Monday, 12 September
Windsor Castle: 9pm on Monday, 19 September
Palace of Holyroodhouse:  9pm on Monday, 26 September

The Queen's Palaces, review, episode 1
Serena Davies reviews the first episode of BBC One's The Queen's Palaces, presented by Fiona Bruce.
12 Sep 2011 in The Telegraph

The Queen’s Palaces is perfectly timed, appearing a handful of months after the Royal Wedding to scoop up a nation of ardent monarchists with an hour of primetime television about the Queen’s soft furnishings and chandeliers. BBC One’s new three-part series will visit Windsor Castle, Holyroodhouse and, tonight, began with Buckingham Palace.

In the BBC’s now entrenched tradition of assigning non-experts to subjects which require erudition, Fiona Bruce has written and presented the series. As ever, Bruce was blandly appealing, dressed in the same elegant but dull shirt dress throughout (a nod to cost cutting at Auntie?) and delivering both the bleeding obvious and the genuinely arresting as if both were a matter of revelation.

She took the time to explain, for instance, that a marsh was “boggy” with “pools of smelly, stagnant water” and to show us that chandeliers made a pleasant tinkling noise, but also informed us of the more intriguing tidbits that Marble Arch used to be in front of Buckingham Palace and that Victoria and Albert liked to sing Mendelssohn in harmony together (a not unimpressive feat).

The latter detail provided the cue for the most entertaining of the spurious illustrative sequences that the producers had come up with so that Bruce had something to do other than wander decoratively along golden corridors. They’d already sent her to Venice (because George III collected Canalettos), out on a horse (because the site of Buckingham Palace was once a park) and down a sewer (below Buckingham Palace). Finally she was forced to sing a Mendelssohn hymn accompanied by an organist. Her voice was reedy but certainly in tune, and her embarrassment made her rather endearing.

The whole film provided an enjoyable if toothless tour around the history and halls of our most famous royal residence. The shame is that Buckingham Palace is rather less architecturally interesting (and old) than our top 20 stately homes, but the blame for that can hardly be laid at the feet of the presenter.

The Queen's Palaces

The Queen's Palaces - Windsor Castle - 2 of 2

Love in a cold climate ...

The stories center around the Radlett family, whose lord and master called “Fa”, by his six children, or “Uncle Matthew”, by his niece

More than a house, Alconleigh is a grand, old estate of the English countryside, which Matthew lords over with a whip. He can be found pacing the great drive and courtyard at Alconleigh, snapping this whip with the violence of a homicidal polo player and the grace of a fly-fisherman, marching in his high boots. The children play ball nearby, inured to their father’s mania. Uncle Matthew is possibly Mitford’s strongest character. His dialog makes this so, as he bellows angry epithets that echo through the halls. He is particularly fond of calling people “hogs”, “sewers” and “hons”.
Despite her obvious doe-eyed fright of the bristling Matthew, Fanny seems to love her uncle.  An extremely blustery character, Uncle Matthew will not stand for frivolity, even at a seasonal ball given at his own estate. He is caught “gazing furiously into space” every time someone he despises dances by.

Fanny receives an invitation to visit the Montdores at Hampton, their country house upon the family's return from India. Fanny is torn between her affection for Polly and her anxiety about the complex social issues involved in such a visit. Her reunion with Polly is successful in that the two young women rekindle their childhood affection and establish a mature friendship. Fanny, the readers' informant, has great affection for Polly, but is aware of Polly's reticence in revealing her personal feelings. Unlike Fanny's Radlett cousins who "told everything", Polly reveals little of herself. Slightly older than Fanny, Polly has "come out" in India and as such a beautiful and socially important debutante, is expected to have a very successful season in London. The standing of the Montdore family is such that the beautiful Polly is expected to have her pick of all the eligible bachelors in the country

 In Love in a Cold Climate, Fanny narrates the story of Polly, to whom Fanny is distantly related through her father's family. Lady Leopoldina [Polly] Hampton, is the only child of the supremely aristocratic and very rich Earl of Montdore and his wife, Sonia.

 Lady Montdore is a product of the minor ranks of the aristocracy and her marriage to an earl is regarded as a social coup on her part. She is depicted by Fanny, as an avaricious, greedy snob, but not without charm. Her thrusting personality, allied to her husband's impeccable social standing, riches and political influence makes her a formidable woman. Lady Montdore, unbeknown to Lord Montdore, takes advantage of her husband's reputation to forward her own career as a hostess and manipulator of her social circle. After 20 years of marriage and no children, "Sonia felt less than well." The result is Polly. So beautiful and so perfect, the narrator, Fanny, adores Polly, as do her parents. Fanny loses contact with Polly, when Lord Montdore is sent as Viceroy of India.

Boy is snobbish, spending his time writing books about the aristocracy, and sexually rapacious; his many affairs are common knowledge to both his wife and society at large. Fanny and her Radlett cousins have long suspected that the sexually ambiguous Boy, whom they have named the "Lecherous Lecturer," has pedophile tendencies and he is a joke amongst Fanny's cousins for his inappropriate touches and furtive, "lecherous" behaviour towards young girls

However, Polly consistently demonstrates a total lack of interest in the London season and all of the men she meets. She tells Fanny that when she "came out " in India, she found the whole thing very boring. Love affairs, so common in India, do not interest Polly, but she is hoping that "in a cold climate", society will be less interested in love affairs.

Uncle Matthew is possibly Mitford’s strongest character

It is also known in these circles that Boy has been Lady Montdore's lover for many years, unbeknown to Polly

Lady Montdore, hoping that Polly will make an important marriage, is exasperated by her daughter's apparent indifference to love and marriage. "Important" potential suitors acknowledge that Polly is very beautiful, but find her cold and aloof

The self contained Polly reveals to no one that she has been in love with her uncle, "Boy" Dougdale [the husband of her paternal aunt, Lady Patricia] since she was 14. Boy is snobbish, spending his time writing books about the aristocracy, and sexually rapacious; his many affairs are common knowledge to both his wife and society at large. Fanny and her Radlett cousins have long suspected that the sexually ambiguous Boy, whom they have named the "Lecherous Lecturer," has pedophile tendencies and he is a joke amongst Fanny's cousins for his inappropriate touches and furtive, "lecherous" behaviour towards young girls. Polly marries her widowed uncle, shortly after her aunt's death, causing a scandal in her social circle and distressing her parents deeply. It is also known in these circles that Boy has been Lady Montdore's lover for many years, unbeknown to Polly. Polly is excluded from her father's will upon her marriage and she and Boy ostracised from society. They move to Sicily and away from Fanny for several years.

The self contained Polly reveals to no one that she has been in love with her uncle, "Boy" Dougdale [the husband of her paternal aunt, Lady Patricia] since she was 14.

Polly's place in the family is filled by the heir to Lord Montdore's entailed fortune and title, Cedric Hampton. Born in Nova Scotia to a minor member of the Montdore family, Cedric has cast off his colonial origins and has used his exceptional good looks and personal charm to establish a place within the homosexual milieu of the European aristocracy. Cedric has lived a life of luxury as the lover of rich and aristocratic men. Currently out of favour in that quarter, Cedric accepts an invitation to visit the Montdores.

His natural love of beauty, innate good taste and his careful use of flattery, enable Cedric to win the affections of Lord and Lady Montdore and many others. Cedric focuses his attentions upon Lady Montdore in particular and encourages her to update her wardrobe and general appearance and revive her interest in social matters, which has diminished since the "loss" of her lover and her daughter. Lady Montdore uses Cedric's popularity and charm to reestablish herself as a leading society hostess, to Cedric's advantage.

Fanny, as a regular visitor to the Montdores, shares with her readers all of the activities of the Montdore household and Cedric soon becomes one of her close friends. Polly, heavily pregnant, returns from Sicily with Boy. The marriage has turned sour and Fanny notes that neither Polly nor Boy is in love any more. Polly is regularly visited by the elderly Duke of Paddington [a fictional title] while pregnant, who lavishes her with luxurious flowers and attention. Polly reconciles with her mother after bearing a child who dies shortly after its birth. Cedric and Boy meet and fall in love. "Cedric arranged the whole thing perfectly", according to Fanny. While Polly recovers from the difficult birth, Cedric whisks Boy and Lady Montdore to France, leaving Polly free to be carried off by the elderly Duke. While this outcome shocks the conservative social circles in which they mix, Fanny takes a broader minded view, pleased to see people she loves each finding happiness in their own way.

Love in a Cold Climate is a British television serial drama produced by the BBC in association with WGBH Boston, and first broadcast in two parts on BBC One on 4 and 11 February 2001. The serial was adapted by Deborah Moggach from Nancy Mitford's novels The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, and was directed by Tom Hooper.
It stars Rosamund Pike as Fanny, Elisabeth Dermot Walsh as Linda, Megan Dodds as Polly, Alan Bates as Uncle Matthew, and Celia Imrie as Aunt Sadie. Further roles are played by an all-star cast. The production staff researched the nature of Mitford's novels by interviewing her surviving sister Deborah. The serial was accompanied by an Omnibus profile of Mitford and a documentary series entitled The Mitford World on BBC Knowledge.
Love in a Cold Climate was nominated for two British Academy Television Awards; Bates was nominated for Best Actor, and the production team received nominations in the Costume Design and Production Design categories.
A previous mini-series adaptation of Love in a Cold Climate was broadcast in 1980, starring Judi Dench, Michael Aldridge and Vivian Pickles.