Nancy Mitford was the eldest and most famous of the Mitfords. However, before she shot to fame as a novelist with "The Pursuit of Love", she had gathered a huge following with articles pouring drops of acid on the pretensions of the aristocracy. A relentless tease, she wrote brilliant sharp-tongued articles, first for the "Lady Magazine" owned by her uncle, and then soon thereafter for "House & Garden", "Vogue", "The Times", "Sunday Times", "New Statesman", "Spectator", "New York Review of Books" and the "Atlantic Monthly" in the US, as well as other publications. A first small selection of her articles appeared in "The Water Beetle" (1962), followed in 1986 by a larger selection of recent writings up to 1968. This completely revised edition of the 1968 edition provides a comprehensive collection of Nancy Mitford's entire career. It aims to establish her as one of the first female journalists with a superb command of stylish invective whose anarchic streak has made her writings pass the test of time with effortless ease.