born Nov. 28, 1904, London, Eng.
died June 30, 1973, Versailles, France
British writer.
Born into an eccentric, aristocratic family, she became known for her witty satiric novels of upper-class life, including the quasi-autobiographical The Pursuit of Love (1945), Love in a Cold Climate (1949), The Blessing (1951), and Don't Tell Alfred (1960). A volume of essays she coedited, Noblesse Oblige (1956), popularized the distinction between linguistic usages that are "U" (upper-class) and "non-U." Her sister Jessica (1917–96) was a noted writer on U.S. society whose best-known book was The American Way of Death (1963).