Editing Nancy Mitford (section)

==Debutante and socialite==
Nancy's eighteenth birthday in November 1922 was the occasion for a grand "[[Debutante|coming-out]]" ball, which marked the beginning of her entry into [[High society (group)|Society]]. That was followed in June 1923 by her presentation at Court, a formal introduction to King [[George V]] at [[Buckingham Palace]], after which she was officially "out" and could attend the balls and parties that constituted the [[Season (society)#The Season in London|London Season]]. She spent much of the next few years in a round of social events, making new friends and mixing with the "[[Bright young things|Bright Young People]]" of 1920s London.<ref>Hastings, pp. 42–43.</ref> Nancy declared that "we hardly saw the light of day, except at dawn".<ref>Byrne, p. 113.</ref> In 1926 Asthall Manor was finally sold. While the new house at Swinbrook was made ready, the female members of the family were sent for three months to Paris, a period which, says Hastings, began Nancy's "lifelong love affair" with France.<ref>Hastings, pp. 46–49.</ref>

Among Nancy's new London friends was Evelyn Gardner who,<ref>Byrne, p. 118.</ref> Nancy informed her brother Tom, was engaged "to a man called [[Evelyn Waugh]] who writes, I believe, very well".<ref>Lovell, pp. 107–08.</ref> She and Waugh later developed a lasting friendship.<ref>Acton, p. 28.</ref> Although she was now of age, her father maintained an aggressive hostility towards most of her male friends, particularly since, as Hastings remarks, these tended towards the frivolous, the aesthetic and the effeminate. Among them was [[James Alexander Wedderburn St. Clair-Erskine|Hamish St Clair Erskine]], the second son of the [[Earl of Rosslyn|5th Earl of Rosslyn]], an Oxford undergraduate four years Nancy's junior. He was, according to Hastings, the least suitable partner of all, "the most shimmering and narcissistic of all the beautiful butterflies"—and the one most likely to offend Lord Redesdale.<ref>Hastings, pp. 56–61.</ref> The pair met in 1928 and became unofficially engaged, despite his homosexuality, of which Nancy may not have been aware.<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|2003|pp=94–95}}</ref> Against a backdrop of hostility from family and friends—Waugh advised her to "dress better and catch a better man"<ref>{{harvnb|Thompson|2003|p=93}}</ref>—the engagement endured sporadically for several years.<ref name=odnb/>