Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor

A blackly humorous story of loneliness, deception, and life in old age by one of the most accomplished novelists of the twentieth century.

On a rainy Sunday afternoon in January, the recently widowed Mrs. Palfrey moves to the Claremont Hotel in South Kensington. "If it's not nice, I needn't stay," she promises herself, as she settles into this haven for the genteel and the decayed.

"Three elderly widows and one old man . . . who seemed to dislike female company and seldom got any other kind" serve for her fellow residents, and there is the staff, too, and they are one and all lonely.

What is Mrs. Palfrey to do with herself now that she has all the time in the world? Go for a walk. Go to a museum. Go to the end of the block. Well, she does have her grandson who works at the British Museum, and he is sure to visit any day.

Mrs. Palfrey prides herself on having always known "the right thing to do," but in this new situation she discovers that resource is much reduced. Before she knows it, in fact, she tries something else.

Elizabeth Taylor's final and most popular novel is as unsparing as it is, ultimately, heartbreaking.

Elizabeth Taylor (1912-1975) was born and raised in Reading, Berkshire, England. She worked as a governess and later at a library after finishing school. She spent much of her married life in the Buckinghamshire village of Penn.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781681375649
ISBN 10	1681375648
Title	Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Author	Elizabeth Taylor
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	The New York Review of Books, Inc
Year published	2021-12-21
Number of pages	224
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.