Review: Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont

Book: Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont

Author: Elizabeth Taylor

First published: 1971

Current publisher: Virago

Format: Kindle e-book

Page count: 208

The physicals: Read on my Kindle in June 2025

Procurement: Bought for my Kindle via my Amazon account

Price: £4.99

What a classic. Poor Mrs Palfrey! I really felt bad for her, and I worried about her, and feared for her. The emotional pull of this novel is astonishing. It explores ageing and self-deception in such a frank but refined way. At around 200 pages, it's a perfect length... and the page count I tend to enjoy the most. This is a short novel, with no padding, just concentrated and excellent writing. Its impact is quietly devastating and I'm so glad I've discovered Elizabeth Taylor's books. I've now read three: this one, Angel, and The Wedding Group. All are excellent. For me the best writers are masters and mistresses of human nature. They get it; they get us; they understand people. Elizabeth Taylor is one of those gifted writers and I can't wait to read all her stuff.

I'm familiar with the novel's London setting, and I've stayed in a hotel on the Cromwell Road... but not the Claremont! What a terrifying place it is, behind its edifice of genteel respectability and comfort. The Claremont Hotel is almost a character in its own right, and its creation is another testament to the writing skills of Elizabeth Taylor.

Another fabulous story. Ten out of ten!

Shelf: Kept in my Kindle library. Will probably read it again.

Would recommend to: Readers who enjoy intelligent literary fiction written by women who have a complete handle on human nature: the good and the bad, all our foibles and failings.