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Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont: A Virago Modern Classic (VMC) [Paperback]

Elizabeth Taylor (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 6 April 2006 | ISBN-10: 1844083217 | ISBN-13: 978-1844083213 | Edition: New Ed

On a rainy Sunday in January, the recently widowed Mrs Palfrey arrives at the Claremont Hotel where she will spend her remaining days. Her fellow residents are magnificently eccentric and endlessly curious, living off crumbs of affection and snippets of gossip. Together, upper lips stiffened, they fight off their twin enemies: boredom and the Grim Reaper.

Then one day Mrs Palfrey strikes up an unexpected friendship with Ludo, a handsome young writer, and learns that even the old can fall in love . . .

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Product details

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Virago; New Ed edition (6 April 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1844083217
  • ISBN-13: 978-1844083213
  • Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 1.4 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Elizabeth Taylor Page
Elizabeth Taylor
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Review

'Taylor had the keenest eye and ear for the pain lurking behind a genteel demeanour' -- Paul Bailey

'The unsung heroine of British twentieth-century fiction' -- Rebecca Abrams, New Statesman

‘Jane Austen, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Pym, Elizabeth Bowen – soul-sisters all’ -- Anne Tyler

Book Description

*A humorous and compassionate look at the blossoming friendship between an old woman and a young man.
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First Sentence
MRS PALFREY first came to the Claremont Hotel on a Sunday afternoon in January. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 38 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Fine story, pity about the typos. 10 Sep 2011
By Craig
Format:Kindle Edition
I'm halfway through this book and enjoying it. I won't say much about it because a lot has already been said. I just thought I'd let Kindle uses know that the Kindle version has a lot of typos. More than I've seen in any other Kindle book. So if that kind of thing annoys you, you might want to get the print version. It's a shame really. Only three stars for the Kindle version because of the typos.
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74 of 75 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars The dusk of their days 30 Jan 2006
By Semioticghost
Format:Paperback
This is the story of the eponymous heroine lving out the dusk of her days in the Claremont Hotel on Cromwell Road in postcolonial London. Her fellow long-term residents are other old people who have fallen on hard times, but remain just about affluent enough to avoid a care home. The novel centres on the interactions between them, trying to keep up appearances and maintaining a stiff upper lip until the end. The loneliness and boundless monotony of their lives forms the backdrop to Mrs. Palfrey's astute and witty observations and we share her thrill in a secret kept from fellow guests: the man she addresses as her grandson is in fact a young writer she met in a chance encounter. Ludo, unlike her real grandson, is a delightful, attentive and interesting young man. He is preparing a novel -"We aren't allowed to die here"- and first draws on their encounters as a form of research, but their friendship grows on the basis of mutual respect and beautiful conversations.
I would not have picked this up if it had not been for a personal recommendation and I was delighted by it.
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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars The hotel manager resents his residents 10 Jan 2010
By Eileen Shaw TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Sadness infuses this book from the opening paragraph where Laura Palfrey, a tall, big-boned but handsome woman, arrives at the Claremont Hotel. She has slender means, but can afford small treats for herself as well as a room with meals. There she joins a coterie of elderly ladies like herself, and one man, Mr Osmond. The Hotel Manager, never named, resents his residents as they cannot be removed at those infrequent times in the year, such as conference times or motor shows, when he could get much more for their rooms. This is the mid-sixties and London is beginning to swing, but not for such as Mrs Palfrey, who finds her fellow residents uninspiring if not downright uncongenial. They live for visits from cousins and grown-up children and grandchildren, but these are few, and for Mrs Palfrey non-existent.

Out for a stroll one day Mrs Palfrey slips and falls and is rescued by a young man, Ludo, who is kind and helpful. He later allows her to give him dinner at her hotel. With a mixture of diffidence and confusion Mrs Palfrey allows the other residents to assume he is her grandson. He enters into this subterfuge quite happily when she feels forced to explain what has happened.

This an incisively written novel which dissects the trials of old age and estrangement from family. Despite its gentle pace and lack of event, it is eminently readable, and though not the most compelling thing I've ever read, it is deeply poignant. Unexciting lives do not make for eager reading, but there is a great deal about this book which stays in the mind. I find Elizabeth Taylor's writing exceptionally sympathetic, composed, clear-eyed and agreeable.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars mrs palfrey at the claremont
such a wonderful read....everyone, regardless of age should read this book. Elizabeth Taylor has a sympathetic and sometimes hilarious insight on old age. Read more
Published 17 days ago by canaria
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting view of elderly "genteel" living out their days in a hotel
An interesting concept, especially in view of Mrs T dying at the Ritz, looking at how the elderly view their final days, how some are happy to embrace life and others just to wait... Read more
Published 1 month ago by JCS
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!
Loved this book. Read it with my book group and we all enjoyed it despite the overall topic being a about a group of elderly people who move into a hotel to while away their final... Read more
Published 1 month ago by S. Wilson
4.0 out of 5 stars A book you can't forget
This is a well written book with the characters closely observed and developed. But it's not a book to read when you're approaching the age of the characters because it has a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rita Krit
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
A lovely hearfelt story of old age written beautifully. Made me look at my own mortality and future. Thank goodness I have a large family and a huge circle of friends.
Published 1 month ago by Anne
5.0 out of 5 stars Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont
I heard about this on a Radio 4 programme which inspired me to get it and would definitely recommend it.
Published 1 month ago by A. De Saulles
2.0 out of 5 stars Really dull and depressing
I read this as a book club set title and would not have got beyond the first chapter had it not been. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. Laura L. D. Mackay
5.0 out of 5 stars Such a human story
I'd heard David Baddiel speak highly of this writer and book so I thought I would try it. I really enjoyed it. The story was beautifully written; subtle, funny and touching. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Batty59
5.0 out of 5 stars Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
Loved this book! I will look out for others by the same author. I heard about it on a Radio 4 programme and thought it worth a try. I was proved right.
Published 1 month ago by moose
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
This was a beautiful piece of writing. Sensitively written, and in some ways had the subtlety of a Turgenyev short story. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jean Jaques
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