- Unknown Binding
- ASIN: B0018DVAP2
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
Palladian
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Elizabeth Taylor should be better known. This novel is so clever. It is a pastiche that, while making reference to several other novels, is still a evocative, insightful and entertaining read in itself. Think of a novel that blends aspects of Jane Eyre for the plot, the real life of Branwell Bronte, a dead first wife cast in the mould of Rebecca de Winter, touches of Cold Comfort Farm and Northanger Abbey and there you have it. And yet it's more than the sum of its parts. It is in itself an engaging and strong story. If you like any of the above novels then you may well enjoy 'Palladian'. I wish Virago would release a new edition though, as it is hard to find.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I wasn't sure what to make of this rather strange and somewhat flawed novel, Elizabeth Taylor's second, published in 1946. I love her writing, but I don't think this one will ever be a favourite ( and it's probably not the best one to choose if you've never read Taylor before).
'Cassandra, with all her novel-reading, could be sure of experiencing the proper emotions ....' From the opening sentence, it is clear that this is going to be a satirical take on Jane Austen and Jane Eyre. (Taylor's biographer Nicola Beauman points out further parallels with Ivy Compton-Burnett - which I'm afraid went over my head as I'm not familiar with her - and EM Forster's Howards End, very clever this latter one but impossible to describe without spoiling a shocking twist towards the end of book.
Cassandra is the orphaned heroine who takes a job as governess to the young daughter of a widower, still haunted by his love for his dead wife (shades of Rebecca here). '"He will do to fall in love with," Cassandra thought.' Her employer Marion Vanbrugh - a man with a girl's name - is no swarthy Mr Rochester, however, but an effete upperclass drip.
Cassandra does, of course, get her man because that is what happens to governesses in novels and these are 'characters' rather than real people. Far more 'real' are the characters of the monstrous, snobbish nanny and the landlady of the local pub, who is having an illicit affair with Marion's drunken cousin. (Another shocking twist when we discover at the end of the book what has driven him to drink.)
Actually, the more I think about this novel, the more I appreciate its clever construction ... It's strange, very difficult to describe and I'm sorry that this is such a confusing review. A novel worth reading, though if you're a Taylor fan already.
'Cassandra, with all her novel-reading, could be sure of experiencing the proper emotions ....' From the opening sentence, it is clear that this is going to be a satirical take on Jane Austen and Jane Eyre. (Taylor's biographer Nicola Beauman points out further parallels with Ivy Compton-Burnett - which I'm afraid went over my head as I'm not familiar with her - and EM Forster's Howards End, very clever this latter one but impossible to describe without spoiling a shocking twist towards the end of book.
Cassandra is the orphaned heroine who takes a job as governess to the young daughter of a widower, still haunted by his love for his dead wife (shades of Rebecca here). '"He will do to fall in love with," Cassandra thought.' Her employer Marion Vanbrugh - a man with a girl's name - is no swarthy Mr Rochester, however, but an effete upperclass drip.
Cassandra does, of course, get her man because that is what happens to governesses in novels and these are 'characters' rather than real people. Far more 'real' are the characters of the monstrous, snobbish nanny and the landlady of the local pub, who is having an illicit affair with Marion's drunken cousin. (Another shocking twist when we discover at the end of the book what has driven him to drink.)
Actually, the more I think about this novel, the more I appreciate its clever construction ... It's strange, very difficult to describe and I'm sorry that this is such a confusing review. A novel worth reading, though if you're a Taylor fan already.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I agree with all three previous reviewers. I have been a fan of Elizabeth Taylor's work for thirty years and wish more people knew of her writing. She has such a brilliant way with dialogue, and as I read her books, they unfold like a film, thanks to the lovely way Ms. Taylor has of describing each scene.
Palladian is quite a slim novel - especially when you see the size of some books today - but it is a real gem. I read it years ago and re-read it recently. It came fresh to me all over again, and I could appreciate it's literary allusions all the more, with maturity.
It is not giving anything away to say that Cassandra's dream does come true but, given the events that happen in her time with the Vanbrugh's one wonders, will she be happy?
Palladian is quite a slim novel - especially when you see the size of some books today - but it is a real gem. I read it years ago and re-read it recently. It came fresh to me all over again, and I could appreciate it's literary allusions all the more, with maturity.
It is not giving anything away to say that Cassandra's dream does come true but, given the events that happen in her time with the Vanbrugh's one wonders, will she be happy?
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