The Soul of Kindness (Virago Modern Classics)
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Product Description
Book Description
In this novel, first published in 1964, Elizabeth Taylor skilfully and subtly demonstrates the terrible danger of self-love, most deadly to those who live within its shadow.
Product Description
"Here I am!" Flora called to Richard as she went downstairs. For a second, Meg felt disloyalty. It occurred to her of a sudden that Flora was always saying that, and that it was in the tone of one giving a lovely present. She was bestowing herself.'
The soul of kindness is what Flora believes herself to be. Tall, blonde and beautiful, she appears to have everything under control -- her home, her baby, her husband Richard, her friend Meg, Kit, Meg's brother, who has always adored Flora, and Patrick the novelist and domestic pet. Only the bohemian painter Liz refuses to become a worshipper at the shrine.
Flora entrances them all, dangling visions of happiness and success before their spellbound eyes. All are bewitched by this golden tyrant, all conspire to protect her from what she really is. All, that is, except the clear-eyed Liz: it is left to her to show them that Flora's kindness is the sweetest poison of them all.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It defeats me why Elizabeth Taylor isn't better-known today as to my mind she is one of the finest novelists of the mid-century.
I'd be hard pushed to say which is my favourite of her novels - she is so consistently excellent - but I agree with the reviewer above that this is a strong contender for the best.
Flora is tall, blonde, beautiful, perfect - and utterly unaware of the ultimately dangerous havoc she wreaks in other people's lives.
I love Elizabeth's Taylor's quiet writing and then ... her incisive, cuttingly-observant asides. Patrick, a middleaged homosexual, cherishes the 'nice streaks' in a selfish boy's nature ... and two words sum up a character. And there is no-one like Elizabeth Taylor to describe an English home counties autumn.
Perhaps it is fortunate that her books are not always easy to get hold of - I have been collecting them gradually secondhand and have now read all but two. And I shall be bereft when I reach the end. Nothing for it but to go back and read them all again.
Highly, highly recommended.
I'd be hard pushed to say which is my favourite of her novels - she is so consistently excellent - but I agree with the reviewer above that this is a strong contender for the best.
Flora is tall, blonde, beautiful, perfect - and utterly unaware of the ultimately dangerous havoc she wreaks in other people's lives.
I love Elizabeth's Taylor's quiet writing and then ... her incisive, cuttingly-observant asides. Patrick, a middleaged homosexual, cherishes the 'nice streaks' in a selfish boy's nature ... and two words sum up a character. And there is no-one like Elizabeth Taylor to describe an English home counties autumn.
Perhaps it is fortunate that her books are not always easy to get hold of - I have been collecting them gradually secondhand and have now read all but two. And I shall be bereft when I reach the end. Nothing for it but to go back and read them all again.
Highly, highly recommended.
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Elizabeth Taylor is an author little read, and indeed little known, in the US. I chanced upon her through the excellent Virago series, and now can't get enough of her subtle wit and beautifully reserved style.
Some readers may complain that "nothing ever happens" and there is "no character development" in her novels, but they are obviously not reading deeply enough. To be sure, Ms. Taylor writes about ordinary people in ordinary situations--her novels are sometimes referred to as "domestic"-- but she does so with such perception (sometimes devastingly so, as in this particular novel), that she always manages to hold the attention of discerning readers.
The "soul of kindness" in the novel is Flora, a woman tragically unaware of the disastrous effect her acts of "kindness" has on the people around her. She is so blind to her own shallowness, one can't help feeling sorry for her. Ms. Taylor paints the layers of her story with masterfully subtle colors, telling much of it through the eyes of the secondary characters, who are all wonderfully three-dimensional and familiar.
I highly recommend this novel, which I consider to be Ms. Taylor's finest.
Some readers may complain that "nothing ever happens" and there is "no character development" in her novels, but they are obviously not reading deeply enough. To be sure, Ms. Taylor writes about ordinary people in ordinary situations--her novels are sometimes referred to as "domestic"-- but she does so with such perception (sometimes devastingly so, as in this particular novel), that she always manages to hold the attention of discerning readers.
The "soul of kindness" in the novel is Flora, a woman tragically unaware of the disastrous effect her acts of "kindness" has on the people around her. She is so blind to her own shallowness, one can't help feeling sorry for her. Ms. Taylor paints the layers of her story with masterfully subtle colors, telling much of it through the eyes of the secondary characters, who are all wonderfully three-dimensional and familiar.
I highly recommend this novel, which I consider to be Ms. Taylor's finest.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked this up off someone else's bookshelf - and had to borrow it when I left because I was so engrossed. It's a book that says so much without spelling it out. It's a fairly straightforward story but what makes it compelling is the way she describes the characters and all the stuff going on under the surface. Her prose reads slightly formal, but this just helps create the world she's writing about. Taylor has a great sense of humour and it's an easy but satisfying read. It's been said before, but I can't believe she's relatively unknown today. Word of warning for this book: don't read the intro as it gives away a crucial plot point!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Pity there aren't more like this!
This is what I call a novel! Intelligent, witty, complex, and above all, well written.
What a pity there aren't more Kindle books like this.
What a pity there aren't more Kindle books like this.
Published 19 days ago by L. J. Roberts
Unreconstructed Emma
Beautiful, indulged, emotionally immature with a childlike reluctance to face up to the grimmer realities of life, Flora does not prove for me to be the manipulative monster... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Antenna
Flora knows what's best for everybody
And somehow her friends' lives just rot away under her influence. Elizabeth Taylor is so subversive! Read more
Published 5 months ago by Ms. L. R. Fisher
Wonderfully written....
..... although I would have preferred more of an actual storyline. Having said that, I thought that the main characters were skilfully brought to life and I found myself... Read more
Published 8 months ago by summitlovercp
another pure delight
I can thoroughly recomment this novel with its subtle and intelligent study of interpersonal relationships and the awful inevitability of the dreadful results of being involved... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Frenchbyrd
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont
I agree with all those readers who expressed amazement that Elizabeth Taylor isn't among our best known authors. This book alone ought to make people sit up and take notice. Read more
Published 14 months ago by JP Sivori
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