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Angel (Virago Modern Classics)
 
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Angel (Virago Modern Classics) (Paperback)

by Elizabeth Taylor (Author), Hilary Mantel (Introduction)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Angel (Virago Modern Classics) + At Mrs Lippincote's (Virago Modern Classics) + In a Summer Season (Virago Modern Classics)
Price For All Three: £18.72

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Product details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Virago Press Ltd; New edition edition (6 April 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1844083071
  • ISBN-13: 978-1844083077
  • Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 66,591 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #14 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > M > Mantel, Hilary

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Product Description

Review
'Jane Austen, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Pym, Elizabeth Bowen - soul-sisters all' Anne Tyler 'One of the most underrated novelists of the twentieth century' Antonia Fraser 'I envy those readers who are coming to her work for the first time. Theirs will be an unexpected pleasure' Paul Bailey 'Her stories remain with one, indelibly, as though they had been some turning point in one's own experience' Elizabeth Bowen 'Quietly and devatatingly amusing' Hilary Mantel 'An excellent novel' Jonathan Keates, Spectator 'A masterpiece' 'Precious and endearing' 'Angel is a brilliant creation with not a seed of irony, self knowledge or humour in her soul . . . I'm not one who re-reads books but I return to this on frequently and every time it makes me envious - and it makes me laugh and cry. You can't ask for much more from a novel than that' Lesley Glaister, Guardian 'A brilliant exposition of the effects of self-delusion, this novel is as sad on one page as it is funny on the next' Publishers Weekly 'Taylor has an eye as sharply all-seeing as her prose-style is elegant - even the humdrum becomes astonishing' Daily Telegraph

Lesley Glaister, Guardian
'A masterpiece . . . Angel is a brilliant creation'

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Angel (Virago Modern Classics)
79% buy the item featured on this page:
Angel (Virago Modern Classics) 4.0 out of 5 stars (4)
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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Dark masterpiece..., 29 Jan 2005
By G. Watson (Glasgow, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Angel (Virago modern classics) (Paperback)
Elizabeth Taylor is one of English literature's best kept secrets; her shrewd, observant novels of human frailty have won her a small but devoted readership and 'Angel' is held by many as their favourite of her books.

Spurred on by loneliness and desperation, the young and staunchly determined Angelica Deverell draws on her own naïve perceptions of literature to produce what she thinks are masterpieces. Refusing to believe herself to be anything less than a genius, she disregards her publisher's attempts to restrain her high-flown prose and clumsy syntax and embarks on a starry career as a romantic novelist. Her books are bestsellers - despite being rubbished by critics - and Angel's uncompromisingly high view of herself is vindicated. Her success, however, spells dissatisfaction for those who tolerate her as her behaviour grows more outrageous and inconsiderate.

Elizabeth Taylor charts Angel's spectacular rise and gradual fall with a devastating eye for ironic detail. The intentions, desires and frustrations of Angelica and those around her are conveyed with the lightest touch. The fluctuating line between Angel's astounding arrogance and her unspoken terrified hopes, would, in the hands of a lesser writer have become a farce, or at the very least a satire. Taylor sees all and judges not.

The novel is moving, humane and compelling. Read it.

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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, Amusing, Light-Hearted Parody of the Publishing World, 3 Jul 2006
By Christina (London) - See all my reviews
  
The life and times of a famous author

This is a lovely book to read on holiday or whilst travelling. It is a light-hearted dig at authors, readers, publishers and most vitriolically, of critics. Elizabeth Taylor is a fine writer with an exquisite turn of self-deprecation and devastating humour. You have the sense Taylor is either writing about herself or is secretly enjoying a joke at another author's expense. Taylor even laughs at the pretentiousness of the art world. Be that as it may, the protagonist, Angel, is completely endearing for all her extreme self-confidence and haughty self-centredness. As an example, in one scene, Angel's fierce Staffordshire bull terrier (_) Sultan, attacks a little Yorkshire terrier (_?) and, in fact, kills it. Rather than apologising to the hapless owner, whose dog it was, Angel frostily tells the owner that she should have kept the dog under control and totters off with as much dignity and pride that she can muster (whilst taking a wrong turning).

As a newly published author, Angel fantasises creating a novel preparing dreadful humiliations and a painful death for one of her critics. What writer has not had that fantasy!? In all, it is excruciatingly funny. It is set in the early part of C20 and has an air of nostalgia and ruefulness that brings to mind the style of Jane Gardam in her recent book, _Old Filth_.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book. Elizabeth Taylor has an economically light way of writing that is at the same time both incisive and cruel, but yet charming - and thoroughly enjoyable!




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9 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars disappointing, but worth a look., 7 Jul 2003
This review is from: Angel (Virago modern classics) (Paperback)
i received this book with great anticipation as i'd had it recommended as a wonderful read. however, i was a little disappointed. i found it rather dated - and speaking as one who generally prefers to read books by dead authors, that's a stern criticism! for me, certainly, it lacks the timeless quality that characterises good writing. i found the characters and situations unengaging and unbelievable, and as a result my interest waned before i got to the end of the book, and abandoned it about three-quarters of the way through. it's about a working class girl (angel) who decides to write a book, and despite being a dreadful and corny writer, becomes a bestseller of romance novels. once she is rich and successful, she abandons her working-class roots and remains deluded that she is writing something of quality, and forms relationships borne of her delusions. unfortunately none of the characters ever felt more than 2-dimensional to me, and i always felt the author's presence obtrusively. as i say, it was recommended most heartily to me, so perhaps you may enjoy it, but i found it disappointingly lacking.
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3.0 out of 5 stars A truly horrible heroine
After reading several recommendations for Elizabeth Taylor books I decided to give Angel a go. This is the story of an arrogant young girl who lives in her imagination rather... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Helenbookworm

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