Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont

A poignant story of an older lady who goes to live in a hotel among other elderly rejects of life. Taylor describes them sympathetically and shows Mrs. Claremont's resilience. Taylor's exquisite writing portrays the bleakness of their lives, Mrs C's enlivened by her new friendship with a young man.

Elizabeth Taylor—not to be confused with the actress of the same name—has been called ‘the unsung heroine of British twentieth-century fiction.’ I wholeheartedly agree, and Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is Taylor at her sublime best. It’s the tale of an elderly woman, wealthy but recently widowed, who’s faced with a choice: "Do I spend my last days in a care home—or check into a grand hotel?" She opts for the latter and finds herself among a group of fascinating characters, each as eccentric as she herself. 

Insightful about the sadness and loneliness of ageing, this book did not… show more.