Elizabeth Taylor – författare

''It''s always a treat to read Elizabeth Taylor. Mossy Trotter is a real gem. A delightfully mischievous boy living in those long-ago halcyon days when children played out all day, roaming commons, scavenging on rubbish tips and stamping in newly-laid tar'' JACQUELINE WILSON''We - that is, Herbert and I - want you, Mossy, to be our page-boy,'' Miss Silkin said, staring hard at Mossy again, as if she were trying to imagine him dressed up, and with his hair combed.Mossy went very red, and nearly choked on a piece of cake, and Selwyn laughed, and went on laughing, as if he had just heard the funniest joke of all his life. They both knew what being a page-boy meant. One of the boys at school - one of the very youngest ones - had had to be one, wearing velvet trousers and a frilled blouse.''When Mossy moves to the country, life is full of delights - trees to climb, woods to explore and, best of all, the marvellous dump to rummage through. But every now and then his happiness is disturbed - chiefly by his mother''s meddling friend, Miss Silkin. And a dreaded event casts a shadow over even the sunniest of days - being a page-boy at her wedding. In her only children''s book, Elizabeth Taylor perfectly captures the temptations, confusion and terrors of a mischievous boy, and just how illogical, frustrating and inconsistent adults are!

INTRODUCED BY PHILIP HENSHER''Elizabeth Taylor is finally being recognised as an important British author: an author of great subtlety, great compassion and great depth. As a reader, I have found huge pleasure in returning to Taylor''s novels and short stories many times over. As a writer I''ve returned to her too - in awe of her achievements, and trying to work out how she does it'' SARAH WATERSA brilliant novel about the damage caused by relentless ''niceness''. Uncritical, encouraging, ''the soul of kindness'', Flora''s help is the cruelest hindrance to those who love her most.''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.Elegant, blonde and beautiful, Flora has everything under control: her perfect home, her husband Richard, her friend Meg, adoring Kit, and the writer Patrick. Flora entrances everyone, dangling visions of happiness and success before their spellbound eyes. All are bewitched by this golden tyrant. Except, that is, for the clear-eyed painter, Liz, who can see that Flora''s kindness is the sweetest poison of them all.

INTRODUCED BY CHARLOTTE MENDELSON''It is time that justice was done to Elizabeth Taylor... All her writings could be described as coming into the category of comedy. Comedy is the best vehicle for truths that are too fierce to be borne'' ANITA BROOKNER''"You know,''"Midge began, and paused. She was rather taken aback, and could not at once think of anything to say. "Perhaps there''s nothing so dangerous as having led a sheltered life."''Cressy has grown up in a world of women, presided over by her eccentric, artist grandfather Harry Bretton. Rebelling against the wholesome, organic values of her home life, Cressy decides to leave home in search of more ephemeral pleasures. Taking a job in an antiques shop, she meets David, a self-satisfied journalist, also looking for means of fleeing the family nest. But as Cressy cannot fend for herself and David is securely tied to his mother''s apron strings, this act of escape for both of them proves a powerful form of bondage.''Elizabeth Taylor is finally being recognised as an important British author: an author of great subtlety, great compassion and great depth. As a reader, I have found huge pleasure in returning to Taylor''s novels and short stories many times over. As a writer I''ve returned to her too - in awe of her achievements, and trying to work out how she does it '' SARAH WATERS

INTRODUCED BY HILARY MANTELElizabeth Taylor is finally being recognised as an important British author: an author of great subtlety, great compassion and great depth - Sarah WatersWriting stories that are extravagant and fanciful, fifteen-year old Angel retreats to a world of romance, escaping the drabness of provincial life. She knows she is different, that she is destined to become a feted authoress, owner of great riches and of Paradise House . . .After reading The Lady Irania, publishers Brace and Gilchrist are certain the novel will be a success, in spite of - perhaps because of - its overblown style. But they are curious as to who could have written such a book - an elderly lady, romanticising behind lace curtains? A mustachioed rogue? They were not expecting it to be the pale, serious teenage girl, sitting before them without a hint of irony in her soul. *''Her stories remain with one, indelibly, as though they had been some turning-point in one''s own experience'' Elizabeth Bowen ''No writer has described the English middle classes with more gently devastating accuracy'' Rebecca Abrams, Spectator

''Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont is, for me, her masterpiece'' ROBERT McCRUM, GUARDIAN''An author of great subtlety, great compassion and great depth'' SARAH WATERS''Jane Austen, Elizabeth Taylor, Elizabath Bowen - soul-sisters all'' ANNE TYLEROn 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 unlikely friendship with an impoverished young writer, Ludo, who sees her as inspiration for his novel.''Elizabeth Taylor''s exquisitely drawn character study of eccentricity in old age is a sharp and witty portrait of genteel post-war English life facing the changes taking shape in the sixties . . . Much of the reader''s joy lies in the exquisite subtlety in Taylor''s depiction of all the relationships, the sharp brevity of her wit, and the apparently effortless way the plot unfolds'' ROBERT McCRUM, GUARDIAN

In a Summer Season is one of Elizabeth Taylor''s finest novels in which, in a moving and powerful climax, she reveals love to be the thing it is: beautiful, often funny, and sometimes tragic.''You taste of rain'', he said, kissing her. ''People say I married her for her money'', he thought contentedly, and for the moment was full of the self-respect that loving her had given him.Kate Heron is a wealthy, charming widow who marries, much to the disapproval of friends and neighbours, a man ten years her junior: the attractive, feckless Dermot. Then comes the return of Kate''s old friend Charles - intelligent, kind and now widowed, with his beautiful young daughter. Kate watches happily as their two families are drawn together, finding his presence reassuringly familiar, but slowly she becomes aware of subtle undercurrents that begin to disturb the calm surface of their friendship. Before long, even she cannot ignore the gathering storm . . .

''How deeply I envy any reader coming to her for the first time!'' Elizabeth Jane Howard* A finely nuanced exploration of responsibility, snobbery and culture clash from one of the twentieth century''s finest novelists.When Amy is suddenly left widowed and alone while on holiday in Istanbul, Martha, an American traveller, comforts her and accompanies her back to England. Upon their return, however, Amy is ungratefully reluctant to maintain their relationship, recognising that, under any other circumstances, the two women would not be friends. But guilt is a hard taskmaster, and Martha has away of getting under one''s skin ...*''Her stories remain with one, indelibly, as though they had been some turning-point in one''s own experience'' Elizabeth Bowen ''No writer has described the English middle classes with more gently devastating accuracy'' Rebecca Abrams, Spectator ''A Game of Hide and Seek showcases much of what makes Taylor a great novelist: piercing insight, a keen wit and a genuine sense of feeling for her characters'' Elizabeth Day, Guardian

INTRODUCED BY SARAH WATERS''Every one of her books is a treat and this is my favourite, because of its wonderful cast of characters, and because of the deftness with which Taylor''s narrative moves between them ... A wonderful writer'' SARAH WATERSIn the faded coastal village of Newby, everyone looks out for - and in on - each other, and beneath the deceptively sleepy exterior, passions run high. Beautiful divorcee Tory is secretly involved with her neighbour, Robert, while his wife Beth, Tory''s best friend, is consumed by the worlds she creates in her novels, oblivious to the relationship developing next door. Their daughter Prudence is aware, however, and is appalled by the treachery she observes. Mrs Bracey, an invalid whose grasp on life is slipping, forever peers from her window, constantly prodding her daughters for news of the outside world. And Lily Wilson, a lonely young widow, is frightened of her own home. Into their lives steps Bertram, a retired naval officer with the unfortunate capacity to inflict lasting damage while trying to do good.''Her stories remain with one, indelibly, as though they had been some turning-point in one''s own experience'' - ELIZABETH BOWEN''Always intelligent, often subversive and never dull, Elizabeth Taylor is the thinking person''s dangerous housewife. Her sophisticated prose combines elegance, icy wit and freshness in a stimulating cocktail'' - VALERIE MARTIN''A magnificent and underrated mid-20th-century writer, the missing link between Jane Austen and John Updike'' - DAVID BADDIEL

Introduced by Neel Mukherjee''All her writings could be described as coming into the category of comedy. Comedy is the best vehicle for truths that are too fierce to be borne'' Anita Brookner''Elizabeth Taylor has an eye as sharply all-seeing as her prose is elegant - even the humdrum becomes astonishing when told in language that always aims for descriptive integrity, without a cliché in sight. As a result, Taylor excels in conveying the tragicomic poignancy of the everyday'' Daily TelegraphWhen newly orphaned Cassandra Dashwood arrives as governess to little Sophy, the scene seems set for the archetypal romance between young girl and austere widowed employer. Strange secrets abound in the ramshackle house. But conventions are subverted in this atmospheric novel: one of its worlds is suffused with classical scholarship and literary romance, but the other is chaotic, quarrelsome and even farcical. Cassandra is to discover that in real life, tragedy, comedy and acute embarrassment are never far apart.

''Her stories remain with one, indelibly, as though they had been some turning-point in one''s own experience'' - Elizabeth Bowen, author of The Heat of the DayIntelligent and haunting, with echoes of Brief Encounter, this is a love story by one of the best British writers of the 20th century.During summer games of hide and seek Harriet falls in love with Vesey and his elusive, teasing ways. When he goes to Oxford she cherishes his photograph and waits for a letter that never comes.Years pass and Harriet stifles her dreams; with a husband and daughter, she excels at respectability. But then Vesey reappears and her marriage seems to melt away. Harriet is older, it is much too late, but she is still in love with him.

INTRODUCED BY DAVID BADDIEL''Elizabeth Taylor is finally being recognised as an important British author: an author of great subtlety, great compassion and great depth. As a reader, I have found huge pleasure in returning to Taylor''s novels and short stories many times over. As a writer I''ve returned to her too - in awe of her achievements, and trying to work out how she does it'' SARAH WATERSVinny Tumulty is a quiet, sensible man. When he goes to stay at a seaside town, his task is to comfort Isabella, a bereaved friend, and and he is prepared for a solemn few days of tears and consolation. But on the evening of his arrival, he looks out of the window at the sunset and catches sight of a beautiful woman walking by the seashore. Before the week is over Vinny has fallen in love, completely and utterly, for the first time in his middle-aged life. Emily, though, is a sleeping beauty, her secluded life hiding bitter secrets from the past.

The debut novel from Elizabeth Taylor - shortlisted for the Booker Prize*Mrs Lippincote''s house, with its mahogany furniture and yellowing photographs, stands as a reminder of all the certainties that have vanished with the advent of war. Temporarily, this is home for Julia, who has joined her husband Roddy at the behest of the RAF. Although she can accept the pomposities of service life, Julia''s honesty and sense of humour prevent her from taking her role as seriously as her husband, that leader of men, might wish; for Roddy, merely love cannot suffice - he needs homage as well as admiration. And Julia, while she may be a most unsatisfactory officer''s wife, is certainly no hypocrite.*''Her stories remain with one, indelibly, as though they had been some turning-point in one''s own experience'' Elizabeth Bowen ''No writer has described the English middle classes with more gently devastating accuracy'' Rebecca Abrams, Spectator ''A Game of Hide and Seek showcases much of what makes Taylor a great novelist: piercing insight, a keen wit and a genuine sense of feeling for her characters'' Elizabeth Day, Guardian

INTRODUCED BY HELEN DUNMOREElizabeth Taylor''s darkest novel . . . She writes with a sensuous richness of language that draws the reader down the most shadowy paths . . . Extremely beguiling. Taylor makes the living moment present, touchable, disturbing, enchanting - Helen DunmoreSpending the holiday with friends, as she has for many years, Camilla finds that their private absorptions - Frances with her painting and Liz with her baby - seem to exclude her from the gossipy intimacies of previous summers. Anxious that she will remain encased in her solitary life as a school secretary, and perhaps to spite of her friends, Camilla steps into an unlikely liaison with Richard Elton, a handsome, assured - and dangerous - liar.Elizabeth Taylor''s darkest novel is a skillful exploration of the danger we''ll go to to avoid loneliness. Taylor is increasingly recognised as one of the best writers of the twentieth century, and this little-known novel displays her range admirably.