by Elizabeth Taylor
Mrs Palfrey, newly widowed, moves into the Claremont Hotel. She expects that she will not check out again until her death. Chosen for it’s location, with all the sights and sounds of London on it’s doorstep, it’s cheap rates and the proximity to her grandson, she is determined to make the best of it...
What a bittersweet little book! The widowed Mrs Palfrey chooses to moved into the Claremont Hotel in London before her daughter can put her in a nursing home. The Claremont takes dinner, overnight, and live-in guests. The live-ins number fewer than 10. They feel rejected by their younger family me...
Karen gave the initial recco, and now I see Cheryl has added it too. Neat!Introduced by Paul baileyOpening: Mrs Palfrey first came to the Claremont Hotel on a Sunday afternoon in January.4* Dangerous Calm4* Mrs Palfrey at the ClaremontKaren 5*Cheryl 4*Libbeth 4*Deanne 3*
This was a lovely story, beautifully constructed and self-contained. It would be a great play. It is a touching and thoughtful look at aging, loneliness, and community, with a colourful cast of often sharp-tongued characters. A bit of trivia: p71, the mother of Mrs Palfrey's friend says "But eve...
Probably Taylor's best and best known novel. If you only read one book by Taylor make it this one. She gets right into the heart of old age without a hint of sentimentality or condescension and manages to make the end of life both uplifting and heart breaking.
At a slim 178 pages, a poignant but unsentimental story about the vulnerabilities of age, set at the Claremont Hotel, whose elderly residents say of it, "we aren't allowed to die here." In its quiet way, absolutely gutting.
Mrs. Palfrey checks into the Claremont Hotel. Her next stopwill be a nursing home and everyone knows what is after that. Mrs.Palfrey has had a small life, with few friends, but while she is at theClaremont, she makes some of the best friends of her life, including afriendship with a young man.
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