Imprint
- Virago
- Virago
Fiction, Classic fiction (pre c 1945)
In this devastating but comic novel of a young governess looking for love, Elizabeth Taylor pays homage to Jane Eyre, in her own, inimitable way.
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 cliche in sight. As a result, Taylor excels in conveying the tragicomic poignancy of the everyday' Daily Telegraph
When 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.
Praise for Palladian
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She's a magnificent and underrated mid-20th-century writer, the missing link between Jane Austen and John Updike - Independent
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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.
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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
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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 cliche in sight. As a result, Taylor excels in conveying the tragicomic poignancy of the everyday - Daily Telegraph
Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor (1912-1975) is increasingly recognised as one of the best British writers of the twentieth century. She wrote her first book, At Mrs Lippincote's, during the war while her husband was in the Royal Air Force, and this was followed by eleven further novels and a children's book, Mossy Trotter. Her acclaimed short stories appeared in publications including Vogue, the New Yorker and Harper's Bazaar.
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