Wreath of Roses - Softcover

Elizabeth Taylor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1844087123 ISBN 13: 9781844087129

Publisher: Virago Press (UK), 2011

Synopsis

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. Spending 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.

About this title

About the Author

Elizabeth Taylor (1912-1975) was born and educated in Reading. After leaving school she worked as a governess and later in a library. She lived much of her married life in the village of Penn in Buckinghamshire.

Review

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 * Taylor's marvellous, dark novel of 1949 ... The writing is so perfectly pitched that one almost resents becoming aware of the novel's elegant structure unfolding itself towards completion * Guardian * Taylor is a fearsome writer, ruthless in her examination of solitude, and a sparkling chronicler of ordinary lives * DAILY TELEGRAPH * Elizabeth 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 Dunmore *

Edition details

• Publisher: Virago Press (UK)
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1844087123
• ISBN 13: 9781844087129
• Binding: Paperback