'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 r...

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...

'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 magni...

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 d...

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 go...

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."'C...

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 ...

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 bab...

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 ...

'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...

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 invo...

Elizabeth Taylor is finally being recognised as an important British author: one of great subtlety, great compassion and great depth - Sarah WatersElizabeth Taylor, highly acclaimed author of classic novels such as Angel, A Game of Hide and Seek and Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, is also renowned for her powerful, acutely observed stories. Here for the first time, the stories - including some only recently rediscovered - are collected in o...