";s:4:"text";s:4897:" This type of arrangement was quite usual in the upper middle classes in the early to mid twentieth century. They are not aging gracefully, these people. One of the other residents, Mr. Osmond, invites Mrs. Palfrey to a Ludo, who has also been to the Claremont and heard of the accident, visits Mrs. Palfrey in hospital, where he arranges for her to have a private room and brings her some of her personal possessions. 407 global ratings | 331 global reviews In fact, she had made many friends at the Claremont, as well as Ludo.Co-incidentally, this is the third Book Group choice in a row that has been made into a film.
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont received favourable reviews on its publication. It’s rare that a debut novel gets the kind of love and attention that Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, which spanned centuries and continents, received. While out for a walk one day, she trips and falls, and is rescued by an aspiring young author named Ludo.From this rather unpromising first meeting, an unlikely camaraderie develops. This is a British tragic-comedy of errors, set in a “Hotel”, concerning a small group of long-stay elderly residents. Mrs. Laura Palfrey is recently widowed and has moved into the Claremont Hotel in London, a place several other senior citizens she’s never met call home, but residents are NOT allowed to die here. A small group of older residents were living there--Mr Osmond who writes letters to newspaper editors, Mrs Burton who has a few too many drinks, Mrs Post who never misses the happenings in the lobby, and Mrs Arbuthnot with her strong views on society and literature. As luck would have it, she falls one day while out walking and a young man, Ludo, comes to her rescue. Mrs. Palfrey must move to a residential hotel in order not to “touch principal”, as emphasized by her son-in-law. The writing's so wonderful, the characters written with such understanding, compassion and humour, the observations so acute, it doesn't need a dramatic car chase or helicopter crash. I think I was motivated to get a novel or two written by Elizabeth Taylor because a book of correspondence between William Maxwell (fiction writer and fiction editor for the New Yorker) and Eudora Welty (one of the great fiction writers in the US of the 20th century) spoke highly of her (Eudora to William, 11.21.64: Elizabeth Taylor’s last novel delighted me so, did you like it? Then one day Mrs. Palfrey strikes up an unexpected friendship with Ludo, a handsome young writer, and learns that even the old can fall in love.Just finished watching the movie (Amazon Prime), and it was delightful, packed with great character actors, as well as some new faces. But dignified lady that she believes she is, she attempts to keep her chin up and cover her loneliness. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont The story opens in the mid 1960’s with Mrs Laura Palfrey, a retired widow, arriving to live at the Claremont, a residential hotel in London for senior citizens. Also, the description of Mrs. Palfrey in the first few pages is so brief and yet absolutely perfect; I really admire authors who can do that. Both characters derive a huge sense of fun from the charade, albeit for different reasons. Her fellow residents are magnificently eccentric and endlessly curious, living off crumbs of affection and snippets of gossip. Also, the description of Mrs. Palfrey in the first few pages is so brief and yet absolutely perfect; I really admire authors who can do that. She would have made a distinguished-looking man and, sometimes, wearing evening dress, looked like some famous general in drag.” Taking up her new life at one of the many Hotel-Residences there, Mrs. Palfrey realizes, in very short order, that neither her grandson or her daughter are going to be at the center of her life, as she had envisioned and perhaps even hoped for A severe fall and chance meeting of a caring young man are the events that turn her world around and ultimately give her the gift of a lifetime. Mrs Palfrey tried not to feel lonely, but her dMrs Palfrey moved into the Claremont Hotel in London after her husband died. The writing has a vibrant eloquence, and was a joy to read.This depressing book is a short course in snide British cruelty, disguised as amusing tittle-tattle. Published It's witty, insightful, poignant and a true masterclass in characterisation. About older people who nobody seems to care about anymore all living in a hotel (at the Claremont).
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