📚 🚶This Sunday: Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont
Loads of info about Elizabeth Taylor's bittersweet novel
Dear walking book clubbers,
Welcome to Autumn! Welcome to the rain and the cool. Most importantly, welcome to the dark genius of Elizabeth Taylor, whose slim laugh-and-cry-at-the-same-time novel, Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, is our September book.
I’m sure I’m not alone in having mixed emotions at this back-to-school time of year. I’ve found it rather strength-giving to spend some time with Mrs Palfrey, as she begins a new chapter of her windowed life, bravely squaring up to the conventions of South Kensington’s depressing Claremont Hotel and its challenging residents. Her bravery and determination in the face of loneliness is inspiring. Most importantly, look what happens when Mrs P goes for a walk: she strikes up a friendship with young Ludo… and then her adventure really begins.
I love the way that our book club brings together people of all ages and backgrounds, as we stride (and stumble) across Hampstead Heath, chatting passionately about books. Over the years, it has been such a pleasure to share so many conversations and see friendships form. On Sunday’s walk, we will be remembering our friend Carrie, who came on the original Mrs Palfrey walk a decade ago (recorded for Radio 4’s Ramblings with Clare Balding - you can listen to it here). She will be with us in spirit.
Details below to book your spot on Sunday’s walk, and for more info about the book. (You can get a good feel for the book in THIS short, stellar review by Robert McCrum as one of his 100 best novels in the Guardian.)
If you aren’t able to make it Hampstead Heath, fear not, there are two other opportunities to discuss this month’s book: over Zoom on Monday evening, and over a live discussion thread - along with more general conversation about what we’ve been reading - on the last Friday of the month.
N.B. An important request. Various members of the book group have complained that not everyone coming on the walks has always read the book. I hate to be irritatingly strict, but please do ensure you’ve read the book if you’re coming on the walk - as we split into little groups for our conversations, this really does make a difference for your companions. If you haven’t managed to read the book - I know it can be a challenge despite best intentions! - please consider joining our Zoom instead, where you are very welcome to show up for the discussion about the book without needing to have read it in advance.
August Flashback
Thank you so much Colleen Hubbard for inviting us all to your book launch! It was great to see some of you there and enjoy a glass of wine and a bookish chin-wag on a balmy summer night. Here she is reading from her compelling debut novel about family, friendship, queerness and DIY (!), Housebreaking. Many of you have since been in touch, full of praise; you can buy a copy via Daunt Books HERE.
September
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
Mrs Palfrey joins the elderly, rather eccentric residents of South Kensington's Claremont Hotel to see out the end of her life. When, on a walk, she suffers a fall, the help she receives from an aspiring young writer proves to be a rescue in more ways than one ... Sometimes wickedly funny, sometimes painfully sad, always keenly observed, this insightful and beloved classic holds enduring appeal.
This walk is in memory of Carrie Young, one of the first walking book clubbers. She loved this book, and you can hear her (and the rest of us) discussing it on our 2013 walk with Clare Balding on Radio 4, here. We don't usually repeat books, but I felt it was important to choose one that was meaningful to Carrie. And I am SO excited to revisit this one. To donate to a memorial bench for Carrie at her local community orchard, please do so on the Just Giving page, here. Thank you so much for your many generous donations!
On the Heath: Sunday 11th September, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB
On Zoom: Monday 12th September, 8-8.40pm
Live Discussion Thread: Friday 30th September, 2-2.30pm (look out for the email link that will land in your inbox just before).
Buy Mrs Palfrey and the Claremont from Daunt Books HERE and receive 10% off using the code WBC at checkout, or just tell them you’re in the group if you’re buying it in the shop.
More about Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont
Two good places to start (as mentioned above) are Robert McCrum’s Guardian piece - as one of his 100 best novels - HERE, and our episode of Ramblings with Clare Balding, which you can listen to HERE. Relistening to this episode, a decade on, I’m struck by how Clare picks up on so many things that I love about our book club: the way it’s so ‘egalitarian’, everyone gets a voice, it breaks down barriers, and our brains get exercise as well as our bodies. In terms of what’s changed since then: we’ve been joined by more men, and we encompass a wider age range of walkers.
The inimitable Geoff Dyer wrote THIS FUNNY AND INCISIVE PIECE for The New York Times about Mrs Palfrey. I love his observation: “how can any writer claim to have a serious interest in the human psyche — let alone anything approaching wisdom — without a bottomless capacity for the hilarious and ridiculous?”
THIS PIECE in The Critic, is good for some biographical context and a bit about some of Taylor’s other books. (N.B. A View of the Harbour was one of our previous picks.)
LISTEN HERE to David Baddiel (a fan of Elizabeth Taylor) talk to James Naughtie about Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont on the Radio 4 Book Club.
I really enjoyed THIS RECORDED ONLINE EVENT from Brooklyn’s Community Bookstore, featuring Merve Emre, Michael Hoffman and Gwendolen Riley. (Quite a few of our recent picks have featured in their events - great minds!)
I loved Nicola Beauman’s rather personal biography, The Other Elizabeth Taylor, published by her own Persephone Books. If you are after more Elizabeth Taylor novels, you are in for a treat with many to choose from! Some of my other favourites are Angel (a Marmite love it or hate it book, about a very successful trashy novelist) and A View of the Harbour (beautifully observed village life plus love affairs).
Finally, there is a film! You can watch it on YouTube:
Looking forward …
We’ve got some great books lined up for the Autumn, and I’m really looking forward to discussing them with you. Join me for a little virtual walk to find out more about them:
Tickets for October - By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah - are now on sale:
Saleh Omar arrives at Gatwick Airport, seeking asylum from Zanzibar, having left his entire life behind. When he meets a figure from his past, their intertwined stories gradually unravel, revealing love and betrayal, seduction and possession ... Abdulrazak Gurnah, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2021, entrances with his elegant telling of Saleh Omar's past - and his secrets - in this beautiful, quietly gripping novel.
On the Heath: Sunday 16th October, 11.30-1pm, setting off from Daunt Books Hampstead, 51 South End Road, NW3 2QB
On Zoom: Monday 17th October, 8-8.40pm
Live Discussion Thread: Friday 28th October, 2-2.30pm
Buy By the Sea from Daunt Books HERE and receive 10% off using the code WBC at checkout, or just tell them you’re in the group if you’re buying it in the shop.
Happy reading!
Emily
Really enjoying the Radio 4 piece! One day I'm going to fly over to England and walk with you all. :)