Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont / Elizabeth Taylor / introduced by Paul Bailey

Elizabeth Taylor has been called the modern Jane Austen. We agreed with this description as we felt her observations and descriptions were concise, accurate and unsentimental. The story of a gentlewoman's latter days in a retirement hotel in London was portrayed, warts and all, revealing both bleakness and humour, and giving us a lot to discuss about the quality of life. We felt it was entirely true to life, even now. Rated out of 10: 8.5 Reading group name: U3A camberley monday book group