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At Mrs. Lippincote's
Elizabeth Taylor
#UB9122
Paperback, 215 pages; 2006 (1945)
$13.95
 Members' Price: $11.86
She's the other Elizabeth Taylor—an English novelist who died in 1975. Critic Valerie Martin describes Taylor's subject matter as "largely the quiet horror of domestic life."At Mrs. Lippincote's is set during WWII. Julia and her six-year-old son Oliver have left London to join their husband/father Roddy at his RAF posting in the countryside. They're temporarily quartered in the museum-like former home of the imperious Mrs. Lippincote, whose presence is very much felt in the story. Julia is wry, cynical, and a little at loose ends. Roddy's commander takes an interest in Julia, and his daughter Felicity becomes Oliver's playmate. When Roddy happens to be in the right place at the right time, he saves Felicity from drowning. How he happened to be there—and with whom—is the beginning of the end. It's a convoluted plot, which is really sadly simple when all is revealed. The writing is exquisite and the overall mood is that of a subtle, restrained black-andwhite film. The dialogue is everything!
(EE)
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