British · 1932–2011
Elizabeth Taylor wrote novels of quiet domestic devastation that critics compared to Jane Austen. "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" followed an elderly widow navigating a residential hotel with the dignity and disappointment Taylor made her subjects. The British author—not the actress—published twelve novels and was repeatedly overlooked for major prizes. Posthumous reassessment has established her as a master of mid-century English fiction.