Elisabeth Russell Taylor (née Lewsen; 14 May 1930–1 September 2020) was an English writer of novels, short stories, nonfiction and children's books.[1] Critics acclaimed her "brilliant, dark and unsettling" work, describing it as "mingling the elegant with the grotesque."[2]
Elisabeth Russell Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 May 1930 London, England |
| Died | 1 September 2020 (aged 90) |
| Occupation | Antiques dealer, broadcaster, writer |
| Genre | Novels, nonfiction, short stories, children's books |
| Notable works | Tomorrow, I is Another |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 1 |
Personal life
editShe was born in London to parents Sidney Lewsen and Peggy Davidson.[1] As a girl she studied at the Francis Holland School and the Garden School in West Wycombe.[3]
Her first marriage, to Freddie Silberman, was brief. It produced her only child, Jonathan. Her second marriage, to Russell Taylor, began in 1957. In 1962 she left him for artist Tom Fairs, whom she eventually married in 1987. It was during her marriage to Fairs, in her middle age, that she began to write.[1]
She lived in Belsize Park.[3]
Partial bibliography
editNonfiction:
- Wish You Were Here (1976)
- London Lifelines (1977)
- The Potted Garden (1980)
- Marcel Proust and His Contexts: A Critical Biography of English-Language Scholarship (1981) (One review said, "Obviously fascinated by Proust and his contexts, Taylor seems to have embarked on an extensive reading expedition; the result shows the peripeties of an itinerary not exactly prescribed by academic guidelines—rather an individualistic tour which led to a wealth of personal discoveries."[4])
- The Diabetic Cookbook (1981)
Novels:
- Swann Song (1988)
- Divide and Rule (1989)
- Tomorrow (1991) (The Publishers Weekly review said, "Taylor's terse, clear prose is always readable, but she is so parsimonious in doling out information about her characters that the tear-jerking climax doesn't have the devastating effect she seems to have intended."[5])
- Pillion Riders (1993)
- I is Another (1995)
- Present Fears (1997)
Short story collections:
- Present Fears (1997)
- Will Dolores Come to Tea? (2000, shortlisted for the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize)
- Belated and Other Stories (2014)
Children's books:
- The Gifts of the Tarns (1977)
- Tales from Barleyhill (1978)
- The Loadstone (1978)
- Turkey in the Middle (1983)
Notes
edit- ^ a b c Foulston 2020.
- ^ Klein 2021.
- ^ a b Boniface 2020.
- ^ Kohn 1984, pp. 108.
- ^ Publishers Weekly 1991, p. 77.
References
edit- Boniface, Michael (6 November 2020). "Elisabeth Russell Taylor obituary: Belsize Park writer dies aged 90". Ham & High. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- Foulston, Jill (19 October 2020). "Elisabeth Russell Taylor obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- Klein, Emma (25 February 2021). "Elisabeth Russell Taylor". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- Kohn, Ingeborg M. (1984). "Review". Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature. 38 (1/2): 107–108. doi:10.2307/1347179. JSTOR 1347179.
- "Tomorrow". Publishers Weekly. 238 (44): 77. 4 October 1991.
- Smilansky, Ivan (27 May 2014). "The Autobiography of Feeling: PW Talks with Elisabeth Russell Taylor". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
External links
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