Angel (Virago Modern Classics) (Paperback)

by Elizabeth Taylor (Author), Hilary Mantel (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Review
'Jane Austen, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Pym, Elizabeth Bowen - soul-sisters all' Anne Tyler 'One of the most underrated novelists of the twentieth century' Antonia Fraser 'I envy those readers who are coming to her work for the first time. Theirs will be an unexpected pleasure' Paul Bailey 'Her stories remain with one, indelibly, as though they had been some turning point in one's own experience' Elizabeth Bowen 'Quietly and devatatingly amusing' Hilary Mantel 'An excellent novel' Jonathan Keates, Spectator 'A masterpiece' 'Precious and endearing' 'Angel is a brilliant creation with not a seed of irony, self knowledge or humour in her soul . . . I'm not one who re-reads books but I return to this on frequently and every time it makes me envious - and it makes me laugh and cry. You can't ask for much more from a novel than that' Lesley Glaister, Guardian 'A brilliant exposition of the effects of self-delusion, this novel is as sad on one page as it is funny on the next' Publishers Weekly 'Taylor has an eye as sharply all-seeing as her prose-style is elegant - even the humdrum becomes astonishing' Daily Telegraph

Product Description
Writing stories that are extravagant and fanciful, fifteen-year old Angel retreats to a world of romance, escaping the drabness of provincial life. She knows she is different, that she is destined to become a feted authoress, owner of great riches and of Paradise House...

After reading The Lady Irania, publishers Brace and Gilchrist are certain the novel will be a success, in spite of - and perhaps because of - its overblown style. But they are curious as to who could have written such a book: 'Some old lady, romanticising behind lace-curtains'...'Angelica Deverell is too good a name to be true...she might be an old man. It would be an amusing variation. You are expecting to meet Mary Anne Evans and in Walks George

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Virago UK (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1844083071
• ISBN-13: 978-1844083077
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #349,892 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A novel with a considerable cult following, December 28, 2004

By	Jay Dickson (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Angel (Virago Modern Classics) (Paperback)

The novel's heroine is described within as an exotic bloom from a cactus plant: the novel ANGEL itself might be described the same way. Its title heroine grows up spoiled and adored by her shopowning mother and mother's sister; indifferent to their ideas for her future (or indeed to just about anything else), Angel discovers her gift for fantastic fictions translates beautifully into the publishing world, where she becomes a bestselling author of contempibly popular potboilers. Angel accordingly re-invents herself as a glamorous author figure of the Elinor Glyn school, and we follow her through her successes, marriage, eventual popular neglect, and poverty.

ANGEL is a cult favorite among many British novelists, including Hilary Mantel, but is only really transcendent when it allows Angel to strive (at the beginning and the end of her career) against difficult odds. The scene, for example, where she tells off her aunt for planning to make her a ladies' maid is enormously funny and satisfying. But when Angel is rich and successful Taylor seems too invested in scoring points of of her heroine, as if she, too, feared what Angel might do if not kept in her place.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!, March 16, 2007

By	Arts Girl "Francophile" (Boston, MA US) - See all my reviews

I loved this book when I read it a number of years ago It was my favorite of all of Elizabeth Taylor's novels. A film adaptation in English by french director, Francois Ozon ("8 Femmes")is coming out, but you must read the book first. I plan to read it again before I see the film.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite an Angel, November 9, 2006

By	J. A. Goodwin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I like this book because the protagonist is not really a very likeable person. But I certainly have a sympathy for her at the same time. She's an individualist and odd. Great!