Look, I don't know who's in charge of marketing for Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor, but he or she needs to have some points deducted during her annual appraisal. Nothing about the book's marketing — from the cover design and artwork to the synopsis — hints at the dark tonality of the book. In fact, just by reading the synopsis, you'd think that this book was about an old widow who somehow finds love while spending her last days living in a hotel. It doesn't help that the cover artwork, at least for one specific edition, features an old lady laughing joyously with a younger man next to her. At first glance, one would be forgiven in thinking that this is just another Jodi Picoult book.

Rest assured that Elizabeth Taylor is most certainly NOT Jodi Picoult. Taylor has been cited as one of the most underrated British writers in the literary world. There are a number of articles online touting her as 'the hidden gem' or 'a rediscovery', and judging by the number of ratings her books receive on Goodreads, I can see that being the case. Some authors simply fall off the face of the earth, or at least the public consciousness, for whatever reason (although, in the case of Taylor, I suspect it's because people back in the day didn't really know how to market her and her works). It is unfortunate, but it is a thing that happens.

Which is a travesty, in many ways, because Taylor is a wonderful writer. A friend of mine introduced her to me, describing Taylor as the foremost writer on all things related to spinsters and widows. And since Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont seems to be Taylor's most popular book (although 'popular' is a misnomer, since it only has 4,000 ratings or so), I figured I should give it a fair shot.

One thing that caught me by surprise about this book was the comedy that lurked right beneath the surface of this book. It's not laugh-out-loud type of humour, but there's dark hilarity in the central premise: a group of old folks decide to spend their last days in a fancy hotel, and Mrs Palfrey falls in love with a much younger man, whom she passes off as her grandson. The identify switcheroo lends itself to a certain level of intrigue, as both Mrs Palfrey and Ludo find ways to maintain the deceit. The individuals are the hotel, too, are well presented, each with his/her own unique personality, and they all come together to form a memorable 'cast', if you will, akin to a Wes Anderson film, almost.

But what I love most about this book is the way it lures you into a sense of calm and contentment. Mrs Palfrey is obviously making the best out of the situation and living the life she wants to live in the hotel. Yes, she misses her dead husband, her real grandson is not visiting, and the company she keeps at the hotel aren't exactly the liveliest bunch. However, there are worse places to end up than a chic hotel in downtown London, especially considering the 'dates' that she goes on with Ludo throughout the book. As the reader, you are seduced into THINKING that this book is about how Mrs Palfrey lives her best life — but is it really?

I am not going to spoil the ending for the reader, but the last 15 pages or so redefines everything you've just read in the last 250 pages. It flips the genre altogether, so you're no longer reading a romantic comedy with a dark comedic undertone — and maybe that's why Taylor has so far been such an underrated writer. You don't know her until the last 15 pages of a book. Perhaps people tend not to stick around for the end, and brush it off as a certain type of book when, really, if you are patient, it is something else altogether.