They Weren't Allowed to Die There
Review of the Virago Modern Classics paperback (1982) of the Chatto & Windus hardcover original (1971)

Ludo leaned back easily, but his eyes were darting to and fro, noting everything, noting Mrs Arbuthnot noting him, and Mrs Post, in her sad pot-pourri colours, fussing over her knitting.
‘Over there is Mrs Arbuthnot,’ Mrs Palfrey said, in a low voice to Ludo. ‘With the sticks.’
‘I thought so. I shouldn’t be afraid of her, you know. Although you seem very much the new girl around here.’
‘Of course. Mrs Arbuthnot has been at the Claremont for years.’
‘It has entered her soul.’
‘But we aren’t allowed to die here.’
He threw back his head and laughed.
‘But isn’t that sad?’ she asked doubtfully.
‘I don’t see anything sad about you,’ he said. He thought, I mayn’t write it down; but please God may I remember it. We Aren’t Allowed to Die Here. By Ludovic Myers. - Excerpt from "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont."

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is a moving and sympathetic portrayal of seniors who are at the edge of moving into nursing homes, but who are still physically independent enough to manage at a residential hotel or senior residence. The lead character Mrs. Palfrey is widowed and somewhat distanced from her daughter and son-in-law, who live in Scotland, and her grandson Desmond who lives in London and works in the British Museum. She moves into the Claremont Hotel which caters to both tourists and to its senior residents. Few of the residents have visitors and although Mrs. Palfrey talks up future visits by her grandson to the others, it becomes apparent that Desmond has no interest in dropping in.


Cover image of the original hardcover of "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" (1971). Image sourced from Wikipedia.

A symbiotic relationship transpires when Mrs. Palfrey has a falling accident on her way back to the Claremont from the library. The accident occurs in front of the basement apartment of Ludo, a penniless young aspiring writer who rushes out to assist her. To return the favour she invites Ludo to dinner at the Claremont and when she mentions a future guest, the other residents immediately assume that it is the grandson making an appearance at last. Embarrassed, Mrs Palfrey neglects to correct them in their assumption and goes back to Ludo to ask him to agree to the impersonation. Ludo happily agrees and also realises that this entre to the world of the elderly can become source material for a future novel.

This setup makes for various comic turns as Mrs Palfrey and Ludo continue their friendship to the envy of the rest of the Claremont. There is of course further confusion as the reluctant Desmond finally does make an appearance and the other residents refuse to believe he is an actual true relation. There are also the bittersweet and insightful portraits of the extended cast of characters who are each dealing with their aging and accompanying health and family issues in their own way.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont was a delightful and empathetic story which captures both the insight of the sometimes parasitic nature of an artist/writer drawing on their real-life experiences for fiction but also a symbiotic view of the elderly and youth being together for each other's benefit. My warm thanks to friend Tony Souza for the loan of this charming book!

Trivia and Links
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont was adapted as a television film in 1973 and as a theatrical film in 2005.

The 1973 television film was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and starred Joseph Blatchley as Ludo Myers and Celia Johnson as Mrs. Palfrey. I could not find an online posting of a trailer or of the film itself.

The 2005 theatrical film was directed by Dan Ireland and starred Rupert Friend as Ludo and Joan Plowright as Mrs. Palfrey. You can watch a trailer for the film on YouTube here and see the entire film on YouTube here.