Ludo is of course using Mrs Palfrey, though she is not always aware of it. It has beautifully evocative prose that allows the reader to easily envisage everyone and everything. There are no big scenes, no fast paced dialogue. Gently, slowly, it worms its way into your heart. This book quietly works its magic on the reader. But things aren’t as expected and the monotony is only lifted when she meets Ludo by accident. Chosen for it’s location, with all the sights and sounds of London on it’s doorstep, it’s cheap rates and the proximity to her grandson, she is determined to make the best of it. She expects that she will not check out again until her death. Mrs Palfrey, newly widowed, moves into the Claremont Hotel. Then one day Mrs Palfrey strikes up an unlikely friendship with an impoverished young writer, Ludo, who sees her as inspiration for his novel. Together, upper lips stiffened, they fight off their twin enemies: boredom and the Grim Reaper. Her fellow residents are magnificently eccentric and endlessly curious, living off crumbs of affection and snippets of gossip. On a rainy Sunday in January, the recently widowed Mrs Palfrey arrives at the Claremont Hotel where she will spend her remaining days.
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