Palladian by, Elizabeth Taylor is a Jane Eyre-esque novel. For those who don’t know, Jane Eyre is my favorite novel of all time and anything that is reminiscent of it in anyway, I want to read. Cassandra Dashwood (also an ode to Jane Austen with that name…) goes to Cropthorne Manor (get it? Thornhall…) after the death of her father to serve as a governess for Sophy. She quickly falls for her employer, the reserved and melancholy Mr. Marion Vanbrugh. The novel also explores the other dysfunctional characters, who are Marion’s relations.
Taylor does not hide that fact that Palladian is a retelling of Jane Eyre. “She knew the Jane Eyre had answered up better than that to her Mr. Rochester.” She uses this as an element in the story - it’s as if the reader is getting a novel within a novel, as Cassandra is aware that her life is paralleling Jane’s.
“Don’t you think truth is stranger than fiction, Miss Dashwood?”
Taylor weaves this idea of truth versus fiction throughout the narrative and even though Cassandra’s life is much like Jane’s, there’s more realism in Cassandra’s story. Yes, life can seem unreal at times, but there is often a sense of disillusionment as if something is missing. Even though Cassandra falls in love with Marion, there is something “flat” about the development of this relationship.
“The scene somehow missed being quite so idyllic as it would have looked as the tail-piece of an old-fashioned love-story.”
Palladian also reminded me of Rebecca by, Daphne du Maurier and I have a strong feeling Taylor read Rebecca, as Palladian was published in 1946, eight years after Rebecca. Marion is a widow, his wife Violet passed away several years ago. Her presence lingers in the house and her memory is idealized, painting a glorified picture of Violet that may not be accurate. In Palladian, there is a lot of discussion about those who have passed away and how memory and nostalgia recreate the identities of former loved ones.
“But soon, out of her bones will grow the new picture of her, more beautiful, more romantic… than ever in life, always loving, never angry, never guilty.”
“The dead cannot be answered back, the last word is always theirs.”
One thing that really stood out to me in this novel was the repeated references to the colors blue and green - it’s so obvious that it’s hard to ignore that Taylor uses these colors as symbolism fo something. I’ve been trying figure out what these colors represent, but it’s escaping me and I may have to eventually reread this novel for it to “click.”
“…the light that filtered in was greenish, so that the ceiling had a green pallor and the marble fireplace reflected green and the man who leant his elbow on the mantlepiece had the same greenish tinge upon his face and hands.”
Elizabeth Taylor’s writing style is difficult to describe; it’s descriptive yet simple. It’s not overly flowery but it is evocative. Her writing can be elusive and her characters can seem a bit cryptic. She gives just enough for the reader to fill in the blanks. I don’t think it’s a bad thing that Taylor’s writing is illusive at times, it actually makes reading her interesting because there is a lot to unpack and even though this is a short novel, multiple reads would help to reveal subtle details that are easy to bypass. Also, she writes sentences like this:
How gorgeous is that? Taylor has an ease to her that makes for light reading, that is still intelligent and stimulating. I flew through this novel in a weekend and still felt satisfied that I read something with substance. This is my second Taylor novel and plan to read them all in publication order.
If you are a fan of Jane Eyre and/or Rebecca you may enjoy this, for the simple fact that it feels familiar, yet there is enough of a difference to keep you invested. Even if you haven’t read Jane Eyre, you can still enjoy this story, though I do feel that being familiar with Jane Eyre adds more depth to Palladian.
Rating: 3.5/5.
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