Elizabeth Alone

Elizabeth Alone Synopsis

Alone together in a London hospital ward, four women take stock of their lives in this ';deeply moving novel' by the award-winning author of The Old Boys (The New York Times). At forty-one, the news that she requires a hysterectomy strikes Elizabeth Aidallbery as something of a nonevent. But from her bed at Cheltenham Women's Hospital, the divorced mother of three comes to realize that she is at a crossroads. She meets two other women admitted for the same operation: Young Sylvie Clapper, who is preoccupied with her dishonest boyfriend; and poor Miss Samson, with her disfiguring birthmark, who runs a Christian boarding house. In the ward with them is Lily Drucker, determined to have a child despite insurmountable difficulties. With compassion and wry humor, these very different women share their lives, concerns, and regrets. Elizabeth faces a lonesome life that includes a childhood friend turned hapless suitor, and a teenage daughter who has run off to a commune. But there is a hard-won grace in the companionship these women find in Trevor's ';finely observed, gently sensitive comedy' that is ';delightful to read' (Daily Telegraph).

About This Edition