Elizabeth Taylor Reading Project discussion

A View Of The Harbour Finishing Thoughts/Discussion Questions

I read this a couple of months ago and was impressed by Taylor’s skill. Though this is only her third novel, she had come a long way by this time. She still likes presenting multiple POVs but does so more skillfully. There’s lots to reflect on here about women’s roles, and she has included a writer as one of her main characters. I liked this very much and thought it was quite accomplished.

I loved this. I have several passages marked with little sticky flags, some for quoting, others just for thoughts. Taylor's characterizations are wonderful. Dr. Cazoban was right that Stevie needed to be thrashed. Poor Lily Wilson who hoped so that Bertram would be hers, fell into disrepute to salve her loneliness. Despite her shallowness and callousness, Tory was my favorite character. Bertram was a peculiar fellow but came to be the best of all of them.

'Interesting,' he observed, 'what two people can make of the same view. We all see places a bit different to what the next man does.'

I still love this book, one of my favorites. Here my review

I loved every minute reading this book, right up to the wonderful last line. Maybe Barbara Pym loved this book too. She has a cat named Allegra in one of her novels. Cats in this book are marvellous characters, including our sense of smell. I'm with Tory here, I'd be opening the window too.

I suppose there are many fine expressions of love throughout literature, but this has got be among the best of them. Dr. Cazoban speaking to Tory:

‘You don’t harm me, my dear.’ He put out his hand and clasped hers. ‘You throw everything else into shadow, but that is not the fault of your beauty. It is the drabness of the world and the monotony of my life in this place day after day, so, until I die. You lit up every hour for me, made one day different from another, brought me back to life. Each night I have taken you to bed with me. I closed my eyes and folded my arms round you, imagining that you belonged to me, disposing of all the obstacles in one moment, and so fell asleep. You could not harm me…’

Anne wrote: "I loved every minute reading this book, right up to the wonderful last line. Maybe Barbara Pym loved this book too. She has a cat named Allegra in one of her novels. Cats in this book are marvellou..." Hi Anne , thanks for joining in.
Elizabeth Taylor loved cats also and was best friends with Barbara Pym

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I suppose there are many fine expressions of love throughout literature, but this has got be among the best of them. Dr. Cazoban speaking to Tory:‘You don’t harm me, my dear.’ He put out his hand a..."
Hi Elizabeth , many thanks for joining in.
I agree, such beautiful writing and the characters are more well developed in this story.
I had a feeling at the end that Bertram was in two minds about his choice in marrying Tory.

Karen wrote: "I had a feeling at the end that Bertram was in two minds about his choice in marrying Tory. "

In his own words, he said he was not a passionate man. It seemed to me he thought too much might be expected of him. I think he need not have worried. Tory was entering a marriage of convenience.

Canadian wrote: "I read this a couple of months ago and was impressed by Taylor’s skill. Though this is only her third novel, she had come a long way by this time. She still likes presenting multiple POVs but does ..." Hello Canadian, many thanks for your thoughts.
This is only the third novel i've read by Elizabeth Taylor and i loved this story more than her first two books.
After reading The Other Elizabeth Taylor I can see Elizabeth writing about herself again , she always felt guilty in real life about her writing and liked to do it during the day while her children was at school.
It is thought that 'A view of the Harbour' was based on her time living in Scarborough England in 1943-44.

Mela wrote: "'Interesting,' he observed, 'what two people can make of the same view. We all see places a bit different to what the next man does.'

I still love this book, one of my favorites. Here my review"
Hello Mela, thanks so much for joining in and your thoughts.
Fantastic review and i agree that all the characters have their own sadness. I loved this book a lot and would re-read it again in the future.
I think she captured village life really well

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Karen wrote: "I had a feeling at the end that Bertram was in two minds about his choice in marrying Tory. "

In his own words, he said he was not a passionate man. It seemed to me he thought too mu..."
A follow up of this story would of been wonderful.
I have many sticky tabs in my copy too !! : )

I felt so sad for poor Lily Wilson in the story , I felt Bertram led her on a bit.
The letters to Tory from her son Edward are so so funny !!
I thought it odd that Teddy Foyle was the last character to be mentioned in the book but him commenting 'Nothing has Changed' may be the reason why.

I enjoyed this too. I thought there were some wonderful snarky one-liners - I wish I had written them down!

Again I found the characters all rather unlikeable, although I had sympathy for all of them, which is a weird situation to be in as a reader. I think it brought out the ambivalence of human nature, the way everyone has some good and some bad in them, despite mostly being very self-absorbed.

Beth had to be a version of Elizabeth Taylor, with the name being short for Elizabeth - and perhaps ET was poking fun at herself a little by making Beth so totally oblivious to the lives of her family members.

(I know this is the finishing thread but I'll put the rest of my comments in spoiler tags anyway, because they give away the whole ending and somebody might stumble on this before they've finished)

(view spoiler)[I found the ending rather depressing. Does anyone have a chance of being happy? Tory and Bertram have trapped each other in a loveless marriage. Prudence seems to have decided to marry Geoffrey without any affection for him, sharing none of his interests - that seems doomed. Robert has lost his love. Lily has lost her reputation and since the fair didn't come this year, probably most of her income as well. Maisie is bitter and has lost her boyfriend. Iris has grabbed him but feels bad about it. Mrs B is dead ... Beth may go on being okay, but only because she doesn't know what's been happening.

The only character who gets an upbeat ending seems to be young Edward, who has survived boxing at school and seems happy to be a conventional "ordinary little boy."

That last paragraph about Teddy sent a chill down my spine. I thought he was arriving expecting to go to his old house and find Tory and Edward there as always, assuming "nothing has changed" as Karen mentioned, and was in for a huge shock when he found the house empty with a "For Sale" sign outside. His ex has moved on - ha! (hide spoiler)]

Rosemary wrote: "I enjoyed this too. I thought there were some wonderful snarky one-liners - I wish I had written them down!

Again I found the characters all rather unlikeable, although I had sympathy for all of ..." Hi Rosemary , thanks for your thoughts and please don't worry about discussing spoilers in the finishing thread.
I think Elizabeth did base the character Beth on herself too.
I loved the bit where Beth said to herself:
The imaginary people would go on knocking at her forehead until she died.'Haunted' she thought. 'I'm haunted. Inside me i am full of ghosts.But I am nothing myself- I am an empty house!'
Maybe all writers feel this way , always thinking about plots and characters.
What are your thoughts on the storyline being about an affair again ? this happened in the first and second novel too !!

Near the end now, I seem to be enjoying this one more than the other two

Love love loved this. The below the surface snark is just great.

Karen wrote: "What are your thoughts on the storyline being about an affair again ? this happened in the first and second novel too !!"

So it did! I think it must be a major emotional concern for E.T. She seems to have stayed married to the same man all her life, but maybe she had affairs? Or was tempted, like the character in At Mrs Lippincote's? She was such a private person, it seems hard to be sure. Is there any information about that in The Other Elizabeth Taylor, for those who have read it?

Rosemary wrote: "I enjoyed this too. I thought there were some wonderful snarky one-liners - I wish I had written them down!

Again I found the characters all rather unlikeable, although I had sympathy for all of ..."

I interpreted the ending with Teddy’s return as you did — he is in for a big surprise. I also wondered about his motive for returning to see Tory. There are so many passing references to a yacht that it was a real twist to have it turn out to be his boat.

I really enjoyed this. The harbor buildings reminded me of a stage set —the doctor’s house, the secondhand clothes shop, the Fun Fair etc.— with the various characters popping out and in. My favorite characters were definitely the children, Stevie with her unexpected passions and Edward with his funny letters. As other folks have said, there were a lot of lines and sections I marked. Parts were laugh out loud funny, others were rather heartbreaking. And how could I forget to mention the cats, with the amazingly disgusting dishes Prudence cooks for them.

Paul wrote: "Near the end now, I seem to be enjoying this one more than the other two"
Hello Paul and Noel, yes, i loved this one the best so far in the reading project

Rosemary wrote: "Karen wrote: "What are your thoughts on the storyline being about an affair again ? this happened in the first and second novel too !!"

So it did! I think it must be a major emotional concern for ..."
Hello Rosemary, yes, it does seem a popular topic in her books so far! You are correct in saying that in her own life she had an affair that lasted over ten years.

Susan wrote: "I really enjoyed this. The harbor buildings reminded me of a stage set —the doctor’s house, the secondhand clothes shop, the Fun Fair etc.— with the various characters popping out and in. My favori..." Hello Susan , thanks for your thoughts too. Yes, it is like a stage set with all the characters and little houses by the sea front. The cats diet was weird ! :D

I thought the beginning was rather difficult with all the different characters being named but it did settle down. Like the previous novels I didn’t find the characters particularly likeable but I did think they were probably supposed to be a description of different types of people e.g the nosy old lady, the timid widow, the brassy barmaid etc. It also seemed to be a strong exposition of the effects of WW2 on a small community which was gradually dying. I felt most of the action was seen through Bertram’s eyes as the outsider. He was a strange character who just seemed to drift in and out of people’s lives. It might just be me but it all felt a bit stilted, although I enjoyed reading it.

Nicola wrote: "I thought the beginning was rather difficult with all the different characters being named but it did settle down. Like the previous novels I didn’t find the characters particularly likeable but I ..." Thanks for your thoughts Nicola . I thought the character Bertram was quite strange too !!

carissa wrote: "I adored this from start to finish.
Ms. Taylor really did mature as a writer rather quickly it seems, comparing this to her first book.
She has a gift for writing books that are really easy to rea..."
Hi Carissa, I'm so happy you enjoyed this one too !
So lovely to hear you are now a devoted fan of her work