A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor

A Game of Hide and Seek (1951) is a novel by the English author Elizabeth Taylor (who shares a name with the celebrated Hollywood actress). It is the winding love story of Harriet Claridge and Vesey Macmillan, who meet in their youth and cross paths again and again over the years. They meet during summers spent at Vesey's aunt and uncle's home where Harriet takes care of Vesey's younger cousins. While playing hide and seek with the children, Harriet and Vesey hide together. They share a kiss and have a shared attraction. During these summers, Harriet falls in love with Vesey, but his feelings are less clear towards her. Harriet is painfully shy and can't express herself, and Vesey is aloof and abrasive. I thought Taylor's portrayal of young people in love was very convincing.

Harriet's mother, Lilian, and Vesey's aunt, Caroline, are lifelong friends who both fought in the suffragette movement and went to jail together. After fighting for equal rights for women and equal education for girls, they are disappointed that Harriet does so poorly in school and is squandering the opportunities they fought for. Harriet is fully conscious of her mother's disappointment in her. At the same time, Harriet feels embarrassed by her mother's role in the suffrage movement. Caroline, noticing Harriet's strong feelings for Vesey, encourages Vesey's mother to summon him home in order to separate them. So, Vesey suddenly departs, leaving Harriet behind. Harriet left waiting to hear news of him when she visits Caroline's home, but Vesey makes no effort to write to her.

Harriet counts the days and struggles to occupy her time. She decides to work in a dress shop where she makes a group of friends. She begins dating Charles Jephcott, a neighbor who is older than her, and who was previously jilted by his fiancée. Vesey returns, and plans to meet Harriet at a dance, but he never shows up. Soon after, Lilian dies, and Harriet marries Charles and settles into the type of domestic life and social order her mother once railed against. Harriet has a daughter named Betsy, a dreamy girl with a vivid imagination.

Meanwhile, Vesey goes to Oxford, but soon drops out. Though he dreamed of being a writer, he winds up a struggling actor in a theatre troupe and experiences little success. When Vesey re-enters Harriet's life, their old feelings are rekindled, but is it too late for them?

Taylor excels at characterization in a way that few authors do. She delves into the minds and emotions of each character in the drama, while leaving mysteries for the reader. Taylor's characterization extends beyond Harriet and Vesey, to Harriet's mother, Vesey's aunt and uncle, Charles, Charles's mother, Betsy, Betsy's teacher and more. Each character felt fully formed and real.

This was the first book I read by Elizabeth Taylor. I thought her writing was strikingly beautiful.


I loved so many quotes from the book. Here's a handful of them:

"'But an idea can't ever make mistakes. He led a perfect life in your brain. When he turned up again, the climate was right for him, tempered by your imagination. But his climate isn't right for you.'"

"'No,' Harriet protested. 'All that makes life worth living is that we are completely different from one another and then—and it is always wonderful when it happens—see little likenesses; find some quickening, some response; some common ground.'"

"'Years fly by: at first, I couldn't believe I would ever be middle-aged, as my mother was: now I can't believe that I am. It has all melted away and meant nothing. Anything that comes now is much too late.'"

"'If he had always been either less cruel or less kind!' she suddenly thought."

"He began to realise that neglect lay deep in him, too deeply to be eradicated now—neglect of his friends (for he had not made the social effort), his life, his love, his body. It was not his nature to be sorry for himself; but he wondered how he had come to make a wry thing of his life."

"She found, though, that love was a disorganising element."

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