Elizabeth Taylor's first novel, published in 1945, hailed a brilliant new voice in twentieth-century literature.

INTRODUCED BY VALERIE MARTIN

'Elizabeth Taylor is finally being recognised as an important British author: an author of great subtlety, great compassion and great depth' SARAH WATERS

'Witty, hilarious, astringent, devastating - her impeccable style can do anything and with such seemingly effortless ease' NEEL MUKHERJEE

'Jane Austen, Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Pym, Elizabeth Bowen - soul-sisters all' ANNE TYLER

Mrs Lippincote's house, with its mahogany furniture and yellowing photographys, stands as a reminder of all the certainties that have vanished with the advent of war. Temporarily, this is home for Julia, who has joined her husband Roddy at the behest of the RAF. Although she can accept the pomposities of service life, Julia's honesty and sense of humour prevent her from taking her role as seriously as her husband, that leader of men, might wish. But Julia, while she may be a most unsatisfactory officer's wife, is certainly no hypocrite.

The debut novel from Elizabeth Taylor - shortlisted for the Booker Prize

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Mrs Lippincote's house, with its mahogany furniture and yellowing photographs, stands as a reminder of all the certainties that have vanished with the advent of war. Temporarily, this is home for Julia, who has joined her husband Roddy at the behest of the RAF. Although she can accept the pomposities of service life, Julia's honesty and sense of humour prevent her from taking her role as seriously as her husband, that leader of men, might wish; for Roddy, merely love cannot suffice - he needs homage as well as admiration. And Julia, while she may be a most unsatisfactory officer's wife, is certainly no hypocrite.

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'Her stories remain with one, indelibly, as though they had been some turning-point in one's own experience' Elizabeth Bowen

'No writer has described the English middle classes with more gently devastating accuracy' Rebecca Abrams, Spectator

'A Game of Hide and Seek showcases much of what makes Taylor a great novelist: piercing insight, a keen wit and a genuine sense of feeling for her characters' Elizabeth Day, Guardian