Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1951 dj. Hardcover - A book which focuses on a society beauty, both loved and envied, and her privileged circle of friends, now mostly men over 60, women in their 50s or more who are now moving into an unknown country - that of old age. Although Bagnold is probably best known as the author of National Velvet, which became a film starring Elizabeth Taylor, this is a much more complex novel. 267 pp. Dust jacket art by Cecil Beeton. ISBN: 0-14-0162119.