Cazalet Chronicle
4 primary works
Book 1
Elegantly constructed and told with exceptional grace, The Light Years is Elizabeth Jane Howard’s modern classic of contemporary English life and the beginning of an extraordinary family saga.
With an introduction by Joanna Lumley.
Every summer, the Cazalet brothers, Hugh, Edward and Rupert, return to the family home in the heart of the Sussex countryside with their wives and children. There, they are joined by their parents and unmarried sister Rachel to enjoy two blissful months of picnics and childish games. But despite the idyllic setting, nothing can be done to soothe the siblings' heartache: Hugh is haunted by the ravages of war, Edward by his latest infidelity and Rupert by his inability to please his demanding wife. Meanwhile, Rachel risks losing her only chance at happiness because of her unflinching loyalty to the family.
Howard’s beautiful saga is the story of three generations of the Cazalet family. Their relatives, their children and their servants – and the fascinating triangle of their affairs . . .
The Light Years is the first novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard’s bestselling five-part series. Continue the Cazalet Chronicles with Marking Time.
Book 2
Marking Time is the second novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard's bestselling Cazalet Chronicles.
Home Place, Sussex, 1939. The English family at war . . .
The sunlit days of childish games and family meals are over, as the shadows of war roll in to cloud the lives of one English family.
At Home Place, the windows are blacked out and food is becoming scarce as a new generation of Cazalets takes up the story. Louise dreams of being a great actress, Clary is an aspiring writer, while Polly, is burdened with knowledge and the need to share it.
Read the next books in the series, Confusion, Casting Off and All Change, or start from the beginning with The Light Years.
Book 3
Confusion is the third novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard's bestselling Cazalet Chronicles.
London and Sussex, 1942. The privileged English family in turmoil . . .
The long, dark days of struggle provide the poignant background to the third book of the Cazalet Chronicles. As the war enters its fourth year, chaos has become a way of life.
Both in the still peaceful Sussex countryside, and in air-raid-threatened London, the divided Cazalets begin to find the battle for survival echoing the confusion in their own lives.
Read the next books in the series, Casting Off and All Change, or start from the beginning with The Light Years and Marking Time.
Book 4
The aftermath of war, and the slow dawning of a new era of freedom and opportunity, shape the destinies of the Cazalets in the fourth volume of this magnificent family saga.
Polly, Clary and Louise, now grown up, are ready to discover the truth about the adult world. While Rupert, Hugh and Edward must make the choices that will decide their own - and the family's - future.
For the Cazalets, and all those close to them, one end is another beginning . . .
Read the next book in the series, All Change, or start from the beginning with The Light Years, Marking Time and Confusion.