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Elizabeth Jane Howard

As featured on BBC Radio 4 Open Book

A modern classic, The Light Years is a story of twentieth-century English life in the countryside and the first in Elizabeth Jane Howard's extraordinary, bestselling family saga The Cazalet Chronicles.

'She helps us to do the necessary thing – open our eyes and our hearts' – Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall

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, games, and excursions to the coast. But despite the idyllic setting, nothing can be done to soothe the siblings’ heartache: Hugh is haunted by the ravages of the Great War, Edward is torn between his wife and his latest infidelity, and Rupert is in turmoil over his inability to please his demanding wife. Meanwhile, Rachel risks losing her only chance at happiness because of her unflinching loyalty to the family.

'Charming, poignant and quite irresistible . . . to be cherished and shared' – The Times

'No detail is too small to be included, so charged with significance is the material envelope of that lost world' – Tessa Hadley, author of Free Love

Continue the dazzling historical series with Marking Time and Confusion.

Eleanor Bron

Macmillan Digital Audio

Cazalet Chronicles

The Light Years

Written twenty years after the publication of Casting Off, the final volume of the Cazalet Chronicles begins in 1956 when the death of the family matriarch brings the scattered members of the extended clan back together
 
 The death of eighty-nine-year-old matriarch Kitty “the Duchy” Cazalet marks the end of an era—and the commencement of great change for the family.
 
 The long, difficult marriage of second son Edward to Villy has ended in divorce and Edward is contemplating wedlock with his longtime mistress, Diana. Hugh, the eldest son, wounded in the Great War and haunted by the death of his wife, Sybil, has finally found happiness with Jemima Leaf. Rupert, the youngest, who was missing-in-action during World War II, is now committed to rebuilding his relationship with his wife, Zoe. Rachel, who has spent a lifetime looking after others, has the chance to finally live for herself—even as she’s faced with the loss of all she cherishes most. And Home Place, the beloved Sussex estate where the Cazalets have gathered for years, is now a beloved relic that, with its faded wallpaper and leaky roof, has aged along with its occupants, including faithful servants like Mrs. Cripps, Mr. Tonbridge, and former governess Miss Milliment, now steadfast companion to Villy.
 
 Elizabeth Jane Howard’s critically acclaimed family saga comes to its conclusion as the Cazalets reflect on their past and begin the inexorable move forward.

Penelope Wilton

All Change

Cazalet Chronicles - The book series

Cazalet Chronicles - The book series

Cazalet Chronicles books in order

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