Elizabeth Jane Howard

In 1937, the coming war is only a distant cloud on Britain's horizon. As the Cazalet households prepare for their summer pilgrimage to the family estate in Sussex, readers meet Edward, in love with but by no means faithful to his wife Villy; Hugh, wounded in the Great War; Rupert, who worships his lovely child-bride Zoe; and Rachel, the spinster sister.

The Light Years

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.

Marking Time

The final book in the landmark Cazalet Chronicles, recently broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It is the 1950s and as the Cazalets’ beloved matriarch, the Duchy, passes away, she takes with her the last remnants of a world – of great houses and servants, of class and tradition – in which the Cazalets have thrived. Louise, now divorced, becomes entangled in a painful affair; while Polly and Clary must balance marriage and motherhood with their own ideas and ambitions. Hugh and Edward, now in their sixties, are feeling ill-equipped for this modern world; while Villy, long abandoned by her husband, must at last learn to live independently. But it is Rachel, who has always lived for others, who will face her greatest challenges yet . . . Events will converge at Christmas at Home Place; on which a new generation of Cazalets will descend. Only one thing is certain, nothing will ever be the same again . . . ‘Elizabeth Jane Howard is one of those novelists who shows, through her work, what the novel is for . . . She helps us to do the necessary thing – open our eyes and our hearts’ Hilary Mantel

Cazalet Chronicles

All Change

Home Place, Sussex, 1937. The English family at home... For two unforgettable summers they gathered together, safe from the advancing storm clouds of war. In the heart of the Sussex countryside these were still sunlit days of childish games, lavish family meals and picnics on the beach. Three generations of the Cazalet family played out their lives - with their relatives, their children and their servants - and the fascinating triangle of their affairs...

The Light Years: The Cazalet Chronicles 1

The final volume in the Cazalet Chronicle quartet. Opening in July 1945, this novel progresses through to 1947, following Rupert's life as he struggles with normality and the difficulty of finding his position back in the family. Polly, Clary and Louise also feature in the book.

Casting Off

The third story of the Cazalet family opens in the spring of 1942 and follows through to VE day, 8 May 1945. Polly and Clary have left Home Place for London; Louise has wed; Polly and Archie Lestrange each fall in love. Sombre days are echoed in the struggles of the characters' lives.

Confusion

Il tempo dell'attesa. La saga dei Cazalet

Allontanarsi. La saga dei Cazalet

This revealing autobiography illuminates the literary world of the latter half of the 20th century, as well as giving a personal insight into the life of the novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard.

A Memoir

Slipstream

Life had been distinctly lacking in possibilities - until The Visit. But, ever afterwards, just remembering the smell of the Lancings' house would enrapture her, taking her back to that very first day when Lucy and Gerald had picked her up from the station . . .All the longing, excitement and poignant comedy of adolescence are captured in Elizabeth Jane Howard's first novel about a young girl growing up in the years around the First World War.'Interesting and original . . . Howard has true imagination and a kind of sensuous power. She creates a wonderful atmosphere of uneasiness and oppression; she can also draw scenes with ironic brilliance: hers seems to me to be a remarkable talent' Antonia White, New Statesman

Beautiful Visit

May's second marriage to Colonel Herbert Brown-Lacy is turning out to be a terrible mistake. Her son, Oliver, leaves home only to drift from one affair to another; his sister Elizabeth follows him, yearning for some kind of secure relationship. While even Alice, Herbert's meek daughter, is driven into marriage to escape her father's sinister behaviour . . . At once a candid depiction of a post-war family on the cusp of change and a touching love story, Something in Disguise embodies the startling truth, wit and daring that Elizabeth Jane Howard is renownd for.

Something in Disguise

It is twenty years since Julius died, but his last heroic action still affects the lives of the people he left behind.Emma, his youngest daughter, twenty-seven years old and afraid of men. Cressida, her sister, a war widow, blindly searching for love in her affairs with married men. Esme, Julius's widow, still attractive at fifty-eight, but aimlessly lost in the routine of her perfect home. Felix, Esme's old lover, who left her when Julius died and who is still plagued by guilt for his action. And Dan, an outsider.Throughout a disastrous - and revelatory - weekend in Sussex, the influence of the dead Julius slowly emerges . . .'A novel that commands both respect and applause' Sunday Times

After Julius

Cambio di rotta

Etés anglais

Junto con Iris Murdoch, la escritora mas importante de su generacion.MARTIN AMISJunto con Iris Murdoch, la escritora mas importante de su generacion.MARTIN AMISEl de 1937 y el de 1938. Dos veranos inolvidables, a salvo bajo la dorada luz de Sussex, donde los dias se consumen en una sucesion de juegos infantiles y picnics en la playa. Tres generaciones de la acomodada familia Cazalet reunidas en su finca natal. Los quehaceres de dos abuelos, cuatro hijos, nueve nietos, innumerables parientes politicos, criados y animales domesticos que abarcan desde lo cotidiano hasta lo mas trascendental: el chofer conduce demasiado despacio, los niños rescatan a su gato de lo alto de un arbol, los adultos hablan de la amenaza de una nueva guerra, y los sueños y pasiones que acechan bajo su charla ligera apenas opacan la indolente rutina de los ultimos años felices que en mucho tiempo conocera Inglaterra.Cuando en 1990 Elizabeth Jane Howard publico la primera novela de las Cronicas de los Cazalet, puso la piedra de toque de lo que se convertiria en un inmediato clasico contemporaneo y en la novela-rio mas importante escrita en Gran Bretaña desde Una danza para la musica del tiempo de Anthony Powell. En Los años ligeros, la autora perfila con exquisitez la geografia intima de una familia y de un modo de vida que... (Fuente: La Casa del Libro).

Los años ligeros. Crónicas de los Cazalet

From the bestselling author of The Light Years and Marking Time comes a revealing portrait of a marriage.Moving backward in time from 1950 to 1926, The Long View presents an unusually revealing portrait on a marriage. It traces the lives of Antonia and Conrad Fleming through Antonia's eyes as she looks back on her married life and unravels her choices, good and bad, and the motivation behind them. She'd opted to surrender many decisions to her loving, intellectual husband, who'd proved so very adept at designing their lives down to the most intricate detail. But rather than dissolve under Conrad's protective auspices, Antonia's own powerful personality rang clear; it was she who decided for herself the issues of greatest importance.An uncannily authentic take on marriage from the long view - both from the outside in and from present to past - Antonia and Conrad Fleming's story is as extraordinary as it is prosaic, as gut-wrenching as it is exhilarating. 'A beautifully written and richly perceptive novel. Miss Howard has a gift for epigrammatic dialogue; she cuts to the heart of motive or relationship with delicate precision' Daily Telegraph

Long View

For fans of Downton Abbey: A multigenerational saga of an upper-middle-class British family before, during, and after World War II by a bestselling author. As war clouds gather on England’s horizon, the Cazalet siblings, along with their wives, children, and servants, prepare to leave London and join their parents at their Sussex estate, Home Place. Thus begins the decades-spanning family saga that has engrossed millions of readers. The Light Years: Hugh, the eldest of the Cazalet siblings, was wounded in France and is haunted by recurring nightmares and the prospect of another war. Edward adores his wife, a former dancer, yet he’s incapable of remaining faithful. Rupert desires only to fulfill his potential as a painter, but finds that love and art cannot coexist. And devoted daughter Rachel discovers the joys—and limitations—of intimacy with another woman. Marking Time: Narrated primarily through the voices of teenagers Louise, Polly, and Clary, the second novel details the continuing story of their fathers. With the outbreak of war, Edward is determined to do his bit for England. But Hugh, injured in World War I, must sit back and watch other men fight for their country, including his brother Rupert, who enlists and goes missing in action. Confusion: As the world reels in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the Cazalets are dealt a tragic blow, and a new generation struggles to find peace with each other, a peace that seems to prove as elusive as it is in the larger world. Casting Off: The war is over, but for the Cazalets—and England—the challenges continue. Against the backdrop of a crumbling empire, the family soldiers on in the wake of disappointment, heartbreak, and tragedy. But the family comes together again as three generations of Cazalets struggle to hold onto Home Place, the beloved Sussex estate that has been their refuge and their heart. All Change: In 1956, 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. 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. A rich historical read for those who love E. M. Forster, Evelyn Waugh, or Downton Abbey, this is the story of a family “[rendered] thrillingly three-dimensional by a master craftsman” (TheSunday Telegraph).

Five Novels in One Collection

The Cazalet Chronicles

Perdersi

1950, Londra. Antonia e Conrad Fleming stanno aspettando gli ospiti per la cena di fidanzamento del figlio Julian. Ogni cosa è pronta nella bella villa sulla collina di Hampstead, da cui si gode una magnifica vista sulla città; la casa sta per accogliere, impeccabile, l’élite londinese che celebrerà l’occasione. Eppure la voce e lo sguardo di Antonia sono velati dal disincanto e dalla sensazione, quasi una certezza, che le cose, in fondo, sarebbero potute andare in modo diverso. Così si schiude il racconto del matrimonio ventennale dei Fleming, una vicenda che solca l’esistenza di marito e moglie dal presente fino al loro primo incontro, in un percorso a ritroso che ci porta a conoscere i due in giovane età, quando Antonia era la splendida adolescente che si faceva chiamare Toni. Il lungo sguardo non è una semplice storia d’amore, né il sogno romantico di una donna matura che si sente d’un tratto sola, ma è, più onestamente, la storia di una coppia. Dura e vera come solo una vita intera sa essere. E soprattutto è la storia di una donna, bellissima e inquieta, coraggiosa e perduta, e della sua forza nel mettere a nudo ogni controversia privata senza pudori. Elizabeth Jane Howard scrisse quindici romanzi di successo, ebbe una vita privata disastrosa, sebbene carica di fascino, ed è stata ricordata a lungo più per la sua incredibile bellezza che per la sua opera. Una scrittrice cui viene finalmente riconosciuto il talento di grande artista, una delle voci più significative del Novecento inglese, che rivendica la propria sensibilità femminile senza compromessi, liberata dal conformismo di un’epoca e di uno status sociale. «Un romanzo indimenticabile». Silvia Pingitore, «il venerdì di Repubblica» «Una splendida fotografia della borghesia inglese nell’immediato secondo dopoguerra, delle sue illusorie certezze e delle sue feroci convenzioni». Paolo Bertinetti, «TTL – La Stampa» «Possiede la rara dote dell’eleganza della verità». Livia Manera, «La Lettura – Corriere della Sera» «La voce potente e sicura di chi conosce molto bene la letteratura e le sue conseguenze». Elena Stancanelli, «D di Repubblica» «Con distacco glaciale, esattezza botanica e acuminata capacità di penetrazione psicologica, Howard racconta i cambiamenti della società e di una persona nel tempo» Melania Mazzucco, «la Repubblica»

Elizabeth Jane Howard

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