Casting Off (The Cazalet Chronicles #4)

The Second World War has finally ended and so begins a new era of freedom and opportunity for the Cazalet family in Casting Off, the fourth novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard's magnificent Cazalet Chronicles.

The Cazalet cousins are now in their twenties, trying to piece together their lives in the aftermath of the Second World War. Louise is faced with her father’s new mistress and her mother’s grief at his betrayal, while suffering a loveless marriage of her own. Clary is struggling to understand why her beloved father chose to stay in France long after it was safe to return to Britain, and both she and Polly are madly in love with much older men.

As Polly, Clary and Louise face the truth about the adult world, their fathers – Rupert, Hugh and Edward – must make choices that will decide their own, and the family’s, future.

Casting Off is the heartbreaking and heartwarming fourth instalment of Elizabeth Jane Howard's bestselling series. It is followed by All Change, the fifth and final book in the series.

About the Author

Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923–2014) was the author of 15 highly acclaimed novels. The Cazalet Chronicles – The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion, Casting Off and All Change – have become established as modern classics and have been adapted for a major BBC television series and for BBC Radio 4. In 2002 Macmillan published Elizabeth Jane Howard's autobiography, Slipstream. In that same year she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. 

Praise for The Cazalet Chronicles

"What magic transforms a book into a compelling, moving, unputdownable read? I don’t know, but whatever it is, [The Cazalet Chronicles] have it. The characters! I cared about them so much. They behave in interesting, venal, believable ways. They’re recognisably human: frustrating, flawed, lovable. Maybe my favourite books ever" —Marian Keyes, bestselling author of My Favourite Mistake

"She 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, bestselling author of the Wolf Hall trilogy

"Like [Elena] Ferrante, Howard’s fictional sphere is domestic and yet reveals deeper truths about human nature" —Elizabeth Day, bestselling author of Magpie

"Howard is a sharp observer of human drama and psychology, and writes about pain, loss and longing superbly well" —Monica Ali, bestselling author of Love Marriage

"The Cazalets have earned an honoured place among the great saga families... rendered thrillingly three-dimensional by a master craftsman" ―Sunday Telegraph

Dimensions: 13.2 x 4 x 19.7 cm