The Light Years (The Cazalet Chronicles #1)

Told with exceptional grace, The Light Years is a modern classic of twentieth-century English life and is the first novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard’s extraordinary, bestselling family saga, The Cazalet Chronicles.

1937. 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 formidable parents and unmarried sister Rachel to enjoy two glorious months of picnics, games and sun-drenched excursions to the coast. But not even this idyllic setting can soothe the siblings’ fears and heartache.

Hugh, haunted by memories of the Great War, is terrified at the looming prospect of a second; Edward, charming and handsome, is torn between his wife and his latest infidelity; and Rupert, a talented painter, is in turmoil over his inability to please his demanding new wife. Meanwhile, Rachel’s unflinching loyalty to the family means risking her one chance at happiness...

The Light Years is the first volume in the extraordinary Cazalet Chronicles. Continue the dazzling historical series with Marking Time.

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

"[N]o detail is too small to be included, so charged with significance is the material envelope of that lost world" —Tessa Hadley, bestselling author of After the Funeral

Dimensions: 13 x 3.6 x 19.7 cm