The Light Years
Published on 10. June 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
592 pages
978-1-5290-4944-2 (ISBN)
Description
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.
'What magic transforms a book into a compelling, moving, unputdownable read? . . . Maybe my favourite books ever' - Marian Keyes, bestselling author of My Favourite Mistake
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 . . .
'She helps us to do the necessary thing - open our eyes and our hearts' - Hilary Mantel, bestselling author of The Mirror and the Light
The Light Years is the first volume in the extraordinary Cazalet Chronicles. Continue the dazzling historical series with Marking Time.
'What magic transforms a book into a compelling, moving, unputdownable read? . . . Maybe my favourite books ever' - Marian Keyes, bestselling author of My Favourite Mistake
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 . . .
'She helps us to do the necessary thing - open our eyes and our hearts' - Hilary Mantel, bestselling author of The Mirror and the Light
The Light Years is the first volume in the extraordinary Cazalet Chronicles. Continue the dazzling historical series with Marking Time.
Reviews / Votes
If I were sent to a desert island with one book this would be my choice -- Her Majesty Queen Camilla Charming, poignant and quite irresistible . . . to be cherished and shared * The Times * 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, author of <i>Wolf Hall </i>and <i>Bring Up the Bodies </i> The Cazalets have earned an honoured place among the great saga families . . . rendered thrillingly three-dimensional by a master craftsman * Sunday Telegraph * Superb . . . hypnotic . . . very funny * Spectator * Evocative and gracefully written * Cosmopolitan * A family saga of the best kind . . . a must * Tatler * A dazzling historical reconstruction -- Penelope Fitzgerald, Booker Prize-winning author of <i>Offshore</i and <i>The Blue Flower</i> This chronicle will be read, like Trollope, as a classic about life in England in our century -- Sybille Bedford, author of <i>A Legacy</i> and <i>Jigsaw</i> Gloriously addictive . . . Family loyalty, betrayals, triumphs, tragedy, births and deaths are all blissfully here, and you become emotionally absorbed in the fate of each character * Daily Mail *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 39 mm
Weight
412 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5290-4944-2 (9781529049442)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Elizabeth Jane Howard was the author of fifteen highly acclaimed novels, including the five volumes of The Cazalet Chronicles, as well as After Julius, Falling, Getting It Right, Love All, and Odd Girl Out. 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. She had one child, Nicola, and married three times - lastly to fellow author Sir Kingsley Amis. In 2000 she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, and in 2002 Macmillan published her autobiography, Slipstream. She died, aged ninety, at home in Suffolk on 2 January 2014.