Light Years (Cazalet Chronicle 1) (v. 1) [Paperback]

Elizabeth Jane Howard (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cazalet Chronicle 1 | Publication Date: June 22, 2001

Three generations of Cazalets spend each summer in their family house - safe from the storm clouds of World War II for two unforgettable summers. These sunlit days of childish games and picnics on the beach provide a chronicle of the tangled affairs of an English family.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Three generations of an English clan summer at their estate during 1937 and 1938, troubled by threats of war and less significant matters, including the chauffeur's sluggish driving and a treed cat. "Charming but unwieldy. . . . The fan of sagas full of slice-of-life detail may find the book too short, while the lover of catharsis will feel it stops short of its goal," said PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'Vivid and compulsively readable' Sunday Telegraph; 'A superb novel... strangely hypnotic... very funny... surpasses even the best of what Elizabeth Jane Howard has written' The Spectator; 'The creation of a vanished historical world... engrossing' Village Voice

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan (June 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 033048852X
• ISBN-13: 978-0330488525
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,485,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dwelling in the Past, February 7, 2000

By 

Mamalinde "mamalinde" (Dallas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Light Years (Cazalet Chronicle) (Paperback)

The Light Years (Cazalet Chronicle, Vol 1) by Elizabeth Jane Howard. Climb aboard as three generations of the Cazalet family (and assorted relatives and servants) prepare to board the WWII Train that is threatening to pull into the station. Many, many characters, some lovable, some not. The children and their irrepressible adventures and clever dialogue are my favorite, followed by Hugh and Sybil, who don't quite meet in the station for trying to please each other. Of course Grandfather, with his inane invitations and muddling but very cunning schemes, is a dear. This series seems a place to dwell, become one of the family, with the reader being able to have the perspective of seeing within each character. No, there isn't a beginning and ending or "plot," but the reader will find humanity and joy and family. Volumes 2,3 and 4 await this reader.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to the World of the Amazing Cazalet Family, April 14, 2001

By 

Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Light Years (Cazalet Chronicle) (Paperback)

Have you ever met a family so intriguing you just wanted to be part of them immediately and never say goodbye? That's how the Cazalets affected me. From the opening scene when the maids rise early to prepare their morning tea until the closing page when the children's schoolteacher buries her long-held secret, this family draws you into their upper class English home.

The story begins in 1937 England as the family, already touched deeply by WWI, prepares for the coming of WWII. The doddering patriarch (affectionately called "Brig") and the matriarch (always referred to as "Duchy") gather their children and extended family at the summer home in Sussex to escape the dangers of London. Hugh, the eldest son, has lost his hand in the previous war, but is making a good life with his wife Sybil and their children; Edward, the middle son, loves his wife Villy but has a mistress and a horrifying secret that threatens one of his children; the younger son, Rupert, has lost his first wife in childbirth and has remarried a much younger, beautiful airhead. The lone sister cares for her aging parents while keeping secret a forbidden romance.

What is most amazing about this book is the way the author is able to capture each of the three generations so beautifully. Most appealing are the descriptions and dialogue she gives the children. There are 12 of them, and each one more appealing, more endearing, and more precocious than the next.

This is a wonderful look at how the English people prepared for WWII and the effects war had on them, particularly the children. It is a comfortable, engrossing book filled with characters you'll love and some you'll despise. Prepare to laugh out loud in some parts and shed a tear in other parts. And, if you're like me, prepare to order "Marking Time" (Volume 2 of the series) immediately.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Introduction to an English family, June 11, 2001

By 

Joseph H Pierre "Joe Pierre" (Salem, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Light Years (Cazalet Chronicle) (Paperback)

This is the first of a four-book series about the relatively wealthy family Cazalet, a large British family in pre-war England. The family consists of William and his wife Kitty, their four children, their spouses and grandchildren, as well as the servants and close friends and relations. He is always referred to as "The Brig" and she as "Duchy," short for the Brigadier and the Duchess although he has never been in military service, nor is his wife truly a duchess. Their children consist of three boys, all married, two of whom went to war (officers, of course) in the First World War. The daughter is unmarried and in love with another woman, but there is no sexual relationship.

The interplay of relationships, the sometimes-Victorian moirés and values, the amenities they enjoy compared to the lower, servant class, their views of world politics, education and marital and extra-marital sex are not only entertaining, but also instructive--for the author is obviously personally familiar with the environment and people she portrays. Howard was born in London and lives in Suffolk.

The book begins in 1937, in pre-war England. The Brig is head of a successful lumber company dealing in exotic hardwoods, and has brought his two WW1 veteran sons, Hugh (who lost an arm in the conflict) and handsome Edward (who is a rake) into the firm. His other son, Rupert is a schoolteacher and painter who lost a wife in childbrith and replaced her with a 23-year-old selfish airhead beauty whom his children detest. Each of the sons have children. Each summer they all go to the country and live together with the boys' parents, together with their servants and friends, including Rachel, the maiden sister who lives with their parents the year-'round, and her female friend, half Jewish Sid.

There is no single over-arching conflict, except for the looming Second World War on the immediate horizon and speculation about it. The novel dwells, instead, on the innumerable small crises in the individual families--particularly the children.

The book is extremely well-written. The author has several other books, plays and movie scripts to her credit and her skill is not only obvious but well-earned. I am looking forward to reading the other books in this series. This one has been a Book-of-the-Month Club selection.

Joseph H. Pierre
Author of The Road to Damascus: Our Journey Through Eternity