The Light Years

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

I have just finished reading this novel and I am already on the lookout for the other 3 volumes in this series. The character development in this book was wonderful. This book appeared to be mostly about getting to know the Cazalet family rather than trying to follow an action-packed plot. The children were especially well-drawn. After watching their development from 1937-1938, I am especially curious to see what will happen to them as they grow up. Another strong point of this book is the author's ability to teach about British society of the time without being too obvious. She shows, rather than tells, what goes in English households in order to make her points.

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.

For people who are hopelessly bored and disappointed with 90 percent of modern fiction, this book (and the others in the Cazalet Chronicle series) is well researched, and there is a rich tapestry of many lively, interesting characters of all ages and walks of life. You will need more patience than the average television audience, but I have found the books richly rewarding. I would put Elizabeth Howard's style somewhere midway between Leo Tolstoy and Maeve Binchy. The Cazalet Chronicle books also provide a colorful look into the second world war from British citizens' experience, rather than that of dry history books or the American experience.

The book The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard, is a well written classic that documents family life and relationships before, during and after World War II in England. It is a story that draws you into the lives of each of the characters and alternates giving first person accounts of what they are experiencing. The book centers on the three generations of the Cazalet family spending their summers under one roof in their summer home in Sussex. You watch all of the charactors grow up, change as people, and go through all the things in life that we all experience at some point. The Light Years is only part one of the Cazalet chronicle so don't miss out on the sequel Marking Time.