The Light Years

Elizabeth Jane Howard

10 June 2021
9781529049442
592 pages

Synopsis

As featured on BBC Radio 4 Open Book

A modern classic, The Light Years is a story of twentieth-century English life in the countryside and the first in Elizabeth Jane Howard's extraordinary, bestselling family saga The Cazalet Chronicles.

'She helps us to do the necessary thing – open our eyes and our hearts' – Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall


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 parents and unmarried sister Rachel to enjoy two blissful months of picnics, games, and excursions to the coast. But despite the idyllic setting, nothing can be done to soothe the siblings’ heartache: Hugh is haunted by the ravages of the Great War, Edward is torn between his wife and his latest infidelity, and Rupert is in turmoil over his inability to please his demanding wife. Meanwhile, Rachel risks losing her only chance at happiness because of her unflinching loyalty to the family.

'Charming, poignant and quite irresistible . . . to be cherished and shared' – The Times

With cover artwork exclusively designed by artist Luke Edward Hall, this is an edition to treasure. Continue the dazzling historical series with Marking Time and Confusion.

If I were sent to a desert island with one book this would be my choice
Charming, poignant and quite irresistible . . . to be cherished and shared
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