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The Light Years (1990)

by Elizabeth Jane Howard

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Cazalet Chronicles (1)

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1,2415315,489 (4.01)166
Home Place, Sussex, 1937. The English family at home... For two unforgettable summers they gathered together, safe from the advancing storm clouds of war. In the heart of the Sussex countryside these were still sunlit days of childish games, lavish family meals and picnics on the beach. Three generations of the Cazalet family played out their lives - with their relatives, their children and their servants - and the fascinating triangle of their affairs.… (more)
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» See also 166 mentions

English (44)  Italian (3)  German (3)  Spanish (2)  Dutch (1)  All languages (53)
Showing 1-5 of 44 (next | show all)
The Cazalets–patriarch, matriarch, three adult sons, their wives and children–traditionally spend their summers at their country house in Sussex. The Light Years opens in 1937, with the first part of the novel developing each of the characters as they enjoy an idyllic summer together: eldest son Hugh his devoted wife Sybil and their three children; second son Edward, his strong-willed wife Viola aka Villy, and their three children; and youngest son Rupert, his much younger wife Zoe, and their three children from Rupert’s previous marriage. Hugh and Edward make occasional trips to London for the family timber business, while Sybil and Villy capably manage household affairs while gossiping about Zoe. The cousins band together with those closest to their own age, with occasional drama and shifting loyalties. Most of this sounds too good to be true, and sure enough the second part of the novel, set in late 1938, exposes chinks in the family armor and some closely guarded secrets. The threat of war is palpable: Hitler is already laying groundwork for what we know is to come. The family engages both in denial, and preparations for living at their country house for the foreseeable future.

I love a good family saga, and this most certainly is one. Elizabeth Jane Howard puts her female characters at the center, often the source of real power in the family. At the same time, she shows the ways women are disadvantaged in society, through limited education (which continues with the female Cazalet children), to dependence on male wage earners and a complete lack of reproductive freedom. Also, the children are multi-dimensional, setting them up to play more significant roles in the ten years that play out in the remaining Cazalet Chronicles novels. I am really looking forward to continuing this series. ( )
  lauralkeet | Mar 11, 2024 |
Marvelous. Now deep into the whole 5-book series. ( )
  fmclellan | Jan 23, 2024 |
I read all the 5 parts of the Cazalet Chronicles during christmas holiday. An English family saga which starts in 1937 and ends in november-december 1958. What struck me most was the changing world of women, starting in victiorian times. The decennia after WorldWar II, gives more possibilities to women, but marriage is still what parents most for their daughters and going to university and becoming an intellectual woman is not done. Elizabeth Jane Howard, who put a lot her own experiences and history in the chronicle is a superb in observation. Writer Hilary Mantel prized her and rightly so: "Elizabeth Jane Howard is one of those novelists who shows, through her work, what the novel is for... She helps us to do the neccessary thing - open our eyes and our hearts" ( )
  timswings | Jan 21, 2024 |
Well-written family saga set just before World War 2 in a middle class family which lives in East Sussex and London. Written with technical power but also affection. The issues of family life and the international dilemma over appeasement of Germany are woven together well. Huge cast of characters, but it is still possible to keep track. A particular strength is the way in which children's thoughts, actions and speech are sharply differentiated from that of adults. Very enjoyable indeed even though I never usually read this sort of book. ( )
  ponsonby | Dec 8, 2023 |
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-light-years-by-elizabeth-jane-howard/

It is the first book in a series about the Cazalets, a wealthy English family in the international timber trade (like Howard’s own). This one is set just before the second world war, and introduces us to the Cazalet family: three brothers and a sister, the women who are their lovers, their children and their parents, and a couple of other family connections as well. Everyone gets a couple of sections to themselves, the tight-third narrative moving from person to person to highlight the differences and similarities in perspective between the various relatives. The shadow of the first war lies heavily on all of them as they try and avoid thinking about the next one.

It’s a leisurely opening for an epic, and you couldn’t really call it a novel because the story does not end at the end of the book. There are a couple of pretty dark moments as well, setting up more narrative threads for future volumes. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. ( )
  nwhyte | Oct 23, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 44 (next | show all)
Wat een geluk dat het eerste deel – Lichte Jaren – van deze prachtige, autobiografische serie over de Cazalets, geschreven door Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923 – 2014) dit jaar in het Nederlands is vertaald! Elizabeth Jane Howard is absoluut een getalenteerd schrijfster, die door middel van met name prachtige, uitgebreide beschrijvingen een hele familie in het post-Victoriaanse Engeland tot leven brengt. Opnieuw tot leven brengt, misschien wel, want de boekenserie is autobiografisch, gebaseerd op Howards eigen, welgestelde familie. Ze begon in 1982 aan dit uitgebreide werk. Het vijfde deel schreef ze op haar 90ste, een jaar voor haar dood in 2014. Het verhaal verscheen ook als dramaserie bij de BBC…lees verder >
 

» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Elizabeth Jane Howardprimary authorall editionscalculated
Francescon, ManuelaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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The day began at five to seven when the alarm clock (given to Phyllis by her mother when she started service) went off and on and on and on until she quenched it.
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Mr York hadn't written a letter since his mother died so, of course, when he got out his writing things, his pen nib was rusty and the ink in the bottle had dried to nothing. He'd had to lend some ink from Enid who was always writing - wrote one letter a week.... Enid's ink turned out to be women's ink - violet-coloured - so he made the letter as businesslike as he could to make up for it.
Edward was signing the letters in his bold, rather careless manner with his fountain pen. It seemed to be failing; he shook it twice, and then turned to his secretary. "Oh, Miss Seafang, it's done the dirty on me again!" Smiling slightly, she produced another pen from her cardigan pocket.
A great deal of the linen was thread-bare, very fine linen, marked in Indian ink that registered its date of birth, so to speak.
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Home Place, Sussex, 1937. The English family at home... For two unforgettable summers they gathered together, safe from the advancing storm clouds of war. In the heart of the Sussex countryside these were still sunlit days of childish games, lavish family meals and picnics on the beach. Three generations of the Cazalet family played out their lives - with their relatives, their children and their servants - and the fascinating triangle of their affairs.

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Haiku summary
Famille au complet
Dans le Sussex, en 39
Femmes, enfants et bonnes
(Tiercelin)

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