Description
As featured on BBC Radio 4 Open Book
Set in the height of the Second World War, The Cazalet Chronicles continues with the third in the series, Confusion, where chaos has become a way of life for the Cazalet family.
'She helps us to do the necessary thing - open our eyes and our hearts' - Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall
It's 1942 and the dark days of war seem never-ending. Scattered across the still-peaceful Sussex countryside and air-raid-threatened London, the divided Cazalets begin to find the battle for survival echoing the confusion in their own lives.
Headstrong, independent Louise surprises the whole family when she abandons her dreams of being an actress and instead makes a society marriage. Polly and Clary, now in their late teens, finally fulfil their ambition of living together in London. But the reality of the city is not quite what they imagined, and Polly is struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother and manage her grieving father. Clary, meanwhile, is painfully aware that what she lacks in beauty she makes up for in intelligence, and is the only member of the family who believes that her father might not be dead.
'Charming, poignant and quite irresistible . . . to be cherished and shared' - The Times
With cover artwork exclusively designed by artist Luke Edward Hall, this is the heartbreaking and heartwarming third instalment of Elizabeth Jane Howard's bestselling series. It is followed by the fourth book, Casting Off.
The third book in the landmark Cazalet Chronicles, previously a BBC radio and TV series. Set in wartime Britain, Confusion follows the relationships of the Cazalet family and their lives, loves and losses.
About the Author
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.
Reviews
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 Wolf Hall
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 Offshore
This chronicle will be read, like Trollope, as a classic about life in England in our century -- Sybille Bedford, author of A Legacy and Jigsaw
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 *
Book Information
ISBN 9781529049459
Author Elizabeth Jane Howard
Format Paperback
Page Count 512
Imprint Pan Books
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Weight(grams) 344g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 130mm * 35mm