In 1937, the coming war is only a distant cloud on Britain's horizon. As the Cazalet households prepare for their summer pilgrimage to the family e...
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reviews
Feb 12, 2011
Beth
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If you are fascinated by England between the wars, and I am, this book is an essential read.
My friend Jenni has been recommending it to me for many years -- it is a sentimental favourite of hers -- and I finally got around to reading it.
Elizabeth Jane Howard has such a fine eye for detail -- and such a wonderful ear for voice. You feel, utterly, that you can imagine what it was like to be in that time and place. The book is set during subsequent summers just before WWII brea More...
My friend Jenni has been recommending it to me for many years -- it is a sentimental favourite of hers -- and I finally got around to reading it.
Elizabeth Jane Howard has such a fine eye for detail -- and such a wonderful ear for voice. You feel, utterly, that you can imagine what it was like to be in that time and place. The book is set during subsequent summers just before WWII brea More...
Aug 02, 2009
Jane
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what a strange book this was. Lent to me by a friend, it wasn't something I'd ever have stumbled across by myself. Bursting at the seams with characters in an almost Dickensian way, there's no one in this big fat novel that doesn't get at least three or four lines told from their own point-of-view. So much of 'The Light Years' is a low-grade period piece - well told and all, but with really nothing special going on. But then every now and then there are flashes of incredible intensity, where you
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Mar 30, 2011
Rowena
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Stumbled across this book at a used bookstore in NY. The second I saw the descriptors "upstairs, downstairs," I was hooked. Ever since Gosford Park, I've been fascinated by early 20th century landed gentry British customs. The calm, cultured, faintly ridiculous atmosphere of the "upstairs" where you dress for dinner, and the frenzied pace of the "downstairs," where cooks plan elaborate meals well in advance; maids scurry around the rooms before dawn to light fires,
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Apr 01, 2010
Leigh
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My absolute favorite series of books (The Cazalet Chronicles) begins with The Light Years...it's 1937 and the story opens with many branches of the wealthy Cazalet family is headed to the grandparents' home in Sussex, in the country, for the summer. WWII is on the horizon but not yet a real worry. The Cazalet children consist of three brothers: Edward, who is a completely faithless husband to his wife Villy; Hugh, who was wounded in WW I and is devoted to his wife, Sybil; Rupert, who was wido
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Apr 22, 2009
Beth
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I read this book nine years ago, and have re-read it several times, and I also have the audio books (abridged and unabridged). This series is my absolute favorite of all time.
The author has done an exceptional job of capturing the atmosphere of an upper-income household in the 1930's and 1940's. The descriptions of the houses, areas, clothes, food, and events are superb. The character development is fantastic.
I can't recommend this series enough. My mother finally rea More...
The author has done an exceptional job of capturing the atmosphere of an upper-income household in the 1930's and 1940's. The descriptions of the houses, areas, clothes, food, and events are superb. The character development is fantastic.
I can't recommend this series enough. My mother finally rea More...
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May 19, 2011
Lucy
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I loved this book. I loved the indulgence of the upper classes in the pre-war period and the idea of the family dynasty. I loved the way each character was important and had their own issues that were pressing to them. I loved the way that childish innocence, awkward teenager and adult responsibility were all explored seamlessly without any detraction from the progress of the novel. It is a book to be savoured and is delightfully English. I didn't want the book to finish and am all set to start
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Jan 21, 2010
Linda
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I read this series sometime in the 1990s and LOVED it. Noticed that the reviews were mixed-- agreed, I started "The Light Years" (Book 1) a couple of times before I really got into it. Then I thought it was great and read all the books in the series as they came out. If you like or love books set in pre-WWII England, you will like this series. Think "Brideshead Revisited" etc. I'm totally an Anglophile, and love the period from 1900 through WWII, so this series totally c
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Sep 20, 2009
Ann
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I've read 3 of the four books in the series now. Marking Time and Confusion follow this one, and Casting Off is the last.
These books are extremely well-written, very engrossing and quite entertaining. (Usually the words "multi-generational saga" are enough to make me set the book aside, unless specifically recommended to me.)
This is the story of the three grown children and their children who all retreat to the parent's large country home to get through WWII. More...
These books are extremely well-written, very engrossing and quite entertaining. (Usually the words "multi-generational saga" are enough to make me set the book aside, unless specifically recommended to me.)
This is the story of the three grown children and their children who all retreat to the parent's large country home to get through WWII. More...
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May 01, 2009
Ellen
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This series (which was also a PBS series) was wonderful. The books may be hard to find in the US and used copies can be very expensive. They can be obtained reasonably inexpensively from English booksellers.
The series follows a extended family of upper middle class English from a period before WWII through the war. The earlier books are stronger but you will want to read all four to find out what happens to the younger generation.
The series follows a extended family of upper middle class English from a period before WWII through the war. The earlier books are stronger but you will want to read all four to find out what happens to the younger generation.
Jun 23, 2011
Claire
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I picked this up in a charity shop and loved the story and characters. I continued to read all four books in the series. These are novels about a very specific middle class family, (based very much on EJH's own family, I believe)during the pre-second world war years. I found this un-put-downable, and searched out and read the next books over a couple of years!
Apr 14, 2010
Mary
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Becky sold me on this intergenerational story of an upper-class English family told right before WWII breaks out. Slowly paced with a lot of everyday life detail about food, clothes, household work that I enjoyed but others might find boring! Wonderful variety of characters of all ages portrayed realistically.
Oct 13, 2009
Jane
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The Cazalets - a marvelous series of books about an English family in the late 1930s and 1940s. The numerous family members live through WWII each involved in their own way. I could hardly wait to get to the next book and hated for the series to end.
Jan 27, 2012
Donna
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I love the "between the wars" period. The Light Years tells the story of the Cazalets and their extended family in the years 1937-1938. Very little seems to really happen in the story but the characters just suck you in. I'll definitely continue with the series.
Nov 06, 2011
Susan
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Loved this book; the book jacket blurb comparing this book to the old PBS mini-series "Upstairs, Downstairs" is accurate. If you like sprawling English novels with lots of characters, you'll like this one. I intend to read the rest of the series...
Jan 29, 2012
Helena
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I cannot wait to get hold of the second book in this chronicle! I enjoyed this thoroughly and feel as if I am now a friend of the family! Well written, excellent characterisation, good story line - everything you could wish for in a good novelle.
Aug 21, 2011
Eileen
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The Cazalet Chronicles are a wonderful series! I'd forgotten about them, but reading them was a marvelous experience and I was sad when I reached the end of the fourth book. The comparison to Rosamonde Pilcher is perfect!
Oct 03, 2010
Elizabeth
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I'm reading my way through India Knight's list of cozy reads. This one was too dark in places to count as "cozy" for me, but I got interested in the characters and now I'm obsessed with reading the whole series.
Jan 30, 2010
Samantha
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One of my favorite British family sagas...I always get in the mood for this sort of thing around Christmas...apparently, I got this one 10 years ago and have re-read the series periodically ever since.
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Jun 12, 2009
Stephanie / seenonflickr
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 27, 2010
Melissa
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I enjoyed this book enormously and cannot wait to read the next three volumes in the series. It is the saga of a British family, with the first book set in the years leading up to World War 2. The interwoven stories of parents, children, grandparents & servants move between London homes and businesses and the family country home in Sussex.
My library did not have any of the books, so I bought them through Amazon. The library does have a BBC film called The Cazalets which I plan to wa More...
My library did not have any of the books, so I bought them through Amazon. The library does have a BBC film called The Cazalets which I plan to wa More...
Aug 01, 2010
Janet
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So glad to find this is a series. Just order Volumes 2 and 3 from Amazon. Story of well-to-do English family just before the outbreak of WWII.
Nov 06, 2011
Terry
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Absolutely devoured this whole series after seeing the adaption on Masterpiece theater years ago. I highly recommend this family saga!
Aug 02, 2011
Easy read family saga with lots of historical interest. Will look forward to the others in the series in due course.
May 23, 2011
Kaethe
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I do not think that the author likes her characters or has much sympathy for them. Everyone is pretty damn miserable right up until they find out there isn't going to be a war, which of course, the reader knows there will be. I loved her passages about life before the war, details about birth control and children's food and menstrual pads. The weirdest part was seeing fifteen-year-olds treated as children. There was no recognition of a middle ground between child and adult. Truly alien in
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Jan 31, 2011
Perfect if you've finished Penny Vincenzi and need another British WWII fix!
Aug 09, 2011
Eliza
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I started rereading this book as antidote to Courtney Sullivan's Maine and it is just wonderful. I first read it in high school. At the time, I found myself relating more to the teenage characters but now I am identifying more with the wives, which is fun. I highly highly recommend this series.
Jun 16, 2011
Jenine
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Satisfying. As this writer said: a "rambling, realistic family saga". I am worried about Louise. http://michellecooper-writer.com/blog/20...
Feb 15, 2009
Danielle
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fabulous - lives up to it's reputation....can't wait to read the next one now
