Elizabeth Jane Howard

My 'books of 2017' list will be coming up shortly, and I'll already give a sneak peek at one of my absolute favourites this year: Elizabeth Jane Howard. Or more specifically; her series of novels about the Cazalet family. The first of these, The Light Years, was only this year translated into Dutch, even though the original novel stems from 1990. Due to the raving review of the translation, I decided to buy the original. Talk about hidden treasure!
The first novel is set in 1937 and follows the Cazalet family on the brink of WWII. "The Cazalet family" is not easily described, but in essence we follow two generations; the Cazalet brothers and sister, Hugh, Edward, Rachel and Rupert and their spouses, and the generation of their children. I'm now in the fourth novel of the series, Casting Off, which is set in the post-war time of 1946-1947. I don't know about the fifth part, which was published much later than the first four, but so far I've seen the 'junior' generation grow from 4-16 years of age to 14-26, which means some of them have children of their own now. The Cazalet family is ever-expanding, through marriage and child-birth, and some of the family friends have also become part of the Cazalet clan. As in any good novel, some of these characters have found their deaths, too.
The 'older' generation, having lived through yet another great War, have had their own fair share of developments, but it is really the younger one the first novels focuses on, especially the cousins Louise, Polly and Clary. And after having been with them for four novels and ten fictional years, it really feels as if I've gotten to know these characters, as if they are people who might live just down the street. Even though they are close in age, and clearly have inherited some of the more persistent family traits, the cousins are three very distinct personalities. They have each made some difficult life choices that have got them where they are now. It can get a bit chick-flicky (lots of relationship talk, lots of affairs), but there is more to these novels than that.
Apart from the characters, which are very well-developed and written, there is the language. Long, drawn-out sentences full of description, which perfectly set the atmosphere. Some of the characters are focused on interior design or clothes, and their chapters contain detailed descriptions of all the rooms and garments they see around them. In other chapters, a few sentences set the scene. The dialogue is also very well done, you can actually hear the characters talk, and even though there is very little 'she said sulkily' or 'he said pointedly', you can get the gist of the emotions simply from the writing.
Then there is the interesting fact that the author was actually born in the same year as the aforementioned cousins. She actually lived through these times. And it is in the small details that this becomes clear; having to get by on rations, getting creative with the small amount of food or clothes coupons that one had, the information about the Cazalet family's business in hard woods, and most importantly; the way people interacted with each other. The verisimilitude is very strong. The discovery of this series of novels coincided with my discovery of the tv series The Crown, which is set in roughly the same time. Both really let you drown in a time seventy years gone, making the past come alive.
Most surprisingly about the interaction between people is the position of women. Already, some of these characters who had maids and cooks and 'dailies' before the war, are having to fend for themselves in the post-war times, when young girls didn't 'go into service' anymore. You can see the class differences disappear before your eyes, you can see women try to carve out a position for themselves, either in a job, in their marriage, or in the new-found possibilities of divorce or emigration. The social change that the war brought about is really the overarching theme of the novel, starting with the Victorian attitudes of the grandparents, through the elder Cazalet brothers' defining experiences in WWI, and the upheaval WWII brought about.
But don't let these heavy themes fool you; these novels are really about people, people trying to find their way, in the light years, marking time, in confusion, and casting off, as the novels are so aptly named. They are one family, but apart from the family business they don't share all that many common goals, until the outside world starts to press in. It makes you feel privileged that you have been allowed to have a peek at their lives for so long.
As I said, I'm almost done reading novel number four. I could have finished all of them ages ago, but these are the kinds of novels you want to draw out, to read one or two other novels between subsequent parts of the series so you can go back and reconnect with these characters, so you won't gobble it all up in one go. I'm very curious about the last part in the series, All Change, but I won't get to that until we're some way into 2018. Hopefully, the best will have been saved for last. And otherwise, there are some more novels by Elizabeth Jane Howard to discover!