Synopsis
The Second World War has finally ended and so begins a new era of freedom and opportunity for the Cazalet family. Elizabeth Jane Howard's magnificent Cazalet Chronicles continues with Casting Off, the fourth novel in the saga.
The Cazalet cousins are now in their twenties, trying to piece together their lives in the aftermath of the war. Louise is faced with her father's new mistress and her mother's grief at his betrayal, while suffering in a loveless marriage of her own. Clary is struggling to understand why her beloved father chose to stay in France long after it was safe to return to Britain, and both she and Polly are madly in love with much older men.
Polly, Clary and Louise must face the truth about the adult world, while their fathers – Rupert, Hugh and Edward – must make choices that will decide their own, and the family's, future.
Details
20 August 2026
9781037409165Reviews
What magic transforms a book into a compelling, moving, unputdownable read? I don’t know, but whatever it is, [The Cazalet Chronicles] have it. The characters! I cared about them so much. They behave in interesting, venal, believable ways. They’re recognisably human: frustrating, flawed, lovable. Maybe my favourite books ever
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
Like [Elena] Ferrante, Howard’s fictional sphere is domestic and yet reveals deeper truths about human nature
Howard is a sharp observer of human drama and psychology, and writes about pain, loss and longing superbly well
