Casting Off

Front Cover
Pan, 1996 - Fiction - 640 pages
The fourth volume of the Cazalet Chronicles opens just as World War II has ended, continuing this critically acclaimed family saga perfect for fans of Downton Abbey The war is over, but for the Cazalets-and England-the challenges continue. Against the backdrop of a crumbling empire, the family soldiers on in the wake of disappointment, heartbreak, and tragedy. Returning home after five long years, Rupert Cazalet struggles to adapt to civilian life back in England. And his wife, Zoe, harbors a guilty secret. Young wife and mother Louise Cazalet, trapped in a loveless marriage to a famous portrait painter, searches for a way out. Cazalet cousins Polly and Clary must face life in a new world, their hopes and ideals changed forever by the ravages of war. And Rachel's self-sacrificing nature could cost her her relationship with Margot Sidney. But the family comes together again as three generations of Cazalets struggle to hold onto Home Place, the beloved Sussex estate that has been their refuge and their heart. Against the titanic sweep of history, as they are tested by infidelities, divorce, unimaginable loss, and the promise of renewed love, the Cazalets try to cast off the sins and sorrows of the past and sail bravely toward the future.

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About the author (1996)

Elizabeth Jane Howard was the author of fifteen highly acclaimed novels. 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 most recently for BBC Radio 4. In 2002 Macmillan published Elizabeth Jane Howard's autobiography, Slipstream. In that same year she was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

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