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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.
About the author
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 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. She died, aged 90, at home in Suffolk on 2 January 2014.
Summary
Set in wartime Britain, Confusion follows the relationships of the Cazalet family and their lives, loves and losses. The third book in the landmark Cazalet Chronicles, adapted into a BBC radio and TV series.
Foreword
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.
Additional text
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
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If I were sent to a desert island with one book this would be my choice Her Majesty Queen Camilla
