Confusion
-
-
4.2 • 17 Ratings
-
-
- £4.99
-
- £4.99
Publisher Description
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.
'Compelling, moving, unputdownable . . . Maybe my favourite books ever' - Marian Keyes, bestselling author of My Favourite Mistake
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, now living in London with Clary, is struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother and manage her grieving father. Meanwhile, Clary 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 . . .
'She helps us to do the necessary thing – open our eyes and our hearts' – Hilary Mantel, bestselling author of The Mirror and the Light
Confusion is the heartbreaking and heartwarming third instalment of Elizabeth Jane Howard's bestselling series. It is followed by the fourth book in the series, Casting Off.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lush, sprawling escapist fiction of the first order, the third installment of the Cazalet Chronicle opens in the spring of 1942 and continues the saga begun in The Light Years and Marking Time. Set in London and the English countryside, much of the story focuses on the eldest Cazalet cousins, Louise, Polly and Clary, as they exit their teens and take their first steps into adulthood. Former acting student Louise has been swept into a brilliant but chilly marriage to Michael Hadleigh, a glamorous portrait painter and aspiring Member of Parliament whose life is controlled by his powerful mother. Best friends Polly and Clary leave the cozy confines of the Cazalet's country home to begin what they hope will be terribly grown-up lives in London. While Polly mourns the recent death of her mother, Clary keeps a journal that she hopes to give to her father, who has been missing since the invasion of Normandy. Alternating with the cousins' stories are chapters devoted to the rest of the Cazalet clan, their friends and lovers, bringing readers up to date on the doings of adulterous Edward, his dutiful spinster sister Rachel, her loving best friend Margot Sidney and others. Howard creates a nearly palpaple world, peopled with the sort of well-conceived characters that linger long in the reader's mind.
Customer Reviews
Gripping story
This third novel in the Cazalet series continued to hold my attention from first to last The girls are beautifully depicted as they mature into young women against a backdrop of profound social change that everyone is forced to take in their stride. It was a pleasure to read, I found myself looking forward to when I would get to rejoin their world, always an indication I am enjoying a book very much.
The Cazalet Chronicles
If you have not read this quartet you are in for a rare treat. The pre war years and the war years are brought to life through the experiences of the Cazalet family and their friends, relatives and servants. Novels of realism, social history and compassion for human frailty. Perfect reading.