In 1937, the coming war is only a distant cloud on Britain's horizon. As the Cazalet households prepare for their summer pilgrimage to the family estate in Sussex, readers meet Edward, in love with but by no means faithful to his wife Villy; Hugh, wounded in the Great War; Rupert, who worships his l...

In 1937, the coming war is only a distant cloud on Britain's horizon. As the Cazalet households prepare for their summer pilgrimage to the family estate in Sussex, readers meet Edward, in love with but by no means faithful to his wife Villy; Hugh, wounded in the Great War; Rupert, who worships his lovely child-bride Zoe; and Rachel, the spinster sister.

The first novel of the Cazalet Chronicle, this masterpiece in the tradition of Upstairs, Downstairs takes us to the Cazalet household in 1930s England, when the coming war is only a distant cloud on the horizon. Elizabeth Howard paints an irresistible picture of the family's intimate world.