Elizabeth Jane Howardâs much-loved Cazalet Chronicles series will be continued by her niece, it has been announced.
Novelist Louisa Young will write the sixth, seventh and eighth books in the series, which follows the fortunes of the upper middle class Cazalet family.
Howard published the original quintet of novels between 1990 and 2013, before she died in 2014. âThe novels are panoramic, expansive, intriguing as social history and generous in their storytellingâ, wrote Hilary Mantel in the Guardian in 2016.
after newsletter promotion
While the first four novels cover a decade beginning in 1937, the fifth, All Change, is set between 1956 and Christmas 1958. In her new instalments, Young will pick up the saga in Christmas 1962 and trace the ensuing two decades.
Youngâs first Cazalet book, The Golden Hours, will be published in September 2026 by Mantle, the imprint of Pan Macmillan that publishes the original Cazalet books.
âThe world Jane observed and wrote about has not stopped with her observation of it. The characters are so alive still; the developments of their society continue. And, like many others, I want moreâ, Young said. âJane looked at the huge effects of the war through the microcosm of her peopleâs everyday lives. In these books I will observe the immense social change of the 60s and 70s through the lives of individuals. How will they cope as modern England shifts and forms around them?â
Young is the author of 15 books, which include her Egyptian and first world war trilogies. Her novel Baby Love was longlisted for the Orange prize for fiction (now the Womenâs prize), while My Dear I Wanted to Tell You was shortlisted for the Costa novel award.
Young âcomes from the same family background as Jane and has lived with the Cazalet characters all her lifeâ, said Howardâs literary agent and executor Ann Evans. âShe is a wonderful writer and is uniquely qualified to continue the series.â
Howard was best known for the Cazalet Chronicles, which were adapted for BBC TV and radio. Her other works include The Long View, After Julius and Falling. âThere is no author I have recommended more oftenâ, wrote Mantel in 2016. Howard was married to the novelist Kingsley Amis between 1965 and 1983.
Young âis achieving something brilliant, in a voice completely fresh and yet one that I am sure will thrill Janeâs many existing readersâ, said Mantle publisher Maria Rejt, who edited Howardâs All Change.