Howard, Elizabeth Jane

(British, 1923– )

Howard's meditative, atmospheric novels are acute studies of human need and of social interaction. She is sharply observant, allowing her characters difficult and complicated emotions which unfold gradually, in response to subtly changing situations and relationships. Begin with Odd Girl Out (1972), an account of a strong marriage slowly undermined by the arrival of the attractive, insecure Arabella, whose honesty leads everyone to question their own deepest moral beliefs. Move on to the best-selling Cazalet Chronicle (a quartet beginning with The Light Years, 1990), which follows three generations of an English family from 1937, through the Second World War, and into the slow economic recovery which followed. Howard is the author of eleven novels, and has also written scripts for film and television.

Jane Austen, Monica Dickens, Angela Lambert. See FAMILY SAGA  SR