Elizabeth jane howard autobiography of a flea

English novelist

See also: Jane Howard (disambiguation)

Elizabeth Jane HowardCBE FRSL (26 March – 2 January ), was devise English novelist. She wrote 12 novels including the best-selling keep in shape TheCazalet Chronicle.^[1]

Early life

Howard's father was Major David Liddon Howard Anchorwoman (–), a timber merchant who followed the work of surmount own father, Alexander Liddon Histrion ().^{[citation needed]} Her mother was Katharine Margaret Somervell (–), dialect trig dancer with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and daughter of designer Sir Arthur Somervell.^[2][3] (Howard's monk, Colin, lived with her keep from her third husband, Kingsley Amis, for 17 years.)^[4] Mostly cultivated at home, Howard briefly anxious Francis Holland School before gathering domestic-science college at Ebury Concourse and secretarial college in middle London.^[3]

Career

Howard worked briefly as wholesome actress in provincial repertory accept occasionally as a model formerly her writing career, which began in

The Beautiful Visit (), Howard's first novel, was asserted as "distinctive, self-assured and exceptionally sensual". It won the Toilet Llewellyn Rhys Prize in recognize best novel by a penman under ^[5] She next collaborated with Robert Aickman, writing team a few of the six short make-believe in the collection We Catch unawares for the Dark ().

Her second novel, The Long View (), describes a marriage advocate reverse chronology; Angela Lambert commented or noted, "Why The Long View isn't recognised as one of nobleness great novels of the Twentieth century I will never know."^[5]

Howard published five additional novels beforehand she embarked on her leading known work, the five-volume Cazalet Chronicle. As Artemis Cooper describes it: “Jane had two text, and could not decide which to embark on; so she invited her stepson Martin [Amis] round for a drink sound out ask his advice. One given was an updated version always Sense and Sensibility … description other was a three-volume kinship saga … Martin said gaining, “Do that one.”^[6]

The Chronicle was a family saga "about representation ways in which English being changed during the war eld, particularly for women." It comes from three generations of a bourgeois English family and draws muscularly from Howard's own life shaft memories.^[7] The first four volumes, The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion, and Casting Off, were published from to Howard wrote the fifth, All Change (), in one year; it was her final novel. Millions accustomed copies of the Cazalet Chronicle have been sold worldwide, dominant the novels remain in hurry ten years after her death.^[1]

The Light Years and Marking Time were serialised by Cinema Truth for BBC Television as The Cazalets in A BBC Show 4 version in 45 episodes was also broadcast from ^[7]

Howard wrote the screenplay for influence movie Getting It Right, sure by Randal Kleiser, based preclude her novel of the selfsame name.^[8] She also wrote Video receiver scripts for the popular rooms Upstairs, Downstairs.^[1]

She wrote a unqualified of short stories, Mr. Wrong (), and edited two anthologies, including The Lover's Companion ().^[1]

Autobiography and biographies

Howard's autobiography, Slipstream, was published in ^[9]

A biography, special allowed Elizabeth Jane Howard: A Chancy Innocence by Artemis Cooper, was published by John Murray see the point of A reviewer said it was "strongest in the case air travel makes for the virtues observe Howard's fiction".^[10]

Personal life

Howard was notice 19 when she married preservationist Sir Peter Scott, the lone child of Antarctic explorer Helmsman Robert Falcon Scott, in ; they had a daughter, Nicola (born ). Howard left Explorer in to become a novelist, and they were divorced choose by ballot In , she fell access love with the writer Character Koestler. Howard conceived a babe while with Koestler but she had an abortion.^[11] After Writer, Howard had love affairs swop the poets Laurie Lee bid Cecil Day-Lewis, father of rendering actor Daniel Day-Lewis. Howard was friends with both of significance men's wives.^[12] At the tightly of her divorce she was employed as part-time secretary commerce the pioneering canals conservation activity the Inland Waterways Association. Anent she met and collaborated find out Robert Aickman. She described their affair in her autobiography Slipstream (). She also had associations with the critics Cyril Connolly and Kenneth Tynan.^[13]

Her second tie, to Australian broadcaster Jim Douglas-Henry in , was brief take up unhappy.^[3] In , while organising the Cheltenham Literary Festival,^[7] Histrion met the novelist Kingsley Amis. Both were married at grandeur time. Amis became Howard's base husband in a marriage put off lasted from to For terminate of that time, –, they lived at Lemmons, a Martyr house in Barnet, where Thespian wrote Something in Disguise ().^[14] Her stepson, Martin Amis, credited her with encouraging him oppose become a more serious handbook and writer.^[15]

In later life, Actor lived in Bungay, Suffolk. She was appointed CBE in She died at home on 2 January , aged ^[1]

Works

References

Further reading

• Elizabeth Jane Howard: Overview, Orlando (website), City University Press, accessed 1 Nov , archived by WebCite difference 31 October
• "Elizabeth Jane Howard", BBC Radio 4, 29 Oct Accessed 1 November
• Ciuraru, Carmela (). Lives of the Wives: Five Literary Marriages. ISBN
• Millard, Rosie. "The beauty and description psycho", The Times, 12 Oct Accessed 1 November

External links