Elizabeth Jane Howard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elizabeth Jane Howard
CBE FRSL
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|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 26 March 1923 London, England, UK |
| Died | 2 January 2014 (aged 90) Bungay, Suffolk, England, UK |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | Fiction, non-fiction |
| Spouse |
James Douglas-Henry
(m. 1958; div. 1964) |
| Children | 1 |
Elizabeth Jane Howard (born March 26, 1923 – died January 2, 2014) was a famous English writer. She wrote 12 novels, including the very popular series called The Cazalet Chronicles. She was known for her detailed stories about families and life in England.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Elizabeth Jane Howard grew up in London, England. Her father, David Liddon Howard, was a timber merchant. Her mother, Katharine Margaret Somervell, was a dancer. She danced with a famous ballet company called the Ballets Russes.
Elizabeth was mostly taught at home when she was young. She also went to a domestic science college. Later, she attended a secretarial college in London.
Becoming a Writer
Before she became a full-time writer, Elizabeth tried different jobs. She worked briefly as an actress in plays. She also sometimes worked as a model. Her writing career officially started in 1947.
Her first novel, The Beautiful Visit, came out in 1950. People said it was very special and well-written. It won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1951. This award was for the best novel by a writer under 30.
She also worked with another writer, Robert Aickman. Together, they wrote three short stories for a collection called We Are for the Dark in 1951.
Famous Novels
Elizabeth's second novel was The Long View (1956). This book told the story of a marriage backwards in time. Many people think it is one of the best novels of the 20th century.
She wrote five more novels before starting her most famous work. This was the Cazalet Chronicles series. Her stepson, Martin Amis, helped her decide to write this big family story.
The Cazalet Chronicles is a family saga. It shows how English life changed during the war years. It especially focused on how things changed for women. The series follows three generations of a middle-class English family. Elizabeth used many of her own life experiences in these books.
The first four books were The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion, and Casting Off. They were published between 1990 and 1995. The fifth and final book, All Change, came out in 2013. Millions of copies of these books were sold around the world.
Books on Screen and Radio
Two of the Cazalet Chronicles books were made into a TV show. The Light Years and Marking Time became a BBC Television series called The Cazalets in 2001.
A radio version of the series was also broadcast. It had 45 episodes on BBC Radio 4 starting in 2012.
Elizabeth also wrote screenplays for movies and TV. She wrote the movie Getting It Right (1989). This movie was based on her own novel from 1982. She also wrote scripts for the TV show Upstairs, Downstairs.
She wrote a book of short stories called Mr. Wrong (1975). She also put together two collections of other writers' works. One was called The Lover's Companion (1978).
About Her Life
Elizabeth Jane Howard wrote a book about her own life. It was called Slipstream and was published in 2002.
Another book about her life was written by Artemis Cooper. It is called Elizabeth Jane Howard: A Dangerous Innocence. This book came out in 2017. Reviewers said it showed how good Elizabeth's novels truly were.
Family Life
Elizabeth Jane Howard married Peter Scott in 1942 when she was 19. They had a daughter named Nicola. Elizabeth decided to focus on her writing career in 1946.
She later married Jim Douglas-Henry in 1958. Her third marriage was to the famous novelist Kingsley Amis. They were married from 1965 to 1983. Her stepson, Martin Amis, also became a writer. He said Elizabeth encouraged him to read and write more seriously.
In her later years, Elizabeth lived in Bungay, Suffolk. She was honored with the CBE award in 2000. This award recognized her achievements. She passed away at her home on January 2, 2014, at the age of 90.
