Marking Time Paperback / softback

As featured on BBC Radio 4 Open BookBeautifully and poignantly told, Marking Time is the second novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard's bestselling family saga The Cazalet Chronicles. 'She helps us to do the necessary thing – open our eyes and our hearts' – Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf HallHome Place, Sussex, 1939.

As the shadows of the Second World War roll in, banishing the sunlit days of childish games and trips to the coast, a new generation of Cazalets take up the family's story. Louise, who dreams of becoming a great actress, finds herself facing the harsh reality that her parents have their own lives with secrets, passions and yearnings.

Clary, an aspiring writer, learns that her beloved father is now missing somewhere on the shores of France. And sensitive, imaginative Polly feels stuck – stuck without a vocation, stuck without information about her mother's illness, stuck without anything except her nightmares about the war. 'Charming, poignant and quite irresistible . . . to be cherished and shared' – The TimesWith cover artwork exclusively designed by artist Luke Edward Hall, this is the second volume of the extraordinary Cazalet Chronicles and a perfect addition to your collection.

Marking Time is followed by Confusion, the third book in the series.