All Change

The landmark classic of 20th century family life

By: Elizabeth Jane Howard

Narrated by: Penelope Wilton

As the old world begins to fade from view and a new dawn emerges, All Change marks the fifth and final volume in Elizabeth Jane Howard's beloved and bestselling Cazalet Chronicles.

'Compelling, moving, unputdownable . . . Maybe my favourite books ever' - Marian Keyes, bestselling author of My Favourite Mistake

It is the 1950s and as the Duchy, the Cazalets’ beloved matriarch, dies, she takes with her the last remnants of a disappearing world – houses with servants and cherished tradition – in which the Cazalets have thrived.

Louise, now divorced, becomes entangled in a painful affair, while Polly and Clary must balance marriage and motherhood with their own ideas and ambitions.

Hugh and Edward, now in their sixties, feel ill-equipped for this changing world, while Villy, long abandoned by her husband, must at last learn to live independently.

But it is Rachel, who has always lived for others, who will face her greatest challenges yet. And nothing will ever be the same again . . .

'She helps us to do the necessary thing – open our eyes and our hearts' – Hilary Mantel, bestselling author of The Mirror and the Light

All Change is the heartbreaking and heartwarming final instalment of Elizabeth Jane Howard's bestselling series.

Critic reviews

What magic transforms a book into a compelling, moving, unputdownable read? I don’t know, but whatever it is, [The Cazalet Chronicles] have it. The characters! I cared about them so much. They behave in interesting, venal, believable ways. They’re recognisably human: frustrating, flawed, lovable. Maybe my favourite books ever (Marian Keyes, bestselling author of My Favourite Mistake)

She is one of those novelists who shows, through her work, what the novel is for . . . She helps us to do the necessary thing – open our eyes and our hearts (Hilary Mantel, bestselling author of the Wolf Hall trilogy)

Like [Elena] Ferrante, Howard’s fictional sphere is domestic and yet reveals deeper truths about human nature (Elizabeth Day, bestselling author of Magpie)

Howard is a sharp observer of human drama and psychology, and writes about pain, loss and longing superbly well (Monica Ali, bestselling author of Love Marriage)

I don’t know how I’d managed to miss [The Cazalet Chronicles] until now, but they’re absolute heaven (Meg Mason, bestselling author of Sorrow and Bliss)

[N]o detail is too small to be included, so charged with significance is the material envelope of that lost world (Tessa Hadley, bestselling author of After the Funeral)

A dazzling historical reconstruction (Penelope Fitzgerald, Booker Prize-winning author of Offshore)

Charming, poignant and quite irresistible . . . to be cherished and shared

The Cazalets have earned an honoured place among the great saga families . . . rendered thrillingly three-dimensional by a master craftsman

I’ll miss the Cazalets

I loved this entire series and will miss the family, even the unlovable Edward and Diana. It was a great weed with a little bit of food for everything I love in reading - history, solid characterization, a good story arc, details about the period decor, food, and fashion, wit and intelligence, multiple perspectives. Just a really good series. I enjoyed it even more than the Forsyte saga.

The beloved Cazalets

This is my second time listening to the series. I can’t wait for enough time to pass so I can enjoy it all over again.

This is the story of an English middle class family that covers the period from 1939 to the late 50s. The story and cast are brilliantly sustained and developed in Elizabeth Jane Howard’s telling, which is unfailingly insightful, full of pathos and humor. I live inside that world as I am reading.

One reads different books for different things, making it impossible (at least for me) to say of any book: this is my favorite of all. But for a five volume family saga depicting the era between the wars in England, the Cazalet Chronicles are just perfect.

My all time favorite series

Where does All Change rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 5, along with the other 4 books in this series.

Any additional comments?

Finding that Elizabeth Jane Howard wrote this one last book in the Cazalet Chronicles, available on Audible just a few weeks before she died, was like a precious gift.

not the best for last, but still good

I didn't enjoy this narrator as much as the reader of the first four in the series. There were issues with continuity with the earlier books as well, which I found distracting. However, it was lovely, if heart wrenching to spend time with the Cazelets one more time.
I'll certainly listen to the whole series again.

A wonderful wrap-up

I’ve loved the first four Cazalet novels for many years. This book, while not as well edited perhaps? - there are so many odd repetitions - does a satisfying job of filling in the later years, of who ended up doing what and how it all settled. But my strongest praise is for the narrator, Penelope Wilton, whose lovely voice is perfect for this tale. The women characters, of course, but also the men and children reveal themselves through the clarity and deep understanding of her superb reading.