Elizabeth Jane Howard

A Dangerous Innocence

By: Artemis Cooper

Narrated by: Eleanor Bron

Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923-2014) wrote brilliant novels about what love can do to people, but in her own life the lasting relationship she sought so ardently always eluded her. She grew up yearning to be an actress; but when that ambition was thwarted by marriage and the war, she turned to fiction. Her first novel, The Beautiful Visit, won the John Llewellyn Rhys prize - she went on to write fourteen more, of which the best-loved were the five volumes of The Cazalet Chronicle.

Following her divorce from her first husband, the celebrated naturalist Peter Scott, Jane embarked on a string of high-profile affairs with Cecil Day-Lewis, Arthur Koestler and Laurie Lee, which turned her into a literary femme fatale. Yet the image of a sophisticated woman hid a romantic innocence which clouded her emotional judgement. She was nearing the end of a disastrous second marriage when she met Kingsley Amis, and for a few years they were a brilliant and glamorous couple - until that marriage too disintegrated. She settled in Suffolk where she wrote and entertained friends, but her turbulent love life was not over yet. In her early seventies Jane fell for a conman. His unmasking was the final disillusion, and inspired one of her most powerful novels, Falling.

Artemis Cooper interviewed Jane several times in Suffolk. She also talked extensively to her family, friends and contemporaries, and had access to all her papers. Her biography explores a woman trying to make sense of her life through her writing, as well as illuminating the literary world in which she lived.

(P)2016 John Murray Press©2016 Artemis Cooper

Critic reviews

Hugely absorbing

A careful and accurate portrait

Cooper has assiduously gathered material from everyone involved, and the details and perspectives are tantalizingly fresh

Looks set to be the literary biography of the autumn

In this fascinating biography, Artemis Cooper paints a picture of a complex and tricky woman

A careful portrait of a fascinating woman

Compelling

An unexpected treasure . . . It is as compelling and unified as a novel, while recounting a full, messy, complex human story . . . Cooper is respectful but never sycophantic, clear-eyed but never mocking. Familiar stories are retold but also reconsidered, and set in context. And the book pays the literary biography's ultimate compliment - it will send even those most familiar with the novels back to their bookshelves to revisit them

Elegant, sympathetic but clear-sighted

I inhaled every blissful word. A sad, revelatory, brilliantly written account of one remarkable woman's life in writing, cooking, and having sex. An unexpected triumph (Rachel Johnson)

Artemis Cooper's biography of Howard asserts the importance of Howard the writer, but also paints a painful portrait of a woman whose emotional life was often determined by the approval and attention of men

Cooper's biography is a careful portrait of a woman bursting with every talent except the capacity to inspire enduring love

Highly recommend though flaw in the narration

Engrossing well written bio. My only complaint is that while I love Eleanor Byron’s narration, this time it was a bit marred by no vocal paragraph or episodic pauses. That is, it was like one run-on paragraph. “Jill died the following Monday. Jane began work on her novel...” (not literally an example from the book) without so much as a pause. I frequently had to replay the narration because it was all run together leading to some startling misinterpretations of cause and effect. It did drive me to buying the Kindle version so it was good for Amazon.

unlike any biography I've read

A beautiful story of a turbulent but rich life, written with insight and flow, and with perfectly matched narration. "Reads" like a novel!

A rather depressing life

Is there anything you would change about this book?

You cannot change a book that is about a person whose life has all the promise of an early summer morning, with the sun rising above the horizon with its warm glow, only to find that the promise is broken and it rains all day.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I have read most of Elizabeth Jane Howard's books and loved theml, well written, interesting characters well portrayed but never dreamt that the person behind the book had a tragic love life that rambles on from one affair after another, that makes in the end for dull reading.

Have you listened to any of Eleanor Bron’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Do you think Elizabeth Jane Howard needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I found this book quite depressing and her love affairs tedious. Is there something missing that another book might enlighten us with her life.

Any additional comments?

I was full of hope when I began this book but became bored with her tedious love life.