Words At Large

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Novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard won the heart of the British nation with her four-volume family saga The Cazalet Chronicles, which have become modern classics and were adapted for television by the BBC.

Her own life story is just as colourful. She was born into a well-to-do bohemian family in 1923, and worked as an actress and model before becoming a writer. She went on to publish a dozen novels, as well an autobiography called Slipstream (Macmillan), which includes a candid account of her tumultuous marriage to novelist Kingsley Amis.

Eleanor Wachtel spoke with Elizabeth Jane Howard in early 2003 from the CBC's London studio.

First aired September 28, 2008 on Writers & Company. [runs 52:20]

Writers & Company airs on Thursdays at 11:00 p.m. (11:30 in Newfoundland) and on Sunday afternoons (times vary across the country). You can also listen to the show as a podcast.

Coming up
Calling all writers: The 2008 CBC Literary Awards competition is open for submissions in poetry, short fiction and creative non-fiction. Entries must be received by November 1, 2008. Go to the official site for details.