BOOK OF THE MONTH
Slipstream — A Memoir
by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Macmillan (0333903498)
Reviewer: Carol Gallacher — Publisher Services Supervisor, Lindsay and Croft
Elizabeth Jane Howard writes that she has lived her life in "the slipstream of experience." The dictionary definition of slipstream is: "a current of air or water driven back". Slipstream — A Memoir shows us vividly just how far Elizabeth Jane Howard has been driven back by various experiences and people, before being allowed to show us her ability as an author.
Born in 1923 she had a relatively privileged upbringing but with very little preparation for the realities of life. She imagined life and love as portrayed in Shakespeare and the romantic novels that she consumed with a passion. Aged 17 she was accepted by the London Mask Theatre Company and embarked on a short-lived career in repertory theatre, before marrying (at 19) the future naturalist, Peter Scott. This was a period of great change for women and Elizabeth embarked on a variety of jobs: model, secretary, reviewing and editing books, culminating with the publication of her first novel "The Beautiful Visit" in 1950. It was in 1962 that she met Kingsley Amis, embarking on a partnership and subsequent marriage, which scaled the heights of all-consuming passion to abject dark despair. Kingsley had no concern for the mundane chores of family life and Elizabeth found herself solely responsible for a large household, stepchildren included, and the entertainment which accompanied their high literary profile. Elizabeth's writing throughout this time suffered from her on-going lack of confidence and Kingsley's disdain of her as a writer. The one consolation throughout this period was the wide circle of literary friends they shared, including Laurie Lee, Olivia Manning, Kenneth Tynan and Cecil Day-Lewis
For anyone familiar with Elizabeth's books this memoir makes it clear that the places and situations she found herself in throughout her life have provided the basis for so many of her novels. Her own family experiences are clearly used in perhaps her most famous work, The Cazalet Chronicles, which traces the story of a family from before the outbreak of the Second World War to the aftermath, which sent shock waves into every aspect of family life.
The autobiography is written with the same sensitivity and honesty as her novels. She has a wonderful ability to make you feel and see and, using extraordinary powers of description — "it smelt of warm prayer books" — transports you back to a distinct smell that will make you nod your head knowingly.
In this autobiography, Elizabeth Jane Howard opens her life up for inspection, the good and the bad. But she does not come up with all the answers and realises that we do not always learn through our mistakes, "I've slowly learned some significant things — perhaps most of all the virtue, the extreme importance of truth which it seems to me now, should be continually searched for and treasured."
