The Long View

Moving backward in time—from 1950 to 1926—this “beautifully written and richly perceptive” (The Telegraph, London) masterpiece of literary fiction presents an indelible portrait of a marriage.

The Long View takes us deep into the lives of Antonia and Conrad Fleming, offering a raw and compelling portrait of marriage through Antonia’s eyes. As she reflects on her years with Conrad, she untangles the choices she made—both good and bad—and the forces that drove them. Married to a loving and intellectual husband who meticulously orchestrated their lives, Antonia surrendered many decisions to him. Yet, her own fierce personality never faded. When it came to the matters that truly mattered, she always made her own call.

This is no ordinary story of marriage. Antonia and Conrad’s journey is both extraordinary and familiar, heartbreaking and uplifting. Elizabeth Jane Howard masterfully reveals the complexities of love, power, and self-determination, cutting straight to the emotional core of what it means to share your life with another. With unflinching honesty, she exposes the vulnerability and strength that lie beneath the surface of a marriage.