[1] Most of the action takes place in London and at the family's estate in Sussex.

The drama was based on The Light Years and Marking Time, the first two novels in the series of five by Elizabeth Jane Howard, entitled The Cazalet Chronicles and first published in the 1990s.

For the TV series, they were adapted by the screenwriter Douglas Livingstone and the production was directed by Suri Krishnamma.

The series was originally produced by Cinema Verity for BBC One and is available on DVD.

A BBC Radio 4 version in 45 episodes over five series, was also produced later, broadcast between December 2012 and April 2014.