Books by Evelyn Waugh

Book SynopsisEvelyn Waugh (1903-1966) was born in London and educated at Oxford. He quickly established a reputation with such social satirical novels as DECLINE AND FALL, VILE BODIES and SCOOP. Waugh became a Catholic in 1930, and his later books display a more serious attitude, as seen in the religious theme of BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, a nostalgic evocation of student days at Oxford. His diaries were published in 1976, and his letters in 1980.

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Book SynopsisUpper-class rogues, bohemians, dowagers, socialites, bureaucrats and delinquent evacuees prepare for England to change forever, in this hilarious and deadly serious 1942 satire on the ''phoney war''The hideous, then unfamiliar shriek of the air-raid sirens sang out over LondonWhat happened to the characters of Decline and Fall and Vile Bodies when the war broke out? Put Out More Flags shows them adjusting to the changing social pattern of the times. Some of them play a valorous part; others, like the scapegrace Basil Sea, disclose their incorrigible habit of self-preservation in all circumstances. Basil''s contribution to the war effort involves the use of his peculiar talents in such spheres of opportunity as the Ministry of Information and an obscure section of Military Security - adventures which incite Evelyn Waugh to another pungent satire upon the coteries of Mayfair.Trade Reviewa wicked satire in the well-known Waugh manner * The New York Times *a novel of breathtaking symmetry, grace, craft, and discipline -- L. E. Sissman * The Atlantic *

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Book SynopsisEvelyn Waugh''s brilliantly irreverent satire of Fleet Street, with an introduction by Alexander WaughLord Copper, newspaper magnate and proprietor of The Daily Beast, has always prided himself on his intuitive flair for spotting ace reporters. That is not to say he has not made the odd blunder, however, and may in a moment of weakness make another. Acting on a dinner party tip from Mrs Algernon Stitch, he feels convinced that he has hit on just the chap to cover a promising little war in the African Republic of Ishmaelia. But for, pale, ineffectual William Boot, editor of the Daily Beast''s ''nature notes'' column, being mistaken for a competent journalist may prove to be a fatal error...''Waugh at the mid-season point of his perfect pitch''Christopher Hitchens

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Book SynopsisEvelyn Waugh''s celebrated tale of decadence and social disintegration, with an introduction by Philip EadeAfter seven years of marriage, the beautiful Lady Brenda Last is bored with life at Hetton Abbey, the Gothic mansion that is the pride and joy of her husband, Tony. She drifts into an affair with the shallow socialite John Beaver and forsakes Tony for the Belgravia set. Brilliantly combining tragedy, comedy and savage irony, A Handful of Dust captures the irresponsible mood of the ''crazy and sterile generation'' between the wars. This breakdown of the Last marriage is a painful, comic re-working of Waugh''s own divorce, and a symbol of the disintegration of society.''One of the twentieth century''s most chilling and bitter novels; and one of its best''Nicholas Lezard, Guardian''One of the most distinguished novels of the century''Frank Kermode''This is a masterpiece of stylish satire, and is funny, too ... a marvello

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Book SynopsisEvelyn Waugh chose the name Labels for his first travel book because, he said, the places he visited were already fully labelled in people''s minds. Yet even the most seasoned traveller could not fail to be inspired by his quintessentially English attitude and by his eloquent and frequently outrageous wit. From Europe to the Middle East and North Africa, from Egyptian porters and Italian priests to Maltese sailors and Moroccan merchants - as he cruises around the Mediterranean his pen cuts through the local colour to give an entertaining portrait of the Englishman abroad.

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Book SynopsisGuy Crouchback, determined to get into the war, takes a commission in the Royal Corps of Halberdiers. His spirits high, he sees all the trimmings but none of the action. And his first campaign, an abortive affair on the West African coastline, ends with an escapade which seriously blots his Halberdier copybook. Men at Arms is the first book in Waugh''s brilliant trilogy, Sword of Honour, which chronicles the fortunes of Guy Crouchback. The second and third volumes, Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender, are also published in Penguin Modern Classics.Trade ReviewA comic genius -- Peter Parker * The Times Literary Supplement *

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Book Synopsis''It would be a dull world if we all thought alike.''After seven years of marriage, the beautiful Lady Brenda Last is bored with life at Hetton Abbey, the Gothic mansion that is the pride and joy of her husband, Tony. She drifts into an affair with the shallow socialite John Beaver and forsakes Tony for the Belgravia set. Brilliantly combining tragedy, comedy and savage irony, A Handful of Dust captures the irresponsible mood of the ''crazy and sterile generation'' between the wars. The Penguin English Library - collectable general readers'' editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century to the end of the Second World War.

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Book SynopsisThe Empress Helena made the historic pilgrimage to Palestine, found pieces of wood from the true Cross, and built churches at Bethlehem and Olivet. Her life coincided with one of the great turning-points of history: the recognition of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire. The enormous conflicting forces of the age, and the corruption, treachery, and madness of Imperial Rome combine to give Evelyn Waugh the theme for one of his most arresting and memorable novels.Trade ReviewMr Waugh is a master of narrative: every sentence compels you to reads its successor -- Raymond Mortimer * Sunday Times *It goes without saying that Helena is amusing, shapely, and well-written, and it also contains some extremely witty incidents * New Statesman *Helena was Waugh's most intentional statement about the truth of Christianity and about vocation as the heart of Christian discipleship -- George Weigel

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Book SynopsisBetween 1929 and 1935 Evelyn Waugh travelled widely and wrote four books about his experiences. In this collection he writes, with his customary wit and perception, about a cruise around the Mediterranean; a train trip from Djibouti to Abyssinia to attend Emperor Haile Selassie''s coronation in 1930; his travels in Aden, Zanzibar, Kenya and the Congo, coping with unbearable heat and plagued by mosquitoes; a journey to Guyana and Brazil; and his return to Addis Ababa in 1935 to report on the war between Abyssinia and Italy. Waugh''s adventures on his travels gave him the ideas for such classic novels as Scoop and Black Mischief.Trade Review[a] humorous account of an agreeable young man's peregrinations in picturesque lands * The New York Times *

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Book Synopsis''Only when one has lost all curiosity about the future has one reached the age to write an autobiography.'' Waugh begins his story with heredity, writing of the energetic, literary and sometimes eccentric men and women who, unknown to themselves, contributed to his genius. Save for a few pale shadows, his childhood was warm, bright and serene. The Hampstead and Lancing schooldays which followed were sometimes agreeable, but often not. His life at Oxford - which he evokes in Brideshead Revisited - was essentially a catalogue of friendship. His cool recollection of those hedonistic days is a portrait of the generation of Harold Acton, Cyril Connolly and Anthony Powell. That exclusive world he recalls with elegant wit and precision. He closes with his experiences as a master at a preparatory school in North Wales which inspired Decline and Fall.

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Book SynopsisEvelyn Waugh''s hilarious debut novel, with an introduction by Barbara CookeSent down from Oxford in outrageous circumstances, Paul Pennyfeather is oddly unsurprised to find himself qualifying for the position of schoolmaster at Llanabba Castle. His colleagues are an assortment of misfits, rascals and fools, including Prendy (plagued by doubts) and Captain Grimes, who is always in the soup (or just plain drunk). Then Sports Day arrives, and with it the delectable Margot Beste-Chetwynde, floating on a scented breeze. As the farce unfolds and the young run riot, no one is safe, least of all Paul.''His first, most perfect novel ... ruthlessly comic'' John Mortimer, GuardianTrade Review'The funniest book I have ever read' -- Julian Symons * The Times *His first, most perfect novel ... a ruthlessly comic plot -- John Mortimer * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisEvelyn Waugh''s beloved masterpiece, with an introduction by Paula Byrne The most nostalgic and reflective of Evelyn Waugh''s novels, Brideshead Revisited looks back to the golden age before the Second World War. It tells the story of Charles Ryder''s infatuation with the Marchmains and the rapidly disappearing world of privilege they inhabit. Enchanted first by Sebastian Flyte at Oxford, then by his doomed Catholic family, in particular his remote sister, Julia, Charles comes finally to recognise his spiritual and social distance from them.''Lush and evocative ... Expresses at once the profundity of change and the indomitable endurance of the human spirit''The Times

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Book SynopsisEvelyn Waugh''s acidly funny novel of the Roaring Twenties, with an introduction by Simon JamesIn the years following the First World War a new generation emerges, wistful and vulnerable beneath the glitter. The Bright Young Things of twenties'' Mayfair, with their paradoxical mix of innocence and sophistication, exercise their inventive minds and vile bodies in every kind of capricious escapade - whether promiscuity, dancing, cocktail parties or sports cars. In a quest for treasure, a favourite party occupation, a vivid assortment of characters, among them the struggling writer Adam Fenwick-Symes and the glamorous, aristocratic Nina Blount, hunt fast and furiously for ever greater sensations and the fulfilment of unconscious desires.''The high point of the experimental, original Waugh''Malcolm Bradbury, Sunday Times''This brilliantly funny, anxious and resonant novel ... the difficult edgy guide to the turn of the decade''Richard Jacobs

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Book SynopsisWhether celebrating Hogarth or savaging Hollywood, mocking modern manners or defending traditional English architecture, inviting readers to ''come inside'' the Catholic Church or expressing his contempt for modish Marxism and American-style religion, Evelyn Waugh''s journalism is sparkling, sometimes vitriolic and always full of good sense. In this wonderful selection he explores his Oxford youth, his unexpected conversion, his literary enthusiasms (from P. G. Wodehouse to Graham Greene) and the perils of basing fictional characters on real people. Decades after their publication, these pieces still retain their capacity to delight, to surprise and to shock.

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Book Synopsis''We are Progress and the New Age. Nothing can stand in our way.''When Oxford-educated Emperor Seth succeeds to the throne of the African state of Azania, he has a tough job on his hands. His subjects are ill-informed and unruly, and corruption, double-dealing and bloodshed are rife. However, with the aid if Minister of Modernization Basil Seal, Seth plans to introduce his people to the civilized ways of the west - but will it be as simple as that?

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Book SynopsisThis disquieting, sharply comic novel recounts a period of mental breakdown in the life of Gilbert Pinfold, an established novelist of mature yearsAn inability to control his fantasies sends Gilbert Pinfold, a well-known author, cruising on a Ceylon-bound liner to recuperate. Yet, to his horror, the hallucinations increase and life on board becomes very embarrassing. This curious and diverting novel throws new light on Evelyn Waugh''s remarkable talent.

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Book SynopsisThese pieces show the range of Waugh''s skills: Mr Loveday''s Little Outing; Cruise; Period Piece; On Guard; An Englishman''s Home; Excursion in Reality; Bella Fleace Gave a Party; Winner Takes All; Work Suspended; Scott-King''s Modern Europe; Basil Seal Rides Again; and Charles Ryder''s Schooldays.

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Book SynopsisThe second volume of Waugh''s masterful trilogy, Sword of HonourGuy Crouchback is now attached to a commando unit undergoing training on the Hebridean isle of Mugg, where the whisky flows freely and HM forces have to show respect for the laird. But the comedy of Mugg is followed by the bitterness of Crete.Trade ReviewA maverick historian * The Atlantic *Waugh's unsparing bitterness is one of the things that makes his writing so good * Daily Mail *To know as Waugh knows that there are no more great journeys and possibly no more great vows and still to trouble to write a novel at all exhibits precisely that fine hardness of mind most characteristic of him -- Joan Didion

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Book SynopsisEvelyn Waugh''s masterful depiction of World War II, with an introduction by Martin StannardWaugh''s own unhappy experience of being a soldier is superbly re-enacted in this story of Guy Crouchback, a Catholic and a gentleman, commissioned into the Royal Corps of Halberdiers during the war years 1939-45. High comedy - in the company of Brigadier Ritchie-Hook or the denizens of Bellamy''s Club - is only part of the shambles of Crouchback''s war. When action comes in Crete and in Yugoslavia, he discovers not heroism, but humanity. Sword of Honour combines three volumes: Officers and Gentlemen, Men at Arms and Unconditional Surrender, which were originally published separately. Extensively revised by Waugh, they were published as the one-volume Sword of Honour in 1965, in the form in which Waugh himself wished them to be read.''Marvellous ... one of the masterpieces of the century''John Banville, Irish Times

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Book SynopsisA witty account of Waugh''s time in Abyssinia as a war correspondentIn 1935 Italy declared war on Abyssinia and Evelyn Waugh was sent to Addis Ababa to cover the conflict. His acerbic account of the intrigue and political machinations leading up to the crisis is coupled with amusing descriptions of the often bizarre and seldom straightforward life of a war correspondent rubbing shoulders with less-than-honest officials, Arab spies, pyjama-wearing radicals and disgruntled journalists. Witty, lucid and penetrating, Evelyn Waugh captures the dilemmas and complexities of a feudal society caught up in twentieth-century politics and confrontation.

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Book SynopsisPerhaps the funniest travel book ever written, Remote People begins with a vivid account of the coronation of Emperor Ras Tafari - Haile Selassie I, King of Kings - an event covered by Evelyn Waugh in 1930 as special correspondent for The Times. It continues with subsequent travels throughout Africa, where natives rub shoulders with eccentric expatriates, settlers with Arab traders and dignitaries with monks. Interspersed with these colourful tales are three ''nightmares'' which describe the vexations of travel, including returning home.Trade ReviewAn outrageously disdainful, wonderfully funny account ... he wrote like an angel - a fallen one * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisEvelyn Waugh (1903-1966) was born in London and educated at Oxford. He quickly established a reputation with such social satirical novels as DECLINE AND FALL, VILE BODIES and SCOOP. Waugh became a Catholic in 1930, and his later books display a more serious attitude, as seen in the religious theme of BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, a nostalgic evocation of student days at Oxford. His diaries were published in 1976, and his letters in 1980.

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Book SynopsisIn this unique collection of short stories composed between 1910-62, Evelyn Waugh''s early juvenilia are brought together with later pieces, some of which became the inspirations for his novels. ''Mr Loveday''s Little Outing'' is a blackly comic tale of a mental asylum and its favourite resident; ''Cruise'' sees a hilarious series of letters from a naïve young woman as she travels with her family; ''A House of Gentlefolks'' observes a group of elderly eccentric aristocrats and their young heir; and in ''The Sympathetic Passenger'' a radio-loathing retiree picks up exactly the wrong hitchhiker. These witty and immaculately crafted stories display the finest writing of a master of satire and comic twists.

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Book SynopsisNancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh were two of the twentieth century''s most amusing and gifted writers, who matched wits and traded literary advice in more than five hundred letters over twenty-two years. Dissecting their friends, criticizing each other''s books and concealing their true feelings beneath a barrage of hilarious and knowing repartee, they found it far easier to conduct a friendship on paper than in person. This correspondence provides a colourful glimpse into the literary and social circles of London and Paris, during the Second World War and for twenty years after.

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Book SynopsisFrom Evelyn Waugh, the author of beloved novels such as Brideshead Revisited, A Handful of Dust and Vile Bodies, this is the biography of Ronald Knox - priest, classicist, prolific writer and one of the outstanding men of letters of his time. The renowned Oxford chaplain was a friend of figures such as G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc, and was known for his caustic wit and spiritual wisdom. Evelyn Waugh, his devoted friend and admirer, was asked by Knox to write his biography just before his death in 1957. The result, published after two years of research and writing, is a tribute to a uniquely gifted man: ''the wit and scholar marked out for popularity and fame; the boon companion of a generation of legendary heroes; the writer of effortless felicity and versatility ... who never lost a friend or made an enemy''.Trade ReviewWaugh wrote like an angel ... a fallen one Irish Times

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Book SynopsisThis volume is part of the Complete Works of Evelyn Waugh critical edition, which brings together all of Waugh's writings for the first time. This is the first fully annotated edition of Robbery Under Law, tracing the expropriation of British and American oil interests in Mexico by its repressive Marxist government.Table of ContentsIntroduction Robbery Under Law Appendix A: Endnotes Appendix B: Manuscript Development and Textual Variants Appendix C: Glossary of Names

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Book SynopsisA beautiful clothbound edition of Evelyn Waugh''s classic novel of duty and desire set against the backdrop of the faded glory of the English aristocracy in the run-up to the Second World War.The most nostalgic and reflective of Evelyn Waugh''s novels, Brideshead Revisited looks back to the golden age before the Second World War. It tells the story of Charles Ryder''s infatuation with the Marchmains and the rapidly disappearing world of privilege they inhabit. Enchanted first by Sebastian Flyte at Oxford, then by his doomed Catholic family, in particular his remote sister, Julia, Charles comes finally to recognise his spiritual and social distance from them.''Lush and evocative ... Expresses at once the profundity of change and the indomitable endurance of the human spirit''The TimesTrade Review“Waugh’s most deeply felt novel . . . Brideshead Revisited tells an absorbing story in imaginative terms . . . Mr. Waugh is very definitely an artist, with something like a genius for precision and clarity not surpassed by any novelist writing in English in his time.” –New York Times “A many-faceted book . . . Beautifully [written] by one of the most exhilarating stylists of our time.” –Newsweek “First and last an enchanting story . . . Brideshead Revisited has a magic that is rare in current literature. It is a world in itself, and the reader lives in it and is loath to leave it when the last page is turned.” –Saturday Review “Evelyn Waugh’s most successful novel . . . A memorable work of art.” –from the Introduction by Frank Kermode

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Book SynopsisBrideshead Revisited is Evelyn Waugh''s stunning novel of duty and desire set amongst the decadent, faded glory of the English aristocracy in the run-up to the Second World War.The most nostalgic and reflective of Evelyn Waugh''s novels, Brideshead Revisited looks back to the golden age before the Second World War. It tells the story of Charles Ryder''s infatuation with the Marchmains and the rapidly disappearing world of privilege they inhabit. Enchanted first by Sebastian Flyte at Oxford, then by his doomed Catholic family, in particular his remote sister, Julia, Charles comes finally to recognise his spiritual and social distance from them.Evelyn Waugh (1903-66) was born in Hampstead, second son of Arthur Waugh, publisher and literary critic, and brother of Alec Waugh, the popular novelist. In 1928 he published his first work, a life of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and his first novel, Decline and Fall, which was soon followed by Vile Bodies (1930), A Handful of Dust (1934) and Scoop (1938). In 1939 he was commissioned in the Royal Marines and later transferred to the Royal Horse Guards, serving in the Middle East and in Yugoslavia. In 1942 he published Put Out More Flags and then in 1945 Brideshead Revisited. Men at Arms (1952) was the first volume of ''The Sword of Honour'' trilogy, and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; the other volumes, Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender, followed in 1955 and 1961.If you enjoyed Brideshead Revisited, you might like Waugh''s Vile Bodies, also available in Penguin Classics.''Lush and evocative ... Expresses at once the profundity of change and the indomitable endurance of the human spirit''The Times

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Book SynopsisEvelyn Waugh''s first book: a portrait of one of the greatest artists of the nienteenth century, from one of the greatest writers of the twentieth''Biography, as books about the dead are capriciously catalogued, is still very much in the mode''This is a sparkling account of Dante Gabriel Rossetti''s tragic and mysterious life, telling the story behind some of the greatest poetry and painting of the nineteenth century. Shot through with charm and dry wit, and illuminated by his sense of kinship with the Pre-Raphaelite artist, Rossetti is at once a brilliant reevaluation of Rosetti''s work and legacy, as well as a blast of defiance against the art establishment of Waugh''s day.''The youthful high spirits of the writing make this a true cultural delight'' New Statesman''To be celebrated with fireworks, bunting and marching bands'' Country LifeTrade ReviewThe youthful high spirits of the writing makes this a true cultural delight * The New Statesman *Its re-issue is an event to be celebrated with fireworks, bunting and marching bands * Country Life *

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Book SynopsisAfter seven years of marriage, the beautiful Lady Brenda Last is bored with life at Hetton Abbey, the Gothic mansion that is the pride and joy of her husband, Tony. She drifts into an affair with the shallow socialite John Beaver and forsakes Tony for the Belgravia set. Brilliantly combining tragedy, comedy and savage irony, A Handful of Dust captures the irresponsible mood of the ''crazy and sterile generation'' between the wars. This breakdown of the Last marriage is a painful, comic re-working of Waugh''s own divorce, and a symbol of the breakdown of society.

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Book SynopsisThe most nostalgic and reflective of Evelyn Waugh''s novels, Brideshead Revisited looks back to the golden age before the Second World War. It tells the story of Charles Ryder''s infatuation with the Marchmains and the rapidly-disappearing world of privilege they inhabit. Enchanted first by Sebastian at Oxford, then by his doomed Catholic family, in particular his remote sister, Julia, Charles comes finally to recognize only his spiritual and social distance from them.

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Book SynopsisPart of the Penguin Essentials series, discover a beautifully designed edition of Evelyn Waugh''s British classic featuring cover art by Jim Tierney''I knew Sebastian by sight long before I met him. That was unavoidable for, from his first week, he was the most conspicuous man of his year by reason of his beauty, which was arresting, and his eccentricities of behaviour, which seemed to know no bounds.''Charles Ryder, a lonely student at Oxford, is captivated by the outrageous and exquisitely beautiful Sebastian Flyte. Invited to Brideshead, Sebastian''s magnificent family home, Charles welcomes the attentions of its eccentric, aristocratic inhabitants. But he also discovers a world where duty and desire, faith and earthly happiness are in conflict; a world which threatens to destroy his beloved Sebastian.A scintillating depiction of the decadent, privileged aristocracy prior to the Second World War, Brideshead Revisited is widely regardedTrade ReviewA wildly entertaining, swooningly funny-sad story * Time *The Oxford novel . . . lush and evocative * The Times *

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