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. The first of twelve volumes in the Personal Writings sequence, it covers the years 1903 to 1921, and presents a rich anthology of unusual and entertaining letters and diary entries by the future novelist.Trade ReviewExpertly edited [..] The editor's notes to the new volume of early letters and diaries are not only extremely thorough and informative, but also, as one might expect from the grandson of Evelyn Waugh, very witty [...] If these initial offerings (Volumes two, sixteen, nineteen, twenty-six and thirty) are an indicator of things to come, then the edition will justify its grandiose claim to "revolutionize Waugh studies" [...] It will indeed become one of the great monuments of twenty-first-century literary scholarship. * Paula Byrne, Times Literary Supplement *a welcome opportunity to look again at [Waugh's] evolution as a writer and thinke...These volumes reveal different aspects of Waugh's youthful plasticity and show how his adult persona developed as he tested himself as a write [...] a major event in Waugh scholarship, and...an essential research resource for many years to come. * Lisa Mullen, Worcester College, Oxford, Essays in Criticism *If these initial offerings are an indicator of things to come, then the edition will justify its grandiose claim to "revolutionize Waugh studies" ... It will indeed become one of the great monuments of twenty-first century literary scholarship. * Paula Byrne, The Times Literary Supplement *As scholarship the new editions cannot be faulted. * Matthew Walther, The Week *As a scholarly treatment of a modern British novelist, The Complete Works of Evelyn Waugh looks as if it will stand in a class of its own, not only for its presentation of definitive texts but also for its patient accumulation of large amounts of personal material that have hitherto escaped the biographers' gaze. * D.J Taylor, Literary Review *A must read. * David Sexton, Evening Standard *
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