Search results for ""Evelyn Waugh" "Decline and Fall""

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 SynopsisThis study shows how Evelyn Waugh transformed his own experiences into painfully comic, brilliantly constructed novels.Trade ReviewReviews 'There is no doubt that Pasternak Slater’s analysis of [Waugh's] oeuvre is a superb piece of work. It should become a classic, enduring study.' William Boyd, The Guardian'Ann Pasternak Slater usefully reverses the main tendency in decades of critical reaction to Evelyn Waugh. Most studies focus on his early works; Pasternak Slater devotes more space to his later novels and demonstrates their increasing complexity in relation to Waugh’s life, historical events, and aesthetic considerations. Comprehensive and well written, this volume is a very welcome addition to the handful of good books about Waugh. Highly recommended.' John Howard Wilson, editor of Evelyn Waugh StudiesTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsBiographical OutlineAbbreviationsIntroduction1 Decline and Fall2 Vile Bodies3 Black Mischief4 A Handful of Dust5 Scoop6 Work Suspended7 Put Out More Flags8 Brideshead Revisited9 The Loved One10 Helena11 Men at Arms12 Officers and Gentlemen13 The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold14 Towards Unconditional Surrender15 Unconditional Surrender and Sword of HonourAppendix AAppendix BSelect Bibliography

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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 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 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 SynopsisIn this biography, Douglas Patey follows Evelyn Waugh's career from the comfortable middle-class home he was anxious to flee, through his escapades at Oxford, his adventures in South America and Africa, his experience of war, to his last years as veiled autobiographer.Trade Review"Patey mounts a spirited defence of Waugh, dismissing with some authority many of the familiar items on the charge-sheet. Patey seems to have read not only everything his subject wrote, but a great deal of background material. Such thoroughness, and an alertness to what may be going on in Waugh's apparently limpid prose makes it a valuable addition to a growing body of critical work on this twentieth-century master." Times Literary Supplement "This calm, deliberate biography- which measures Waugh's life in the context of his work, rather than making the work serve as an excuse for discussing the life - should be included in every academic collection for use of undergraduates through faculty" Choice "Patey's sympathetic and acute portrait of Waugh narrates Waugh's narration of his own life, combining thorough research with an exhaustive knowledge of Waugh's fiction and nonfiction and the insight of a highly skilled literary critic. The result is the finest biography by far of Evelyn Waugh to date, and a welcome corrective of the regnant record. It is impossible to pay sufficient tribute to the chapter Patey devotes to Brideshead Revisited. It is, simply, the very best interpretation of the novel of which I am aware." First Things The Life of Evelyn Waugh is a biography with a difference. In addition to being the life story of the English writer who was so active from the late 1920s until his relatively early death in April 1966 at age 62, it is also a critical assessment of his novels and other literary works. Readers will be well repaid for their perseverance." Languages and Literature "It is a tribute to the thoroughness of Patey's research and his ready invocation of so many perspectives that the subject of his biography should emerge as an even more fascinating and complex figure than one had imagined. It is Waugh the writer, though, who must remain of prime interest. In this regard, Patey is the perfect critical guide." The Month "Patey is a crisp and detailed writer who pays Waugh and the reader the greatest tribute of all-he stays out of the way and gets on with the story" Arthur Jones "A remarkably insightful and readable account of Evelyn Waugh, the writer and the man. While taking the full measure of Waugh's comic genius, Douglas Patey brilliantly analyzes Waugh's sacramental imagination about the world - the writer's conviction, explored through a variety of fictional and journalistic forms, that the extraordinary and transcendent lie just on the far side of the ordinary. Indispensable for anyone who wants to get inside the mind and soul of one of the great English authors of our time." George Weigel "This is surely the finest biography of Evelyn Waugh yet written. It is unashamedly a literary biography and concentrates on the published work, though never forgetting the personal context in which these were written. Within its pages there is much valuable information, some of it of a kind that brings out the essential spirituality of Evelyn Waugh." Culture Wars "Patey has provided the layman and the devotee alike with an indispensable guide to the writer and the vagaries of hs century. I suspect The Life of Evelyn Waugh will be a well-thumber reference tool for many years to come." Evelyn Waugh Newsletter and StudiesTable of ContentsChronology of Waugh's Works. List of Illustrations. List of Abbreviations. Preface. 1. Becoming Modern (1903-1930). 2. The Doom of Youth: Decline and Fall and Vile Bodies. 3. Political Decade - I (1930-1935). 4. Political Decade - II (1935-1939). 5. A Peoples War (1939-1945). 6. Brideshead Revisited. 7. A Peoples Peace (1945-50). 8. The Post of Honour is a Private Station (1948-1953). 9. Retrospective: Shaping a Life (1953-66). Notes. Bibliography. Index.

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Book Synopsis'Brisk, lively and wonderfully entertaining' John Banville'Excellent ... read this book' Literary Review'The best single-volume life of the author available' Irish TimesThe much mythologised author of Decline and Fall, A Handful of Dust and Brideshead Revisited was hailed by Graham Greene as 'the greatest novelist of my generation', yet reckoned by Hilaire Belloc to have been possessed by the devil. Evelyn Waugh's literary reputation has continued to rise since Greene's assessment in 1966. Fifty years after his death, Philip Eade draws on extensive unpublished sources to paint a fresh and compelling portrait of this endlessly fascinating man, telling the full story of his dramatic, colourful and frequently bizarre life.Trade ReviewIf you like your Waugh fast, furious and funny, there is much to enjoy in Philip Eade's sparkling Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited ... Waugh's letters are a joy to read, and Eade's coup is his access to a hitherto unpublished cache of them -- Paula Byrne * THE TIMES *Eade isn't a standard literary biographer; he is, by instinct and preference, an entertainer ... He is an assiduous researcher with a considerable narrative gift. He also, crucially, likes his subject. Waugh never much cared what anyone thought of him, but Eade does, and time and again he finds justification for what previous biographers have considered questionable behaviour. He also has a nice, wry turn of phrase ... this is an exemplary piece of work -- Marcus Berkmann * DAILY MAIL Book of the Week *Brisk and entertaining ... intelligent and illuminating ... the best single-volume life of the author available. To read A Life Revisited is to experience a reckoning with a man whose life, like his work, is both a solace and a stimulus -- Matthew Adams * IRISH TIMES *Essential ... Eade's pacey new biography delivers the raw material of Waugh's life ... treat the Waugh aficionado in your life * SUNDAY TIMES Books of the Year *For even more laughs, Philip Eade's Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited demonstrates that Waugh's life, already done by divers hands, really is worth another visit -- John Banville * GUARDIAN Best Books of 2016 *Anyone with the slightest interest in Evelyn Waugh - and who has not been intrigued by his steady return to favour? - should buy, and keep, Philip Eade's Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited. Why? Because it is packed with brand new, fascinating information about Waugh, his family, his friends and lovers. As well, it 'rebalances' a number of entrenched, skewed perceptions of man and soldier. And it is irresistibly readable -- Donat Gallagher, editor of THE ESSAYS, ARTICLES AND REVIEWS OF EVELYN WAUGH[I]t is the force of Waugh's energy - creative, sexual and social - that crackles through the pages of Philip Eade's meticulous and wildly entertaining biography ... Eade supplies an astonishing wealth of detail ... and is sympathetic to Waugh's many failings without being sycophantic -- Martin Townsend * DAILY EXPRESS *Eade's new biography draws on unpublished letters, diaries and memoirs to explore the eccentric larger-than-life story of one of the most acclaimed novelists of the 20th century. Will send readers back to the novels in droves * FINANCIAL TIMES Books of the Year *Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited represents a sort of tipping point: Eade's even-handedness gently but firmly nudges Waugh's work centre stage again ... Eade is excellent on tracing the sources of Waugh's delights and horrors, from his life to his work and back again: the failures, the successes, the disappointments, the endless grist to the authorial mill -- Ian Sansom * LITERARY REVIEW *Philip Eade makes the case that now is the time to revisit Waugh and see if some of the old charges of cynicism, snobbery and emotional cruelty really hold true. The result is a bright, breezy and sympathetic portrait that stops just the right side of sentimental -- Kathryn Hughes * MAIL ON SUNDAY *A gloriously entertaining indulgence. There isn't a single dull page in the whole book, and it could easily be twice as long without overstaying its welcome -- Eilis O'Hanlon * IRISH INDEPENDENT *Philip Eade has written a brisk, lively, and wonderfully entertaining account of the life of a strange, tormented, unique creature. Through page after page one finds oneself laughing aloud yet again at stories that have been told and retold many times. While previous biographers have been respectful (Martin Stannard) or compassionate (Selina Hastings), Eade seems genuinely to like his subject, and takes Waugh largely as he presented himself to the world. In his preface he writes that his intention is not to offer us a reassessment of Waugh the writer, but 'to paint a fresh portrait of the man by revisiting key episodes throughout his life and focusing on his most meaningful relationships. In this admirably modest aim he has happily succeeded -- John Banville * NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS *A splendid treat. Eade's exploration of the most significant episodes in the life of this fearless, deeply melancholic comedian is a most worthwhile addition to the bowing shelf of Waughiana -- Christopher Hirst * iNEWS *Peppered with humour ... Eade's fine biography does a very good job of pinning down the particular puckish charisma that made Waugh so popular -- Violet Hudson * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *The chief delight of this biography is the way it foregrounds Waugh's own voice ... Above all, Eade sends readers back to the books. You'll want to have at least the short stories, Brideshead, A Handful of Dust and the Sword of Honour trilogy to hand after reading this ... Eade shows just how hard-won his effortless brilliance really was -- Suzi Feay * FINANCIAL TIMES *Vastly entertaining ... a Perrier-Jouët book, frothy and fun -- Laura Freeman * STANDPOINT *Fifty years after Evelyn Waugh's death from a heart attack, aged 62, Philip Eade's challenging biography draws on 80 previously unpublished love letters, written by Waugh to the beautiful Teresa 'Baby' Jungman, one of the wildest of the Bright Young Things with whom he was obsessed in the 1930s. It reveals a softer side to his personality, different from the brilliant, acerbic wit that previous biographers have focused on ... A fascinating read -- Rebecca Wallersteiner * THE LADY *Eade's biography is crisp, diligent and sympathetic; his fresh material adds texture to this oft-told story -- James Fergusson * COUNTRY LIFE Book of the Week *Eade's thoughtful and thorough re-examination will not affect Waugh's status as a novelist, but it may well raise his reputation as a man * NEW STATESMAN *This biography, drawing on 80 previously unpublished love letters written by Waugh to Bright Young Thing Teresa 'Baby' Jungman, reveals a softer side to the author of Brideshead Revisited and explores the impact of his complex love life on his novels * THE LADY Christmas Book Guide *For all the value of the newly available sources and the good use to which Mr. Eade has put them, in the end it is his biographical skills and crisp way with words and phrase that make this such a valuable tool for understanding the perplexing figure of Evelyn Waugh -- Martin Rubin * WASHINGTON TIMES *Spurred by the milestone of fifty years since Waugh's death, encouraged by the subject's grandson, Alexander Waugh, and some new material, Eade has launched into this confounding, crowded, complicated life with brio ... [S]ympathetic, well-researched ... Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited will whet the appetite of any Wavian -- Mark McGinness * SYDNEY MORNING HERALD *

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