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A Handful of Dust |
Re-reading this favourite, I found the 1930s a fascinating setting for the series of unfortunate events that take Tony Last from 'hideous' family seat in the English countryside to the Amazon jungle. Wife Brenda can't resist the lure of modernity and change; then personal tragedy ensures there's no going back. Despite London's feverish partying you can sense the changes and unease of the times, but it's deftly written: concise, humorous and a joy to read.
(Victoria Grey-Edwards - bwl 98 Autumn 2020) |
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Diaries of Evelyn Waugh |
If you enjoy one or more of The Sword of Honour Trilogy, you would almost certainly also enjoy his Diaries, particularly the parts covering his wartime experience on which he drew when writing his trilogy.
(Jeremy Swann - bwl 21 November 2003) |
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Scoop |
"Up to a point, Lord Copper" still peppers the conversations of close observers of the goings-on in Westminster and Whitehall. But how many people have read the Fleet Street satire where it originated? Returning to this slight novel after forty years, the plot now seems contrived and
somewhat silly. The occasional flash of high comedy reminds one why it was so popular when it was first published in the thirties. But vintage Waugh? Up to a point.
(Jeremy Miller - bwl 48 November 2008) |
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The Sword of Honour Trilogy |
Men at Arms; Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender
After many enjoyable hours spent with Roy Jenkins's Churchill (bwl 12), it was an amusing contrast to go back again to Waugh's satirical portrait of an imaginary elderly young man called up for service in the second world war, the period of Churchill's greatest achievements. The story is punctuated by a number of hilarious situations with a handful of characters who must figure amongst the most comic figures in twentieth century novel writing.
(Jeremy Swann - bwl 21 November 2003) |
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