Evelyn Waugh

Author profile

born

in London, The United Kingdom

October 28, 1903

died

April 10, 1966

gender

male

genre

Literature & Fiction

About this author

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Evelyn Waugh's father Arthur was a noted editor and publisher. His only sibling Alec also became a writer of note. In fact, his book “The Loom of Youth” (1917) a novel about his old boarding school Sherborne caused Evelyn to be expelled from there and placed at Lancing College. He said of his time there, “…the whole of English education when I was brought up was to produce prose writers; it was all we were taught, really.” He went on to Hertford College, Oxford where he read History. When asked if he took up any sports there he quipped, “I drank for Hertford.”

In 1924 Waugh left Oxford without taking his degree. After inglorious stints as a school teacher (he was dismissed for trying to seduce a school matron and/or inebriation), an apprent...more Evelyn Waugh's father Arthur was a noted editor and publisher. His only sibling Alec also became a writer of note. In fact, his book “The Loom of Youth” (1917) a novel about his old boarding school Sherborne caused Evelyn to be expelled from there and placed at Lancing College. He said of his time there, “…the whole of English education when I was brought up was to produce prose writers; it was all we were taught, really.” He went on to Hertford College, Oxford where he read History. When asked if he took up any sports there he quipped, “I drank for Hertford.”

In 1924 Waugh left Oxford without taking his degree. After inglorious stints as a school teacher (he was dismissed for trying to seduce a school matron and/or inebriation), an apprentice cabinet maker and journalist he wrote and had published his first novel, “Decline and Fall” in 1928.

In 1928 he was married for the first time to Evelyn Gardiner. She proved unfaithful and the marriage ended in divorce in 1930. Waugh would derive parts of “A Handful of Dust” from this unhappy time. His second marriage to Audrey Herbert lasted the rest of his life and begat seven children. It was during this time that he converted to Catholicism.

During the thirties Waugh produced one gem after another. From this decade come: “Vile Bodies” (1930), “Black Mischief” (1932), the incomparable “A Handful of Dust” (1934) and “Scoop” (1938). After the Second World War he published what is for many his masterpiece, “Brideshead Revisited,” in which his Catholicism took center stage. “The Loved One” a scathing satire of the American death industry followed in 1947. After publishing his “Sword of Honor Trilogy” about his experiences in World War II (“Men at Arms” (1952), “Officers and Gentlemen” (1955), “Unconditional Surrender" (1961) his career was seen to be on the wane. In fact, “Basil Seal Rides Again” (1963) - his last published novel - received little critical or commercial attention.

Evelyn Waugh, considered by many to be the greatest satirical novelist of his day, passed away on 10 April 1966 at the age of 62.

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Evelyn Waugh's Books

Average rating: 3.92 · 68,685 ratings · 4,376 reviews · 98 distinct works · Similar authors

	Brideshead Revisited 3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 32,832 ratings — published 1945 — 99 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Handful of Dust 3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 9,249 ratings — published 1934 — 50 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Scoop 3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 5,620 ratings — published 1937 — 36 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vile Bodies 3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 4,570 ratings — published 1930	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Loved One 3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 4,511 ratings — published 1948 — 39 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Decline and Fall 3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 avg rating — 3,963 ratings — published 1928 — 41 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Black Mischief 3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 1,149 ratings — published 1932 — 22 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Men at Arms 3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 870 ratings — published 1952 — 18 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Put Out More Flags 3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 798 ratings — published 1942 — 17 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Officers and Gentlemen 4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 691 ratings — published 1955 — 16 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Evelyn Waugh…

Quotes by Evelyn Waugh

“Punctuality is the virtue of the bored.”
― Evelyn Waugh

tags: punctuality

1,054 people liked it

“After all, damn it, what does being in love mean if you can't trust a person.”
― Evelyn Waugh, Vile Bodies

tags: love, trust

355 people liked it

“I should like to bury something precious in every place where I've been happy and then, when I'm old and ugly and miserable, I could come back and dig it up and remember.”
― Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

221 people liked it

See all Evelyn Waugh's quotes »

Polls

Vote for our July group read (1900-1940)

Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (1938)

12 votes, 41.4%

Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers (1927)

10 votes, 34.5%

The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet (1923)

5 votes, 17.2%

The Quest for Corvo: An Experiment in Biography by A. J. A. Symons (1932)

2 votes, 6.9%

29 total votes

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