A new book composed of writings by Auberon Waugh has been compiled by Naim Attallah and published by his Quartet Books as A Scribbler in Soho. This will be released in the UK on 24 January and is reviewed in the Daily Telegraph by Christopher Howse:
The central point [about Auberon Waugh] is the same one he made of his father, Evelyn, on his death in 1966. It was not that Evelyn Waugh was conservative, a class warrior or a Catholic. “It is simply that he was the funniest man of his generation,” he wrote. “He scarcely opened his mouth but to say something extremely funny. His house and life revolved around jokes.” This was equally true of Bron. […] A new book, A Scribbler in Soho. [is a] “celebration of Auberon Waugh” [and] gives a version of his working life between extracts from his journalism in Private Eye and The Literary Review, which Waugh edited for 14 years under the proprietorship of Naim Attallah, whose idea the book was.
According to the publisher’s description:
This celebration of his work considers his time at Private Eye, and in particular, his Diaries (which he considered his masterwork); his editorship of the Literary Review and ends with an account of his co-founding the Academy Club. As is befitting in a tribute Festschrift, extensive examples of Waugh’s writings have been reproduced, including liberal amounts from his autobiographical texts previously published elsewhere. Of particular interest will be his monthly editorials written for the Literary Review, From the Pulpit, reprinted here in their entirety, providing a vivid commentary on the book trade, publishing and the personalities who hovered around Grub Street in the 70s and 80s. Above all else, however, readers can rediscover a unique writer whose tone, style and outlook are still sorely missed, especially in today’s political climate where his genius would have enthralled the nation in an unimaginable way.
The book is also reviewed in the Sunday Times by Prof John Carey. Meanwhile, The Oldie magazine, in what may be a related move, is republishing online copies of Auberon’s columns he wrote for them . Here’s a sample about the Monarchy.
