The Society is pleased to post the latest edition of its journal Evelyn Waugh Studies. This is No. 55.2 (Autumn 2024). The contents are described by the Society’s Secretary Jamie Collinson as follows:
With Evelyn Waugh Studies No. 55.2,  Jonathan Pitcher and Yuexi Liu have served us up a smorgasbord of Waviana, with an enjoyably grammarian theme. As someone who recently had to consult his younger sister on the usage of ‘that’ or ‘which,’ I thoroughly enjoyed Hartley Moorhouse’s Evelyn Waugh: Which-Hunter ManquĂ©, and was relieved that even Waugh didn’t always get this right. The essay features cameos from Graham Green, George Orwell and our old friend Randolph Churchill – including his unforgettable exclamation on encountering the bible. While we’re on the subject of Greene, I was struck by a grammatical error in the first line of his autobiography, A Sort of Life: ‘…it may contain less errors of fact…’
Jeffrey Manley has been busy on the reviewing front. He considers a book published around last year’s exhibition of Rex Whistler paintings in Salisbury: Rex Whistler: The Artists and His Patrons, by Nikki Frater. This exhibition was timely, not least as Whistler became a victim of the absurdities of cancel culture when his mural at the Tate Gallery was hidden from public view. Manley examines how Whistler’s world intersected with Waugh’s, and more importantly the latter’s ambivalent and creatively fruitful attitude towards victory in World War II.
Manley has also reviewed Parallel Lives: From Freud and Mann to Arbus and Plath, by Jeffrey Meyers, ‘probably the most prolific and admired literary biographer of his generation.’ Here, Waugh has his own say on the literary merit of a contemporary, and points out a glaring error of syntax.
I was astonished to read that, towards the end of 2024, our very own Vincenzo Barney, author of âBehind the Rhododendronsâ (on Vile Bodies; 53.1) and the recent âPortrait of the Artist off His Onionâ (on Pinfold; 55.1), pulled off a literary scoop. After he reviewed Cormac McCarthy’s late pair of novels, McCarthy’s companion Augusta Britt contacted him, revealing details about her relationship with McCarthy long sought out by other journalists.
Finally, as an avid reader and great admirer of Jeremy Clarke, writer of the Spectator’s Low Life column until his death in 2023, I was delighted to see him appear in EWS. Clarke was a great fan of Evelyn Waugh, as some of his best columns made clear.
I hope you find as much to enjoy in this edition as I did!
Warmest regards,
Jamie Collinson
Secretary, Evelyn Waugh Society
