Author Archives: Jeffrey Manley

“Bridey’s Bombshell” Queried

In his Daily Mail blog, Peter Hitchens wonders whether Evelyn Waugh got it wrong about the Roman Catholic view of marriage in Brideshead Revisited, at least as it has been applied to the recent marriage of twice-divorced Boris Johnson in … Continue reading

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Memoir of Combe Florey

Sophia Waugh, Auberon’s daughter and Evelyn’s grand daughter, has written a bittersweet memoir of Combe Florey House on the occasion of its sale. This appears in a recent issue of the Catholic Herald.  Here are some excerpts: …My grandfather bought … Continue reading

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Memorial Day/Spring Bank Holiday Roundup

–Historian Niall Ferguson writes about his latest book in the Daily Mail. This is entitled Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe. He opens with the observation that the British have made a habit of laughing in the face of death, offering … Continue reading

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Max Mosley 1940-2021 R.I.P.

The death was announced yesterday of Max Mosley, best remembered as the head of Formula One racing, who sorted it out during his tenure. He is also well known as the son of Diana Mitford and her second husband Oswald … Continue reading

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Roundup

–The exhibition of Cecil Beaton’s works relating to the Bright Young People of the 1920s has reopened in Sheffield. This was originally scheduled for exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London last spring but was forced to close after … Continue reading

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Mid-May Roundup

–Nicholas Lezard, writing for the New Statesman opens his article on cold weather angst with this: I was reading Evelyn Waugh’s first travel book, Labels, which for some inexplicable reason I had never got round to before, and I was … Continue reading

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Evelyn Waugh World Cup Competition

Many of you may have followed the recent competition organized by novelist, literary critic and Waugh fan Philip Hensher. This was conducted on Twitter which is linked on the right side of the Society’s home screen. In case you missed … Continue reading

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The Cult of the Country House Reconsidered

A reference to the article of Matthew d’Ancona in the Evening Standard was inadvertently omitted from yesterday’s post on the critical reception of the BBC’s adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s novel The Pursuit of Love. This is a pity because it … Continue reading

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The Pursuit of Adaptations

The verdicts on the recent BBC adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s novel The Pursuit of Love are decidedly mixed. This is not surprising, since the advance announcements indicated this version would take a fresh approach, given that there had been two … Continue reading

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Combe Florey House (More)

Alexander Waugh has kindly confirmed the following with respect to the Waugh Family graves next to Combe Florey House: The wall has now been fixed by family effort and EW’s grave is now approached up some steps from the church … Continue reading

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