Category Archives: Catholicism

AN Wilson Returns to Brideshead

Posted on October 15, 2021 by Jeffrey Manley

The Oldie joins the Spectator in commemorating this week’s 40th anniversary of the 1981 Granada TV adaptation of Brideshead Revisited. They send critic and novelist AN Wilson back to have another look. He begins by noting Waugh’s main themes: the … Continue reading →

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Labo(u)r Day Roundup

Posted on September 5, 2021 by Jeffrey Manley

–The Catholic Herald has an article by Ken Craycraft in which he reviews the recent biography of Graham Greene (The Unquiet Englishman by Richard Greene). Here is an excerpt: Critics and biographers are always looking for glimpses of Greene’s own … Continue reading →

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A Little More Learning

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Jeffrey Manley

Sophia Waugh, Evelyn’s grand daughter and Auberon’s daughter, writes this week in the Catholic Herald about the current state of Roman Catholic schools in the UK. The article opens with a brief review of the differing attitudes of various members … Continue reading →

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Roundup: Sash Windows and Sitwells

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Jeffrey Manley

–Eleanor Doughty writing in Country Life considers whether sash windows should be repaired or replaced. She opens the story with this: There is something about a sash window, isn’t there? The gentle squeak and heave as you lift it up, … Continue reading →

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Waugh Would Not Be Happy

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Jeffrey Manley

To Evelyn Waugh, one of the most important aspects of the Roman Catholic Church’s Vatican II reforms of 1960 was the limitation on the use of the traditional Latin Mass. He spent his final years in active opposition to this … Continue reading →

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“Bridey’s Bombshell” Queried

Posted on June 3, 2021 by Jeffrey Manley

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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Memorial Day/Spring Bank Holiday Roundup

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Jeffrey Manley

–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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Tax Day Roundup

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Jeffrey Manley

–An article in Lapham’s Quarterly commemorates Tax Day (even though it may have been postponed in the USA this year). This is from the recent book Rebellion, Rascals and Revenue: Tax Follies and Wisdom through the Ages by Michael Keen … Continue reading →

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Mid-December Roundup

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Jeffrey Manley

–Posted on the website of the Australian literary journal Quadrant, an article by Mark McGinness marks the 75th anniversary of Nancy Mitford’s novel The Pursuit of Love. This was published on 10 December 1945 about 6 months after Brideshead Revisited … Continue reading →

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Conversion Anniversary

Posted on September 29, 2020 by Jeffrey Manley

The American Spectator, a conservative journal, has an article by Tom Raabe marking the 90th anniversary of Evelyn Waugh’s conversion to Roman Catholicism on 29 September 1930. Raabe remarks that, at first, the conversion did not have much impact on … Continue reading →

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