Category Archives: Fiction

MLK Day Roundup

–The US-based Jesuit journal America has an article in its latest issue describing the differences and similarities of conversions to Roman Catholicism by writers and intellectuals in the US and UK. It opens with the UK example of Evelyn Waugh … Continue reading

Posted in Brideshead Revisited, Catholicism, Newspapers | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Roundup: Television and Weblogs

–Blogger Andrew Kern has posted on Substack an article praising Waugh’s war novel Men at Arms. Here are the opening paragraphs: Evelyn Waugh wrote better than any dead or living Briton from the 20th century. He tells stories that incorporate … Continue reading

Posted in Black Mischief, Interviews, Men at Arms, Newspapers, Television Programs | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Roundup: Renewed Interest in Rosemary Tonks

–The London Review of Books reviews the reprints of three of the later novels by poet-novelist Rosemary Tonks. She wrote during the period 1963-1980.  After a rather difficult life, she stopped writing in 1980 to become a fundamentalist Christian, dying … Continue reading

Posted in A Tourist in Africa, Newspapers, Scoop, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

New Year’s Roundup

–Writing in The Spectator, Druin Burch reviews the press coverage of the Lucy Letby case (recently convicted of murdering babies in her care) and recalls the case of an earlier nurse (Benjamin Geen) who was also convicted of murder. The … Continue reading

Posted in Labels, Newspapers, Scoop, The Loved One | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Winter Solstice Roundup

–Novelist Robert Harris has recommended the best 5 collections of letters for the Wall Street Journal. Those of Evelyn Waugh are included: Born in London in 1903, Evelyn Waugh was a reactionary whose distaste for the modern world included the … Continue reading

Posted in Brideshead Revisited, Interviews, Letters, Newspapers, Oxford, Scoop | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Roundup: Euthanasia, Stiff-upper-lips, and Feminism

–American journalist Roger Kimball, writing in The Spectator, offers his views on certain aspects of legislation proposed by the new Labour Government: …What if you are old, sick or just plain inconvenient? Starmer’s government has a plan for you, too. … Continue reading

Posted in A Handful of Dust, Love Among The Ruins, Newspapers, Oxford, Photographs, Podcast, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Advent Roundup

–D J Taylor has written a thoughtful essay on the current status of literary biography. This is posted in The Critic Magazine. Here are the introductory paragraphs: Q. Who, just under a century ago, wrote the following, and about whom? … Continue reading

Posted in Biographies, Brideshead Revisited, Newspapers, Podcast, Rossetti: His Life and Works, World War II | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Thanksgiving Roundup

–The New Statesman has an article about the crime novels of James Lee Burke. This is by Michael Henderson who describes the Louisiana setting of the novels featuring the characters of Dave Robicheaux and Cletus Purcel.  Here’s an excerpt with … Continue reading

Posted in Alec Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, Fiction, Newspapers, Podcast, Scoop | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Roundup: From Arcadia to Bohemia

—The Irish Rover, a newspaper sponsored by University of Notre Dame (in Indiana, not Ireland), has posted a brief article on the origins of “Arcadia”. This is by Santiago Legarre who is a visiting professor at the Notre Dame Law … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Art, Photography & Sculpture, Brideshead Revisited, Labels, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Roundup: From Arcadia to Bohemia

Armistice Day Roundup

–The London Review of Books has posted an episode from its ongoing podcast called Close Reads that may be of interest. This is in a series entitled “On Satire” that is conducted by Colin Burrow and Clare Bucknell, both Fellows … Continue reading

Posted in Brideshead Revisited, Music, Newspapers, Podcast | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Armistice Day Roundup