Category Archives: Decline and Fall

Happy New Year and Welcome to Public Domain

Posted on January 1, 2026 by Jeffrey Manley

Several papers have been carrying the story on books to be released today (1 January 2026) from copyright publishing restrictions and into the public domain. Among these, Waugh’s Vile Bodies has been prominently mentioned. It was published as his second … Continue reading →

Posted in Bibliophilia, Collections, Decline and Fall, Fiction, Labels, Vile Bodies | Tagged , | Leave a comment

John Carey: b. 5 April 1935, d. 11 December 2025: R.I.P.

Posted on December 18, 2025 by Jeffrey Manley

John Carey, former Merton Professor of English Literature at Oxford and one of his generation’s most noted literary critics, died last week at the age of 92. His obituary appeared, inter alia, in the Guardian, The Times and the Daily … Continue reading →

Posted in Auberon Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, Decline and Fall, Newspapers, Obituaries, Oxford | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Mid-December Roundup

Posted on December 13, 2025 by Jeffrey Manley

–Charles Moore writes in the Daily Telegraph a critique of the newly issued US National Security Strategy. The article is entitled “Civilisation erasure is real, but Donald Trump is part of the problem,” and opens with this: Amid stiff competition … Continue reading →

Posted in Auberon Waugh, Biographies, Brideshead Revisited, Conferences, Decline and Fall, Men at Arms, Newspapers, Scoop | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Octoberfest Roundup

Posted on October 11, 2025 by Jeffrey Manley

–The scripts of the TV series “All Creatures Great and Small” are being posted on the internet. Here’s an excerpt from an episode from the final series (No. 6) in which one of the vets is being introduced to a … Continue reading →

Posted in A Handful of Dust, Biographies, Decline and Fall, Internet, Interviews, Newspapers, Television Programs, The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Octoberfest Roundup

Early August Roundup

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Jeffrey Manley

–Novelist Dan Fesperman in LitHub.com discusses five novels which are set in realistic but imaginary places. One of those is Evelyn Waugh’s Scoop: …Waugh’s skewering of Fleet Street, published in 1938, is set in the East Africa nation of Ishmaelia, … Continue reading →

Posted in Brideshead Revisited, Complete Works, Decline and Fall, Newspapers, Oxford, Scoop, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Simon J. James (1950-2025) R.I.P.

Posted on June 21, 2025 by Jeffrey Manley

Duncan McLaren has advised that literary scholar Prof. Simon J James died earlier this week. He was active in the EWS and was editor of the Decline and Fall volume of the  OUP’s Complete Works of Evelyn Waugh. This would be … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Complete Works, Decline and Fall, Obituaries, Vile Bodies | Tagged | Comments Off on Simon J. James (1950-2025) R.I.P.

Juneteenth Roundup

Posted on June 18, 2025 by Jeffrey Manley

–This week’s Sunday Telegraph has an article entitled “The books that every 16-year-old boy should be reading.” This included short selections by several writers, including Simon Heffer who recommends Waugh’s Decline and Fall: When I was 16 and thinking of … Continue reading →

Posted in Adaptations, Decline and Fall, Newspapers, Robbery Under Law, Scoop, Television Programs, The Loved One | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Juneteenth Roundup

Roundup: Single-Sex Schools, The Mitfords, and Tales from Amazonia

Posted on April 6, 2025 by Jeffrey Manley

–In last week’s Sunday Telegraph, Rowan Pelling had an article entitled “When single-sex schools die, will we all be poorer?” Here is an extract: …I can’t help wondering how the shelves of children will look in 20 years after all … Continue reading →

Posted in A Handful of Dust, Adaptations, Decline and Fall, Labels, Newspapers, The Loved One, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Roundup: Single-Sex Schools, The Mitfords, and Tales from Amazonia

Dame Edna’s Book Sale

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Jeffrey Manley

The Daily Mail has reported the upcoming auction sale of the book collection of the late comedian Barry Humphries (aka Dame Edna Everage). The most interesting item (Lot 235) among the three lots offered relating to Evelyn Waugh is this … Continue reading →

Posted in A Handful of Dust, Auctions, Black Mischief, Decline and Fall, Newspapers, The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Dame Edna’s Book Sale

Daylight Savings Time (US) Roundup

Posted on March 10, 2025 by Jeffrey Manley

–The New York Review of Books has posted a review by Martin Filler entitled “Build Britannia.” This is about a book entitled Interwar British Architecture, 1919-1939 by Gavin Stamp. Here’s an excerpt: …A visceral distrust of European Modernism–emblematic of British … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Photography & Sculpture, Decline and Fall, Edmund Campion, Newspapers | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Daylight Savings Time (US) Roundup