Category Archives: Vile Bodies

Early August Roundup

–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.

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.

Roundup: Books, Paintings and Photographs

–The latest edition of The Oldie contains an article that may be of interest. This is by A N Wilson and is entitled “Great War Stories”. Here is the opening paragraph: WWII inspired Evelyn Waugh, Anthony Powell and Olivia Manning … Continue reading

Posted in A Tourist in Africa, Art, Photography & Sculpture, Combe Florey, Newspapers, Sword of Honour, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Roundup: Books, Paintings and Photographs

Mother’s Day (US) Roundup

–A post on the website thinkinghousewife.com has this cite for its Mother’s Day offering: IN HIS unfinished autobiography A Little Learning, the British author Evelyn Waugh remembered fondly his own mother: “My mother was small, neat, reticent and, until her last decade, very active. She … Continue reading

Posted in A Little Learning, Exhibits, Newspapers, Ronald Knox, Short Stories, Sword of Honour, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Mother’s Day (US) Roundup

Easter Week Roundup

British journalist Eleanor Doughty, well known to our readers, has made a revisit to Castle Howard. What she finds is described in an article in the Times newspaper. Here is an excerpt: There is nowhere on earth like Castle Howard. … Continue reading

Posted in Adaptations, Anniversaries, Bibliophilia, Brideshead Revisited, Exhibits, Newspapers, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

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

–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

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

Washington’s Birthday Roundup

–D J Taylor has written a thoughtful obituary of David Lodge in the latest issue of the journal New Criterion. This is based on his review of Lodge’s life as written in the three-volume autobiography published in Lodge’s final years. … Continue reading

Posted in Brideshead Revisited, Catholicism, Newspapers, Television Programs, Vile Bodies, Waugh in Abyssinia | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Washington’s Birthday Roundup

Valentine’s Day Roundup

–Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the New York Times Book Review has posted this notice in its “Read Like the Wind” column. It is written by Book Review editor Joumana Khatib: The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy, by Evelyn … Continue reading

Posted in Decline and Fall, Newspapers, Scoop, The Loved One, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Valentine’s Day Roundup

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 , , , , | Comments Off on Roundup: Renewed Interest in Rosemary Tonks