Category Archives: A Little Learning

Centenary of Waugh’s Coming of Age: 28 October 1924

Today marks the centenary of Evelyn Waugh’s coming of age on 28 October 1924, his 21st birthday. In Waugh’s diary entry for the following day, he begins: “Yesterday I became a man and put away childish things.” (Diaries, p. 182)  … Continue reading

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More Sad News: James Waugh 1946-2022

–In the course of reviewing some of the notices regarding the recent death of Alexander Waugh, additional sad news is reported. This involves the apparent death of Alexander’s uncle, James Waugh, on 12 September 2022. This was reported in the … Continue reading

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Roundup: Schoolmaster Novelists

–Literary biographer Jeffrey Meyers writing in TheArticle.com describes the early 20th Century school teaching careers of four English novelists. Here are the opening paragraphs: Aspiring writers have often tried their hand at teaching.  They have usually assumed that it would … Continue reading

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Presidents’ Day Roundup

—The London Magazine has posted two articles from its recent offerings that comment on Evelyn Waugh. The first is from an unsigned Poetry and Politics column: Contemporary parliamentarians, in my experience, are not specially attuned to contemporary verse. There are … Continue reading

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Roundup: Changing of the Guard

–The main story of the week is of course the fall of Boris Johnson. Veteran journalist Max Hastings writing in The Times brings a Waugh character into his assessment of Johnson’s career: Herein, I suggest, lay much of the extraordinary … Continue reading

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Christie’s Online Sale of Waugh Presentation Copies

Christie’s has issued a catalogue for the sale of several Waugh editions from the collection of William S Reese. Here’s the general description: The themes of Part Three of The Private Collection of William S. Reese include fine art, Yale … Continue reading

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Washington’s Birthday Roundup

–In the TLS, backpage columnist M.C. is reminded of the BBC television quiz show Take It or Leave It. Devised by Brigid Brophy, this quiz show ran from 1964 until 1971 on BBC Two. “Preference and prejudice towards books and … Continue reading

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Modernism’s Centenary Marked: Essay and Lecture

There have been several stories in the papers recently about the major events in the history of modern literature that occurred in 1922. A recent article by John Self in The Critic magazine does an excellent job of bringing them … Continue reading

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Evelyn Waugh’s Centenary at Oxford

This month marks the centenary of Evelyn Waugh’s matriculation at Oxford. He started his Oxford career at Hertford College on 8 January 1922. That was the beginning of Hilary Term in 1922; this year, it begins next Sunday, 16 January … Continue reading

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Annual Waugh Lecture (More)

As noted in a previous post, the annual Evelyn Waugh Lecture was delivered at Lancing College earlier this week. The talk was given by Jeremy Tomlinson, a former master of the house where Waugh lived as a student. It was … Continue reading

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