Category Archives: Non-fiction

Samuel Hynes (1924-2019) R.I.P.

Another veteran American literary scholar and critic died earlier this month at Princeton . This was Samuel Hynes, WWII veteran fighter pilot and retired Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature at Princeton University. He was 95. His best known critical work … Continue reading

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Waugh’s Birthday Roundup

Evelyn Waugh was born on this date in 1903. This is the 116th anniversary of that event. –The Oxford English Dictionary has declared today’s Word of the Day to be “Brideshead, adj.” While they do not mention the birthday anniversary … Continue reading

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Three French Aesthetes and Rex’s Tortoise

The Times newspaper chooses a new book by novelist Julian Barnes as its “Book of the Week.” This is entitled The Man in the Red Coat and is a non-fiction account of three eccentric Frenchmen travelling in late Victorian Britain. … Continue reading

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Lancing Chapel to be Completed

The Times newspaper reports, in an article by Nicola Woolcock, that the chapel at Lancing College will be completed over 150 years after it was begun: A stunning and distinctive place of worship towering over the landscape has remained unfinished … Continue reading

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Profile of Fr Martin D’Arcy on Italian Website

The life and career of Fr Martin D’Arcy are profiled in a recent issue of the Italian-language religious website Radio Spada. Fr D’Arcy was Waugh’s friend and Roman Catholic mentor from the time of his conversion to that faith.  He … Continue reading

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Early September Roundup

–Waugh biographer Selina Hastings has reviewed D J Taylor’s recent literary history Lost Girls in the Literary Review. See earlier posts. Her review concludes with this: In Lost Girls, Taylor presents a colourful portrait of this fascinating, sophisticated and highly … Continue reading

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“Lost” Rex Whistler Painting to Be Exhibited

A recent issue of The Oldie has an article about a painting by Rex Whistler which had been thought to be lost or stranded and unappreciated in an unknown private collection. The article is by Mirabel Cecil, co-author with her … Continue reading

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Waugh’s Illustrators in the News

Two of Waugh’s illustrators have been prominently mentioned in recent newspaper articles, and in one case a TV series: Rex Whistler provided the illustrations for Waugh’s post war booklet Wine in Peace and War. These were based on drawings he … Continue reading

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Waughs on Wine and Brexit

The Bridgwater Mercury and Breitbart News have announced that Alexander Waugh will stand as the candidate of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party for the Parliamentary constituency of  Bridgwater and West Somerset. This would apparently be in the next general election, whenever … Continue reading

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Biography of Orwell’s 1984

Today’s New York Times reviews what it describes as a biography of George Orwell’s novel 1984. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the novel’s publication on  8 June 1949 in London and a week later in New York. The book’s … Continue reading

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