Category Archives: Non-fiction

The Art (and Power) of the Book Blurb

Posted on April 5, 2019 by Jeffrey Manley

In the current issue of the TLS, DJ Taylor addresses in the “Freelance” column “blurb-writing” for book covers and promotional materials. He begins with a discussion of the various considerations brought to bear in composing a successful blurb. These are … Continue reading →

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Waugh and Two Catholic Novelists

Posted on March 31, 2019 by Jeffrey Manley

Recent articles in the Roman Catholic literary press have linked Waugh to two largely neglected (in the English speaking world at least) Roman Catholic novelists. The first is an essay by Luca Fumagalli in the Italian-language online journal Radio Spada … Continue reading →

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Roundup: Fleabag and Brexit

Posted on March 30, 2019 by Jeffrey Manley

—The Times earlier this week carried a review of an ongoing BBC TV series called Fleabag, currently in its 2nd season. The review by Ann Marie Hourihane opens with this: God is what you’ve got left when you’re done with sex; … Continue reading →

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Roundup: Party Fiction and Personal Libraries

Posted on March 23, 2019 by Jeffrey Manley

–The National Review has published a symposium on the subject of personal libraries in which participants explain the pleasure and burden they impose. Here’s the contribution of American literary critic Terry Teachout: My Manhattan apartment contains a thousand-odd books, but … Continue reading →

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Evelyn Waugh: The Restless Years

Posted on March 21, 2019 by Jeffrey Manley

Duncan McLaren has embarked on a new chapter in his online history of Waugh. This is the period of 1930-37 between the breakup of his first marriage and the celebration of his second. He has posted the first installment, as … Continue reading →

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Norman Douglas: Forgotten Author?

Posted on March 14, 2019 by Jeffrey Manley

An article about writer Norman Douglas (noted pedophile) has been inspired by the flurry of activity stirred up by a recent HBO documentary about the posthumous reputation of the singer Michael Jackson. This is by the author of a forthcoming … Continue reading →

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Waugh’s Ash Wednesday in New Orleans

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Jeffrey Manley

Blogger Amy Welborn, a free-lance writer of books on religious subjects, posted an interesting article yesterday (Ash Wednesday) about Evelyn Waugh’s trips to America in the 1940s. This is on her weblog “Charlotte was Both.” It begins with a quote … Continue reading →

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Waugh in Kenya

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Jeffrey Manley

A French language weblog is in the process of posting a longer article entitled “The Happy Valley: Des Blancs au Kenya [Whites in Kenya]”. This contains, in part 2, a brief chapter on Evelyn Waugh’s contribution to the subject. The … Continue reading →

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Compton Mackenzie Reconsidered

Posted on February 24, 2019 by Jeffrey Manley

In the wake of the recent New Statesman essay seeking to revive an interest in JB Priestley, the latest New Criterion has published one seeking to create a renewed interest in another neglected novelist of the same period. This is … Continue reading →

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Prize-Winning Essay About “Robbery Under Law”

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Jeffrey Manley

A review has appeared in the Mexican newspaper Milenio about an essay relating to Waugh’s 1939 book Robbery Under Law. The essay is written in Spanish by Armando González Torres and is entitled “¡País de ladrones! Evelyn Waugh y México” … Continue reading →

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