Category Archives: Oxford

End of January Roundup

–A Scottish blogger, posting on Hole Ousia, has expressed his admiration for Waugh’s Diaries. Here’s his discussion of selections from the diaries which he has recently read: I recently read ‘The Diaries of Evelyn Waugh‘ as edited by Michael Davie. … Continue reading

Posted in A Handful of Dust, Academia, Brideshead Revisited, Diaries, Oxford | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Roundup: MLK Day (US) Edition

–The Financial Times has an article by Janan Ganesh entitled “The right will want a United States of Europe”. It opens with this: Auberon Waugh, son of the novelist Evelyn, died a quarter of a century ago this month. Never … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Anniversaries, Auberon Waugh, Brideshead Revisited, Letters, Newspapers, Oxford | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

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

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

Roundup: End of a Literary Era

–This week’s issue of the New Statesman has as its Weekend Essay an article by John Mullan. This is entitled “The Death of the British Catholic Novel: Catholicism gave English literature something it needs to rediscover” and opens with this: … Continue reading

Posted in Academia, Brideshead Revisited, Catholicism, Newspapers, Oxford, Sword of Honour, The Loved One | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Roundup: End of a Literary Era

Winter Solstice Roundup

–Novelist Robert Harris has recommended the best 5 collections of letters for the Wall Street Journal. Those of Evelyn Waugh are included: Born in London in 1903, Evelyn Waugh was a reactionary whose distaste for the modern world included the … Continue reading

Posted in Brideshead Revisited, Interviews, Letters, Newspapers, Oxford, Scoop | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Winter Solstice Roundup

Roundup: Euthanasia, Stiff-upper-lips, and Feminism

–American journalist Roger Kimball, writing in The Spectator, offers his views on certain aspects of legislation proposed by the new Labour Government: …What if you are old, sick or just plain inconvenient? Starmer’s government has a plan for you, too. … Continue reading

Posted in A Handful of Dust, Love Among The Ruins, Newspapers, Oxford, Photographs, Podcast, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Roundup: Euthanasia, Stiff-upper-lips, and Feminism

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

Posted in A Little Learning, Anniversaries, Diaries, Film: The Scarlet Woman, Hampstead, Oxford | Comments Off on Centenary of Waugh’s Coming of Age: 28 October 1924

Roundup: Two Letters and a Vase

—The Spectator has an article by Dot Wordsworth that features a misattribution to Evelyn Waugh. Here’s the opening: ‘Evelyn Waugh,’ said my husband when I asked who came up with the analogy of carrying a Ming vase. He was, in … Continue reading

Posted in Auctions, Brideshead Revisited, Interviews, Letters, Men at Arms, Newspapers, Oxford, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Roundup: Two Letters and a Vase

Bank Holiday/Memorial Day Roundup

–Novelist Kevin Kwan was recently interviewed in LitHub. This was on the occasion of last week’s issuance of his latest novel Lies and Weddings. Here’s the opening: Kevin Kwan’s much anticipated new novel, Lies and Weddings, is out today [21 … Continue reading

Posted in Adaptations, Black Mischief, Brideshead Revisited, Decline and Fall, Interviews, Newspapers, Oxford, Radio Programs, Vile Bodies | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Bank Holiday/Memorial Day Roundup