Modern Classics: A Frost in May (14th)
Our Saturday book group is now reading its way through writers Evelyn Waugh admired, or whose themes connect with his. Next up is Antonia White, who Waugh considered one of the best novelists of the time. White’s debut A Frost in May (1933) is a semi-autobiographical account of a young girl’s convent school education. […]
Evening Waugh: Waugh in Abyssinia, 23 May
Join us at Fingerprints Delicafé to discuss Waugh in Abyssinia, a controversial account of Mussolini’s 1930s Ethiopian campaign which reflects a recent Catholic convert’s enthusiasm for all things Italian. Waugh reported on the conflict from Abyssinia for the Daily Mail, the only British paper to take Mussolini’s side. When: Monday 23 May, 7pm-9pm […]
Book Group: Men at Arms
It felt particularly apt to be discussing Men at Arms, the first in Waugh’s World War II trilogy, on remembrance weekend. Our thoughts naturally flowed from discussing this conflict to other wars, both distant and uncomfortably close. In this trilogy, Waugh is more overtly autobiographical than he has ever been before. While many of his […]
The Loved One
It has been a busy few weeks for the Evelyn Waugh book group, what with the 1920s party on Thursday 2nd October (photographs coming soon!). Our meeting on Saturday the 27th September saw us talking about Waugh’s 1948 novel The Loved One. Grim, funny and darkly satirical, it tells the story of Dennis Barlow’s experiences […]
Book Group: Late Short Stories
A sigh of relief was breathed by the Evelyn Waugh Book Group last Saturday when the cooling weather, at last, declared itself in sympathy with our tea and cake habit. Many Bakewell slices were consumed while we digested the contents of Evelyn Waugh’s later short stories. What counts as a “late” short story? For once, […]
Book Group: Early Short Stories
The diversity of Waugh’s early short stories is such that the Book Group found themselves disappearing down many an illuminating tangent last Saturday. It’s taken me all day, for example, to remember why we ended up finding out that Amy’s grandmother was a hand model for Cutex (we got there via a discussion about Waugh’s stories […]
Coming Next: The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold
Email Barbara to join us and discuss Evelyn Waugh’s hallucinogenic semi-autobiography or comment below to kickstart the conversation online. When: Saturday 5th April, 11.00am-1.00pm Where: Leicester Central Library Contact: waughbookgroupleicester@gmail.com
Book Group: Decline and Fall
A swift and deliberate change in tone for the Book Group this month as we swapped the lyrical nostalgia of Brideshead Revisited for the cruel humour of Decline and Fall. Evelyn Waugh’s first novel follows the fortunes of Paul Pennyfeather, sent down from Oxford through no fault of his own and condemned – or so […]
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