Evelyn Waugh

Evelyn Waugh chose the name "Labels" for his first travel book because, he said, the places he visited were already "fully labelled" in people's minds. Yet even the most seasoned traveller could not fail to be inspired by his quintessentially English attitude and by his eloquent and frequently outrageous wit. From Europe to the Middle East and North Africa, from Egyptian porters and Italian priests to Maltese sailors and Moroccan merchants - as he cruises around the Mediterranean his pen cuts through the local colour to give an entertaining portrait of the Englishman abroad.

Between 1929 and 1935 Evelyn Waugh travelled widely and wrote four books about his experiences. In this collection he writes, with his customary wit and perception, about a cruise around the Mediterranean; a train trip from Djibouti to Abyssinia to attend Emperor Haile Selassie's coronation in 1930; his travels in Aden, Zanzibar, Kenya and the Congo, coping with unbearable heat and plagued by mosquitoes; a journey to Guyana and Brazil; and his return to Addis Ababa in 1935 to report on the war between Abyssinia and Italy. Waugh's adventures on his travels gave him the ideas for such classic novels as Scoop and Black Mischief.

'Only when one has lost all curiosity about the future has one reached the age to write an autobiography.' Waugh begins his story with heredity, writing of the energetic, literary and sometimes eccentric men and women who, unknown to themselves, contributed to his genius. Save for a few pale shadows, his childhood was warm, bright and serene. The Hampstead and Lancing schooldays which followed were sometimes agreeable, but often not. His life at Oxford - which he evokes in Brideshead Revisited - was essentially a catalogue of friendship. His cool recollection of those hedonistic days is a portrait of the generation of Harold Acton, Cyril Connolly and Anthony Powell. That exclusive world he recalls with elegant wit and precision. He closes with his experiences as a master at a preparatory school in North Wales which inspired Decline and Fall.

Evelyn Waugh's debut novel, Decline and Fall, is a biting satire that lampoons British society of the 1920s with razor-sharp wit and dark humor. The story follows the misadventures of Paul Pennyfeather, a hapless theology student at Oxford who finds himself expelled from university due to a farcical incident involving the raucous Bollinger Club. Forced to take a teaching position at an obscure Welsh private school, Paul becomes entangled in a series of increasingly absurd situations, including a disastrous sports day and a romantic entanglement with a wealthy widow. Waugh weaves a tale that exposes the hypocrisy and moral decay of the British upper classes, while simultaneously critiquing the educational system, religious institutions, and cultural norms of the era. Through a cast of eccentric and often outrageous characters, the novel presents a world where appearances are deceiving, and societal expectations are turned on their head. Decline and Fall remains a timeless classic, offering readers a wickedly funny and shockingly clever exploration of a society in flux.

"The Loved One is not only satire at its most ferocious. It is a macabre frolic filled with laughter and ingenious devices. It is devilishly clever, impishly amusing." - The New York TimesA sad irony of life: People pay thousands to bury a relative they hate, but balk at paying fifty bucks to cremate the dog who stood by them for a decade. Recently kicked out of Hollywood, Dennis take an ignominious-nay-shamefully vulgar job, tending the dead. More than his reputation hangs in the balance if his snobby British ex-pat community discover his secret. A biting cultural satire that juxtaposes the shallowness of fa ade with the deep, long-lasting consequences of reputation.

Oxfordstudenten Charles Ryder, der kommer fra en jævn borgerlig familie med en enlig far, fascineres af den ekstravagante, dekadente Sebastian Flyte fra den stenrige, aristokratiske Flyte-familie. De bliver nære venner, og Charles får sin jævnlige gang på familiens imponerende herresæde Brideshead. Charles omgås de øvrige medlemmer af den excentriske familie og drages af det privilegerede liv på Brideshead – et særligt nært forhold får han til Sebastians søster Julia. Men familiens medlemmer martres af konflikten mellem deres religiøse opdragelse og adelige pligter overfor lysten til et nydelsesfuldt verdsligt liv. Det får fatale konsekvenser for flere medlemmer af familien og for Charles’ forhold til dem. Gensyn med Brideshead er en fascinerende, nostalgisk skildring af det uddøende, privilegerede og degenererede aristokrati i mellemkrigstidens England. Fine karakterskildringer og skarpe, vittige dialoger skaber et spændende sammensat og mindeværdigt persongalleri. Romanen har gentagne gange optrådt på top 100-lister over de bedste engelsksprogede romaner bl.a. Modern Library (1998), BBC survey (2003), Time Magazine (2005) og Newsweek (2009).“Evelyn Waugh tryllebinder læserne med Gensyn med Brideshead (…) og Bridesheads ubestridelige, fine litterære kvaliteter tåler mere end én genlæsning. Nye generationer kan begynde her.” – Jan Hedegaard, Berlingske *****“(…) det er Waughs mættede prosa, eminente personkarakteristik og blik for tragediens forløsende kraft, der giver hans mesterværk dets slidstyrke og stadige fascination. Man har sjældent set noget lignende.” – Andreas Rude, Kristeligt Dagblad ******“Et ægte litterært mesterværk” – TIME“Waughs mest dybfølte roman” – The New York Times“Gensyn med Brideshead har haft et stærkt greb om den britiske fantasi i mere end tres år (…) en enestående læseoplevelse” – The Independent“Hjerteskærende smuk (…) Det tyvende århundredes fineste engelske roman” – Los Angeles TimesEvelyn Waugh (1903-1966) var en engelsk romanforfatter. Han indledte forfatterskabet med nogle kritiske, humoristiske, sociale satirer: Forfald og fald, 1928, Syndige sjæle, 1930 og En håndfuld støv, 1934. Han konverterede til katolicismen i 1930, hvilket farver hans senere mere alvorlige romaner, der omfatter hans mest populære og verdenskendte Gensyn med Brideshead, 1945 og hans trilogi om 2. verdenskrig Sword of Honour, 1965. Den satiriske tone fornægter sig dog ikke i disse senere mere dystre værker, og Waugh betragtes som en af det 20. århundredes største satirikere.

Jag kände Sebastian till utseendet långt innan jag träffade honom. Det var oundvikligt, för redan från den första veckan var han den mest ryktbare studenten i sin årskull på grund av sin skönhet, som var anslående, och på grund av sina excentriska infall, för vilka det inte verkade finnas några gränser. Berättelsen om Oxfordstudenten Charles Ryders möte med den dekadenta Sebastian Flyte och dennes magnifika familjehem Brideshead i 1920-talets England har fascinerat generationer av läsare. Inte bara för sin skildring av en värld där plikt och lust, andlig tro och världslig lycka ständigt hamnar i konflikt med varandra, utan lika mycket för sin mångtydiga skildring av manlig vänskap. 2015 är det 70 år sedan Evelyn Waughs klassiker utkom. Det firas med en nyöversättning. Romanen är en tillbakablick där Charles minns de bitterljuva åren på Brideshead med den förmögna, men djupt troende familjen Flyte. Han bländas av det förnäma överklasslivet där konst, kultur och extravaganser tillhör vardagen. Men han blir också medveten om de slitningar inom familjen som hotar att förgöra hans älskade vän. En förlorad värld, som också blev tv-serie under 80-talet med Anthony Andrews och Jeremy Irons i huvudrollerna, är en fascinerande skildring av den priviligierade överklassen i mellankrigstidens England. Efterord av Johanna Koljonen.