Evelyn Waugh: A Biography

I've read two other biographies of Evelyn Waugh, but this is the best of the lot. Ms. Hastings is not writing a literary life of her subject, nor a elegiac review of his life and friends. This is Evelyn Waugh, warts and all. And boy, does he have them. I have to say, towards the end of the book, I got to the point that I wished he would die already. The picture presented is of an alcoholic snob who wasted his talents at every opportunity. How he had any friends is a mystery. Ms. Hastings presents a thoroughly researched biography, thus the evolution of Waugh from a middle-class younger son (his older brother was the family favorite - much to his resentment) to an estate-owning squire with seven children is clearly documented. Her clear vision of her subject is such that the reader doesn't really find him sympathetic at any time (at least I didn't). I particularly like it that she doesn't manufacture reasons or excuses for his many times outrageous behavior, as indeed, there are none. Ms. Hastings give an excellent picture of the 'bright young things' of which Waugh was a member, as well as the lives of the upper class and literary set of the UK before, during, and after WWII. Her sources are clear, and her bibliography is one of the best I've seen. This is a very good book, very well written - even if the subject is a monster.

The between-the-wars generation had it tough. They missed the slaughter in the trenches, were too old for the Marxism of the 30s, and never had it quite so good as their school days at Eton and Oxford. It was a generation consumed by nostalgia. They also had 19th century educations which did little to prepare them for the bleak post-war welfare state. They hated the angry young men of the 1950s, but never could form a coherent enough reaction to be called the angry old men. That would certainly have fit Evelyn Waugh. Cranky, brilliant, and so it has been said, hilarious, Waugh was a kind of literary W.C. Fields. This bio does a very good job, it seems to me, of introducing the author to general readers. Hastings writes well, and tells all without being unseemly or too personal, or too prudishly 'politically correct' as many contemporary biographers have become. There are other one-volume books out on Waugh but this one stands out for its graceful prose.

The best biography I have read of Waugh. In fact, one of the best biographies I have ever read. The depth of research is most impressive. The style of writing is very agreeable.