Vile Bodies (Penguin Modern Classics)

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Published in 1930, this is Evelyn Waugh’s second novel, following the comic, “Decline and Fall.” Although this has some of the same humour, it becomes considerably darker in parts, which possibly mirrors the fact that Waugh’s first marriage (‘He-Evelyn’ and ‘She-Evelyn’) was falling apart during the writing of this.

The one below too, I think. The woman (actually, it's not a woman) in the image is so strong, so cool, so in control, so - in embittered He-Evelyn's view - asking to be brought crashing down to earth. Is that quote from the Bible? I'm not sure. But according to Google this is: 'Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body?' Here is the other picture. It's the only picture I know that features Nancy Mitford and Evelyn together, taken on the same occasion.Decades later, Waugh explained to Diana that he'd resented no longer being her exclusive companion, as he had more or less been when she'd been pregnant. As she'd embraced society again, Evelyn felt that he couldn't compete with the social and intellectual charms of Harold Acton and Robert Byron. But these two had been amongst the chosen few to be at the Evelyns' wedding. They respected Evelyn's gifts and could have been vital members of Vile Bodies.

Meyers, William (1991). Evelyn Waugh and the Problem of Evil. London: Faber & Faber. ISBN 0-571-14094-7. OCLC 23594793. What I have in front of me, resting on triangles of foam, fresh out of its protective case, is the leather-bound manuscript of Vile Bodies . It's the only manuscript of an Evelyn Waugh novel not to have been bought for a pittance from his widow by a robber called Harry Ransom (only joking, America) and taken to Austin in Texas. Where am I again? I'm in the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds. What have I got in front of me? Well, let's turn to the beginning of chapter two and see: The final sentence of his paragraphs on artists' studios mentions that he came across a prettily decorated edition of the poems of Mr Humbert Wolfe. This would be the book, published by Chapman and Hall in 1923, for which Evelyn himself designed the dust-wrapper when he was a student at Oxford. What a self-referential travel book he was writing! Vile Bodies (1930) was Evelyn Waugh’s second novel, published as a follow-up to the success of his first – Decline and Fall (1928). It uses the same formula of presenting a farcical and deeply satirical portrait of the 1920s and the Wild Young Things who became the upper-class celebrities of the decade. It also features other aspects of modern society which help to fuel the culture of fashionable excess – tabloid journalism, artificially cultivated publicity, and the cinema.

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The book was dedicated to B. G. and D. G., Waugh's friends Bryan Guinness and his wife Diana. [3] Plot [ edit ] The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2003, and was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival before its Royal European Charity Premiere in London on 28 September 2003. It went into theatrical release in the UK on 3 October 2003, the same day it was shown at the Dinard Festival of British Cinema in France. [6] Evelyn Waugh was in his mid-20s when he wrote Vile Bodies (1930), but he had already seen enough of the foibles of the ruling class to provide ammunition for a lifetime of storytelling. Although he hailed from a solidly middle class family, Waugh associated at Oxford with a circle known as the 'Hypocrites Club', and thereafter mingled with the rich and fatuous before marrying Evelyn Gardner, the daughter of a Lord and Lady. Waugh writes with a comical touch, precisely using the sort of characters he more than likely would have associated with in his own life. This novel I would say is somewhere along the lines of a raw satire, which features seemingly farcical and madcap goings-on in London's lavish high society. There are some of the most ridiculously silly character names I have come across, with the likes of Miles Malpractice, Fanny Throbbing, Lottie Crump and Melrose Ape, to name a few.