THE ESSAYS, ARTICLES AND REVIEWS OF EVELYN WAUGH

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THE ESSAYS, ARTICLES AND REVIEWS OF EVELYN WAUGH

Name: THE ESSAYS, ARTICLES AND REVIEWS OF EVELYN WAUGH
Author: Donat Gallagher
ISBN: 0316926434

edited by Donat Gallagher & by Evelyn Waugh ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1984

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More for Waugh scholars than for admirers of his fiction, this massive volume brings together nearly 50 years of book-reviews, newspaper columns, letters-to-the-editor, and essays. The earliest pieces, 1917-1930, include some mild society-satires, stern musings on Youth ("this crazy and sterile generation"), an essay on Waugh specialty Rossetti (a recurring subject throughout)—as well as an impressive paean to Henry Green's "neglected masterpiece" Living, with a sideswipe at literary critics. ("They are young ladies, not outstandingly brilliant at anything, who have failed to make a success with poultry.") The 1930s bring Waugh's conversion to Catholicism, with the first of his many tetchy religious polemics; even more knowingly abrasive are his political commentaries—praising Italy's action in Ethiopia, arguing the "many redeeming virtues" of slavery, but insistently distinguishing his conservatism from fascism; the period's book-review standouts are bouquets for Wodehouse, brickbats for Huxley ("the old Golden Bough trouble at its worst"), and keen recognition of Georges Bernanos' talent. And the postwar years are largely dominated by longer, less pithy restatements of Waugh's Catholic/ conservative viewpoints: grapplings with the not-quite-orthodox Catholic fiction of Graham Greene; attacks on Tito's anti-Christian regime; arguments against Vatican modernizations in the 1960s; put-downs of Hollywood, including a sketch for The Loved One; and, as always, tight-lipped scoldings of the Young—from literary rabble-rouser John Wain to ill-bred oafs who no longer change into evening dress for dinner. Throughout, there's less sharp humor than one might expect. (Most nastily amusing: a send-up of dense, distorting foreign journalists.) The subject-matters are often narrow, idiosyncratic, or merely the stuff of workaday-journalism. But connoisseurs of the graver Waugh styles will find stretches of elegant prose in every decade; and Gallagher's extensive introductory material (plus a ten-page list of the articles not included here) helps to make this a substantial addition to the Waughreference shelf.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1984

ISBN: 0316926434

Page Count: 662

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: April 11, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1984

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.