Waugh, Evelyn (1903-1966)

English author of satirical novels. He was born in London and educated at the University of Oxford. Between 1928 and 1938 he published five novels notable for their wit and pure satire on such aspects of upper-class British life as colonialism, public schools, and the manners and morals of high society. These novels are Decline and Fall (1928), Vile Bodies (1930), Black Mischief (1932), A Handful of Dust (1934), and Scoop (1938). Put Out More Flags (1942) is a novel about the British effort during World War II. Waugh's later writing was affected by his conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1930. Brideshead Revisited (1945), a serious novel probing the souls and fortunes of the Marchmains, a declining aristocratic family of Roman Catholics, is considered by many critics his finest work; it was made into a television series in 1981. In The Loved One (1948), Waugh returned to scathing satire, as he described funeral practices for humans and pets in Hollywood, California. Waugh's experiences during World War II as a commando in the Mediterranean led to a satirical trilogy: Men at Arms (1952), Officers and Gentlemen (1955), and Unconditional Surrender (1962). He also wrote travel books, biographies, and the autobiographical A Little Learning (1964). His brother Alec Waugh wrote novels, travel books, and short stories.