Mad World : Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead

Synopsis: A terrifically engaging and original biography about one of England's greatest novelists, and the glamorous, eccentric, debauched and ultimately tragic family that provided him with the most significant friendships of his life and inspired his masterpiece, "Brideshead Revisited". Evelyn Waugh was already famous when "Brideshead Revisited" was published in 1945. Written at the height of the war, the novel was, he admitted, of no 'immediate propaganda value'. Instead, it was the story of a household, a family and a journey of religious faith -- an elegy for a vanishing world and a testimony to a family he had fallen in love with a decade earlier. The Lygons of Madresfield were every bit as glamorous, eccentric and compelling as their counterparts, the Marchmains, in "Brideshead Revisited". William Lygon, Earl Beauchamp, was a warm-hearted, generous and unconventional father whose seven children adored him. When he was forced to flee the country by his scheming brother-in-law, his traumatised children stood firmly by him, defying not only the mores of the day, but also their deeply religious mother. In this engrossing biography, bestselling author Paula Byrne takes an innovative approach to her subject, setting out to capture Waugh through the friendships and loves that mattered most to him. She uncovers a man who, far from the snobbish misanthropist of popular caricature, was as loving and complex as the family that inspired him. This brilliantly original biography unlocks for the first time the extent to which Waugh's great novel encoded and transformed his own experiences. In so doing, it illuminates the loves and obsessions that shaped his life, and brings us inevitably to a secret that dared not speak its name.

Review: Evelyn Waugh has got a difficult reputation to say the least, he is often portrayed as a nasty, spiteful piece of work, but this biography shows another side. That's not to say that he's not capable of being waspish and snobby, but that's not the whole picture. He could be incredibly supportive and kind to his friends, and was very loyal and loving.

It's not a full biography, what this book sets out to do is show the links between Evelyns private life and his fiction, concentrating particularly on his great friendship with the Lygon family who are undoubtably the models for the Marchmain family in Brideshead Revisited (though Evelyn always denied it.) You get the feeling that the Lygons were far more important to Evelyn than he ever was to them. Although they were obviously fond of him, they were rather haphazard at keeping in touch etc and for the most part, and especially early on, Evelyn did most of the running. It also details his marriages (his first wife was also called Evelyn and they were known as She-Evelyn and He-Evelyn. Bizarrely she left him for a man who came within a hairs breadth of also being called Evelyn .. he was named after the writer John Evelyn and his parents deliberated for some time between the two names .. thankfully Waugh was spared the jibe 'Evelyn left Evelyn for Evelyn'.) This marriage wasn't successful, which doesn't come as much of a surprise to the reader because they seemed woefully mismatched. Evelyn though was devastated, he wrote that he 'did not know it was possible to be so miserable and live.'

The most interesting part of the book focuses on Evelyn's time at Oxford, where he met the men who were to become his lifelong friends, and also embarked on several homosexual relationships. It's here that he meets Hugh Lygon and is eventually invited to spend time at the family house Madresfield Court (or 'Mad' for short) which is a place every bit as steeped in ritual and scandal as Brideshead. Hugh Lygon was so obviously the model for Sebastian Flyte (with Evelyn taking the part of the infatuated Charles Ryder) but it's with his sisters that Evelyn forms the strongest bonds. When their father, Earl Beauchamp, is forced to flee the country in disgrace (he was afflicted with a galloping and insatiable passion for footmen) the girls stand by him and take it in turns to stay with him in his various homes abroad. Again this is mirrored in 'Brideshead' with subtle changes made. although, in this case, the real story was far more scandalous and fascinating than the fictional one (as it was Earl Beauchamps Brother in-law, the 2nd Duke of Westminister, who set about trying to ruin him .. and did so in a very underhand and spiteful way.) Evelyn was a great observer of character and many friends and acquaintances found themselves written into his fiction, with not altogether flattering results. They always recognised themselves which is hardly surprising as he described them so accurately, and he was often in trouble with them and called upon to make changes or give explanations (though he secretly enjoyed it and would sometimes write 'your turn next' in his letters to friends.)

It's not only a captivating account of the life of one of Britains best known 20th century novelists, but it's also a fascinating snapshot of life in the 1920's/30's especially life at Oxford which is described in all it's glory, with all the fights, the plays, the beautiful clothes, the jokes, the drinking, the homosexual encounters, the friendships, the jealousies, the painful love affairs and the scandal .. the one thing that they didn't seem to worry about was getting a decent education.