- ‘My History,’ by Evelyn Waugh (aged 7.)
"My name is Evelyn Waugh I go to Heath Mount school I am in the Vth form, Our Form Master is Mr..."
- ‘My History,’ by Evelyn Waugh (aged 7.)
"I went & ordered the plainest little wool dress you ever saw from Dior - 168 pounds. It’s the..."
- 1951, Nancy Mitford to Evelyn Waugh (via iloveworkdrugs)

William Bruce Ellis Ranken (British, 1881-1941), Pipe Practice, 1918. Oil on canvas, 182.9 x 142.2 cm. Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection.

Sometimes I forget that Cordelia has a pig named St. Francis Xavier. Upon remembering, I am instantly happy.

One of my favourite moments in the mini-series, and a rare moment where, although the series stray from the book, I love the addition.

William Bruce Ellis Ranken: painter, traveler, and all-around dish. Wonderfully HD examples of his work might be found here.
I’ve seen many of his paintings sold on auction sites under the name “William Rankin” for some reason.

On today’s installment of The Lissome And The Dead: Hugh Lygon.
Called “the lascivious Mr. Lygon” by Evelyn Waugh, Hugh is remembered as being an endearingly dim bulb who was never on time, who rarely responded to letters, and who “drifted around Oxford like a lost boy, a Peter Pan who refused to grow up.” After his father, threatened with charges of sodomy, was forced to leave Britain, Hugh began a not-so-slow descent into alcoholism, and died at age thirty-two from head injuries sustained while on a motoring tour.
Waugh was magnificently successful in destroying all correspondence between himself and Lygon, leaving the precise nature of their relationship as a topic of rather half-hearted debate. It is certain that Waugh and Lygon became close after meeting through the most flamboyant institution on campus (the Hypocrites’ Club.) A. L. Rowse, Nancy Mitford, and Waugh himself have all intimated, with varying degrees of coyness, that the two slept together. Most tellingly, of course, is the matter of Waugh’s intensely homoerotic novel, whose homoerotic focal point is unambiguously derived from Lygon. So while it is crude to boil a man’s life down to a game of “did they didn’t they,” I personally consider this debate to be exceptionally settled.
All week, I’ve been trying and failing to find more Lygonny sources, and have consequently decided that, if no letters from Hugh are recovered before I die, I’ll just have to convert and personally punch Evelyn Waugh on his ectoplasmic nose.
I like the second edition is better than the first one, mainly because of the additions made by EW to the scene where Charles meets Sebastian after spending an evening with Anthony Blanche, and to the scene with Julia on the ship. There are also a lot of minor differences which I also generally prefer in the second edition.
However, a major arguement for the first edition is that you can read it here for free. If you are unsure, it might be a good idea to start reading the digital copy and see how it goes. You can always switch to a “decent” copy after the prologue. :-)

In the event that Charles needs some musical accompaniment for sobbing into his moustache… here is a Brideshead Revisited mixtape.
1. You Made Me Love You- Harry James (C Company Lament)
2. The Lark Ascending- Vaughan Williams (The Peculiar Splendor of Meadowsweet)
3. Un H
Yasmin recorded herself speaking… and I’m being utterly original and doing it. Here I am, reading a section from a book .. so… yeah English accent for ya’ll… I sound so much more elequant reading than I ever do when I just spew out mind dribble…
"One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will..."
One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.”
— Evelyn Waugh
”- http://testyourvocab.com/ (via cienmilzompopos)

St Sebastian, by Adam LENCKHARDT.
After 1642. Ivory. Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna.
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Who, by the way, was not a lady, but a man.
Seriously, though.
I finished reading Brideshead about two days ago. Overall, I’d give it about a 3.8-3.9 out of five stars. In a lot of ways, it reminded me quite a bit of Atonement by Ian McEwan - another of…