Evelyn Waugh "was not very good at invention," asserts David Wykes, "but he was unsurpassed at embroidery." For readers interested in learning how Waugh's life shaped his writing, Evelyn Waugh: A Literary Life is a handy short reference. Wykes's focus on the relationship between biographical events and literary output means that Evelyn Waugh is not, strictly speaking, a biography (and Wykes is the first to recommend the preexisting biographies, especially the two-volume life by Martin Stannard); rather, it is a work of literary criticism--and, for that matter, one in which Wykes has quite firm opinions about which of Waugh's books stand the test of time. Still, there is the occasional fun biographical fact to be gleaned, such as the story of how, determined to revenge himself upon Americans, who loved Brideshead Revisited for what he considered all the wrong reasons, Waugh finagled a free trip to Los Angeles out of a film studio. Visiting Forest Lawn Cemetery, he developed the idea for a brutally scathing satire, The Loved One ... in love with which American readers promptly fell. (Note: some of the stories that Wykes described as having never been republished are, in fact, included in the 1999 anthology The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh.)

From Library Journal
In his portrait of Evelyn Waugh (1903-66), Wykes (literature, Dartmouth Coll.) strikes a balance between chronicling his subject's life and examining his work. Wykes traces Waugh's emotional and creative life from birthAhe was the second son of well-known publisher and critic Arthur Waugh (a "literary businessman")Athrough adulthood. The elder Waugh made no secret of the fact that his firstborn son Alec (also a novelist) was his favorite. This early rejection, Wykes argues, helped cultivate the cynicism and dark humor that were so much a part of young Evelyn's Decline and Fall (1928) and A Handful of Dust (1934). Waugh attended Oxford, worked as a teacher and journalist, and married twice. In 1930, in perhaps the most pivotal move in his life, he converted to Roman Catholicism. This conversion, Waugh believed, helped impose an "eternal order" on the "frantic aimlessness" of his life and his workAespecially his "eschatological" masterpiece Brideshead Revisited (1945). A concise, readable piece of Waugh scholarship that deserves a place in all library collections; highly recommended. [The Complete Stories of Evelyn Waugh was published in September by Little, Brown, ISBN 0-316-92546-2, $24.95.AEd.]ADiane Gardner Premo, Rochester P.L., N.-ADiane Gardner Premo, Rochester P.L., NY Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The New York Times Book Review, Richard Eder
Wykes's study is acute, perceptive, stylishly written and passionately appreciative of Waugh at his best.

From Booklist
Prolific and complex, Evelyn Waugh makes no easy subject for a short biography. Wykes meets the challenge by distilling all of the material gleaned from the longer biographies and the insights gained through his own careful readings of Waugh's oeuvre into an investigation of one fundamental question: How did Waugh transform the raw stuff of experience into the art of fiction? Wykes' nuanced answer reveals that as Waugh's early relish in the sheer hilarity of social chaos gave way to a deeper sense of human misery after his first wife's infidelity, he began to test his comic genius against darker themes. Consequently, mature novels such as Vile Bodies and A Handful of Dust resonate with an ironic tension absent from earlier works. And though Wykes perceives a congruence between the Catholic doctrine of human sinfulness and Waugh's early representation of social anarchy, he detects little overt influence of Waugh's adopted faith on his artistry until after Brideshead Revisited, a work widely misunderstood by adoring readers. Shrewd and provocative, this capsule biography delivers more than the predictable bromides. Bryce Christensen

From Kirkus Reviews
This biography of Evelyn Waugh stitches together episodes of his life with anecdotes from his fiction, creating a tapestry as rich and varied as Waugh's finest works. Allowing biographical fact to play off an author's fictions is a dangerous affair, as too often the biographer leaps heedlessly to faulty assumptions about their interconnections. Wykes (English/Dartmouth), however, weaves the two themes together seamlessly, allowing Waugh's heady life to comment on his fiction in a meaningful dialectic. From the deep satire of Black Mischief to the rich spiritualism of Brideshead Revisited, Wykes delineates the vagaries of Waugh's personal lifestrained relations with his father and brother, a first marriage annulled, numerous adulterous liaisonswith a critical eye, concentrating on how these moments crystallized into the characters and incidents of his darkest satires. Wykes gracefully manages to avoid the sycophancy that undermines so many biographies, the adolescent hero worship that asks the reader to join in the flinging of rose petals at the icon of the beloved; indeed, he doesnt hesitate to show us Waugh at his least appealing: as a cultural snob, an indifferent father, and occasionally a mediocre writer. Though concentrating on the major works of Waughs canon, Wykes also shares the many pieces of trade writing that Waugh undertook to pay his billsthe travel narratives and wine guides, the articles for magazines and the biographies of friendswhich round out the portrayal of a man frantically writing away for passion and for profit. Not the definitive biography of Waugh nor the most in-depth interpretation of his writings, but an immensely readable and highly entertaining introduction to a man who, at his best and his worst, lived a life as interesting as his fiction. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
...this volume is the most accessible guide to a writer who still finds plenty of 'general' as well as academic readers. Choice


Book Description
Waugh's life and his literary life exist in fascinating, dynamic relationship. Virtually all of his fiction was autobiographical, yet he maintained that his novels were "objects," unrelated to the life of their author. This study traces the shifting relationship of ascertainable fact and imaginative fiction throughout Waugh's career, focusing on the endless negotiation he conducted between life and art, and on why, from being author of the anarchic, hilarious Decline and Hell, he transformed himself into the author of the romantic, eschatological Brideshead Revisited.


About the Author
David Wykes is Professor of English at Dartmouth College.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Waugh's life and his literary life exist in dynamic relationship. Virtually all of his fiction was autobiographical, yet he maintained that his novels were objects, unrelated to the life of their author.. "This study traces the shifting relationship of ascertainable fact and imaginative fiction throughout Waugh's career, focusing on the endless negotiation he conducted between life and art, and on why, from being author of the anarchic, hilarious Decline and Fall, he transformed himself into the author of the romantic, eschatological Brideshead Revisited.

FROM THE CRITICS

Richard Eder - NY Times Book Review

...acute, perceptive, stylishly written and passionately appreciative of Waugh at his best.

Booknews

Waugh (1903-66) insisted that his novels were unrelated to his own life, though in fact almost all of his fiction was autobiographical. Wykes (English Dartmouth College) traces the dynamic and complex relationship between the fiction and the life, and considers why he evolved from anarchic humor to romantic eschatology. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Kirkus Reviews

This biography of Evelyn Waugh stitches together episodes of his life with anecdotes from his fiction, creating a tapestry as rich and varied as Waugh's finest works. Allowing biographical fact to play off an author's fictions is a dangerous affair, as too often the biographer leaps heedlessly to faulty assumptions about their interconnections. Wykes (English/Dartmouth), however, weaves the two themes together seamlessly, allowing Waugh's heady life to comment on his fiction in a meaningful dialectic. From the deep satire of Black Mischief to the rich spiritualism of Brideshead Revisited, Wykes delineates the vagaries of Waugh's personal life—strained relations with his father and brother, a first marriage annulled, numerous adulterous liaisons—with a critical eye, concentrating on how these moments crystallized into the characters and incidents of his darkest satires. Wykes gracefully manages to avoid the sycophancy that undermines so many biographies, the adolescent hero worship that asks the reader to join in the flinging of rose petals at the icon of the beloved; indeed, he doesn't hesitate to show us Waugh at his least appealing: as a cultural snob, an indifferent father, and occasionally a mediocre writer. Though concentrating on the major works of Waugh's canon, Wykes also shares the many pieces of trade writing that Waugh undertook to pay his bills—the travel narratives and wine guides, the articles for magazines and the biographies of friends—which round out the portrayal of a man frantically writing away for passion and for profit. Not the definitive biography of Waugh nor the most in-depth interpretation of his writings, but an immensely readable andhighly entertaining introduction to a man who, at his best and his worst, lived a life as interesting as his fiction.