Evelyn Waugh's "irresistible" first novel ( New York Times ) is a brilliant and hilarious satire of English school life in the 1920s. Sent down from Oxford after a wild, drunken party, Paul Pennyfeather is oddly surprised to find himself qualifying for the position of schoolmaster at a boys' private school in Wales. His colleagues are an assortment of misfits, rascals and fools, including Prendy (plagued by doubts) and Captain Grimes, who is always in the soup (or just plain drunk). Then Sports Day arrives, and with it ...
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Evelyn Waugh's "irresistible" first novel ( New York Times ) is a brilliant and hilarious satire of English school life in the 1920s. Sent down from Oxford after a wild, drunken party, Paul Pennyfeather is oddly surprised to find himself qualifying for the position of schoolmaster at a boys' private school in Wales. His colleagues are an assortment of misfits, rascals and fools, including Prendy (plagued by doubts) and Captain Grimes, who is always in the soup (or just plain drunk). Then Sports Day arrives, and with it the delectable Margot Beste-Chetwynde, floating on a scented breeze. As the farce unfolds in Evelyn Waugh's dazzling debut as a novelist, the young run riot and no one is safe, least of all Paul.
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Add this copy of Decline and Fall to cart. $11.74, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Little Brown and Company.
Add this copy of Decline and Fall to cart. $40.24, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Little, Brown and Company.
Excellent satire. A must read for lovers of literature.
MickP
May 19, 2011
Easily pleased in the 1930s
Not having read anything by Evelyn Waugh I saw this on Alibris and bought it.
I have read many times how good an author he is so I was looking forward to something intelligent and witty.
I'm sorry to say that I found it to be utter rubbish - ponderous "humour", if that's not too strong a word, daft unconvincing plot, and altogether very disappointing. I read in the blurb on the cover that it was a big seller when it came out, hence the heading.
