Published 75 years ago, “Brideshead Revisited” set off a lasting cult
Evelyn Waugh’s ode to aristocratic languor mourned Britain’s past—and coloured its future
IN THE WEEKS after VE day, as British voters prepared to swap Winston Churchill for the Labour Party, the country’s fiction leapt into a radiant past. Published 75 years ago, at the end of May 1945, Evelyn Waugh’s “Brideshead Revisited” offered not a Utopian vision of the future but a wistful dream of vanished faith and grace. In his seventh novel, a writer formerly known for mordant satire evoked—with a glamorous alloy of lyricism and rueful irony—a lost domain of “peace and love and beauty”, smashed by modernity, democracy and war.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “The Flyte club”
Culture June 13th 2020
- Two authors wrestle with inequality and the allure of populism
- In the world of architecture, death is not always fatal
- Language is a telling clue to unacknowledged racial attitudes
- Published 75 years ago, “Brideshead Revisited” set off a lasting cult
- “Give Up” is a fitting pandemic soundtrack—in more ways than one
- Jam embodies resilience—and dogged optimism
From the June 13th 2020 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Culture
Want to spend time with a different American president?
Five presidential biographies to distract you from the news
Los Angeles has lost some of its trailblazing architecture
How will it rebuild?
What firms are for
The framework for thinking about business and capitalism is hopelessly outdated, argues a new book
Greg Gutfeld, America’s most popular late-night host, rules the airwaves
The left gave him his perch
Astrology is booming, thanks to technology and younger enthusiasts
Gen Z is full of stargazing users
Why matcha, made from green tea, is the drink of the moment
Is it really a healthy alternative to coffee? Not the way Gen Z orders it