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Summary: Poetic, profound, moving
Review: Brideshead Revisited is a deeply moving book with sections that are better classified as poetry than prose -- from the opening sequence of Charles Ryder looking back at Brideshead and his past, comparing his falling out of love with the army to a man who has fallen out of love with his wife; to the scene where Charles and Julia crash against the wall aboard the windswept ship, her body pressed against his as he gazes out at the starry sky through her long hair against his face.But even more than the poetry of this book and the beautiful descriptions of Oxford and the time in which it is set (interwar Britain), it is the slowly unfolding tragedy of the book that makes it so appealing and moving. That, and the gradual but inexorable process of Charles' journey into maturity and the recognition that there is more to life than he had first realised. Definitely one of my favourite books of all time.
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Summary: Some information on Evelyn Waugh's 'Brideshead Revisited'
Review: 'Brideshead Revisited', Evelyn Waugh's finest non-satirical novel, is concerned with the operation of divine grace on a group of diverse but closely-connected characters and the decline of the English aristocracy and their stately homes. The novel is a panegyric and a valediction and expresses a yearning for a lost Aracadia and a loathing for the changing world (see Henry Wallace's 'Century of the Common Man' speech). Although there are many passages of buffonery the themes are romantic (homosexual and heterosexual) and eschatological. The novel is firmly ficticious but many characters (and events) are loosely drawn from the authors life - e.g. Lord Sebastian Flyte is based on Alastair Graham and Hugh Lygon, Anthony Blanche is based on Brian Howard and Harold Acton (all contemporaries at Oxford), Rex Mottram is based on Brendan Bracken (a Canadian politician who gave Waugh leave from military duties to write the novel), Mr Samgrass is based on Maurice Bowra, Sebast! ian's teddy bear Aloysius is based on John Betjeman's 'Archie' (although Betjeman carried his around to mock the upper classes), etc. The archtitectural details of Brideshead were supposedly based on Castle Howard in Yorkshire, which Waugh had visited (the 1981 television series was filmed there). The characterization is generally excellent although Lady Julia Flyte has been compared to 'cardboard' and a 'wax mannequin' by two of Waugh's biographers. The novel is set in various luxurious and exotic places including Oxford, Brideshead in Wiltshire, Venice, London, Paris, Morocco, South America, on board a transatlantic liner. 'Brideshead Revisited' should not be taken out of its historical and social context. The novel is written in the baroque style and contains florid passages (see 'The languor of Youth' speech) and many high-flown metaphors. Waugh wrote in this style because of the Basic English written by many of his contemporaries. Because of the bleak period! of writing (1944) the novel is 'infused with a kind of glu! ttony, food and wine, for the splendours of of the recent past, and for rhetorical and ornamental language'(see the preface to the revised edition of 1960). In 1944 it would have been impossible to foresee the English aristocracy maintaining their identity to such a degree; the future "cult" of the country house in the United Kingdom would also have appeared inconceivable. I would recommend this novel to all first-time Waugh readers and to people interested in the subject and period (1920s-WW2).
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Summary: Waugh Reaches Out To The Rich
Review: Evelyn Waugh's didactic Catholicism intrudes on this otherwise sparkling depiction of the decline of the British aristocracy. Known more for his bitterly funny satires of British 20th-century life, Waugh here weaves only snippets of humor into a broader emotional palette, building a tale that moves from the sophisticated sarcasm of the university to the mourning of a trouble clan ultimately cursed by fortune. Brideshead Revisited reminds us that as a prose stylist, Waugh had few equals. His multi-faceted and strikingly human depictions of the Brideshead inhabitants, his facility with language, his stately compression; few writers can claim to have so often struck upon le mot juste. Yet his central theme of spiritual awakening never stabilizes into a coherent whole; In the end, narrator Ryder's mood is ambivalent (as is the reader's), while the broken Marchmain clan swoons into a somewhat banal parade of rediscovered, yet damaged, Catholicism.
In his letters, critic Edmund Wilson pointed to Brideshea
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Summary: Quite simply, the best book ever written.
Review: "My theme is memory..." An unforgetable cast of characters in a compelling story that's about....well, everything: love, war, family, architecture, Catholicism, homosexuality, wealth, poverty, alchoholism, college, painting, betrayal, time, distance, youthful exuberance, middle age melancholy, and the state of grace. In the rare company of Abraham Lincoln and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Waugh demonstrates the awesome but seldom seen beauty of the English language in an exquisite and bravura exposition of grammatical economy and poetic prose. Et in arcadia ego
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful, sad and beautiful.
Review: Each character is alive and painfully human. The story is of Charles Ryder, who forms an intense friendship as a young college man, and whose later life was greatly affected by that earlier time, yet the years could never move him as much as those carefree days did. There were passages, phrases, in the book that moved me completely. It is a profound and beautiful book. The PBS miniseries was very true to the book, and is wonderful to watch as well
Rating:
Summary: Brideshead Revisited .
Review: Set in England during the reigns of George V, Edward VIII and George VI, Evelyn Waugh explores in this novel, the varying degrees of spirituality of members of the Marchmain family and the relationships that exists between them and others who share their lives. Some family members weigh desires and progressive attitudes against social and religious convention and find the latter lacking, while others cling to old religious and social practices and seek to continue to enjoy the opulence of a soon to be, bygone era. Waugh documents the excesses and eventual downfall of the youngest son Sebastian, whose burden it is to confront his disillusionment with his faith, with his morally incorruptible mother. Lady Marchmain's control over her children using her charm, piety and the religious doctrine she devoutly observes is unquestionable. Each member of her family is affected to varying degrees, including the absent husband. The novel's narrator and protagonist Charles Ryder, is a self-confessed agnostic and friend of Sebastian. The story commences with Charles, who, at a low ebb in his life, is commissioned to command an infantry regiment during World War II and is despatched by train to an unknown location. His sullen mood determines that he neither feels the need to know his destination nor does he particularly care. Upon alighting the train to make camp Charles discovers he is within sight of Brideshead, the castle that was the Marchmain ancestral home and location of much happiness for him twenty years earlier. Charles recalls that precious time and relates the story with a deep sense of nostalgia and recognition that those languid days of love and abundance are gone forever. Lady Marchmain commands abidance to Catholicism 'in a voice as quiet as a prayer and as powerful' from four very different children. The elder son, Brideshead is pious and conservative, unamusing and annoyingly narrow-minded. Julia is a contemporary woman, smart and very beautiful. She agonises over her marriage to a 'colonial' who doesn't understand centuries of observance to certain social protocol and devotion to a church, which he considers encourages the perpetuation of guilt for its own purposes. As Julia's angst is disclosed she is portrayed as a complex young woman who must reject her faith to marry. She eventually finds herself disappointed with her choices and is left wondering how life could have gone so awry. Sebastian is 'the most conspicuous man of his year by reason of his beauty, which is arresting, and his eccentricities of behaviour, which seem to know no bounds'. Sebastian's charm captivates Charles from the first moment he sees him. They become inseparable and live life at Oxford to the full, however Charles eventually realises that Sebastian drinks to escape, rather than 'through an excess of high spirits, in the love of the moment and with the wish to prolong and enhance it'. Charles must eventually come to the conclusion that he has 'lost' his perpetually sullen friend. Cordelia is the youngest of the Marchmain children. She is too young and devout of faith to fully understand her brother's dilemma, however she loves him unconditionally. Cordelia also seems too young to be aware of her mother's need to control, yet after Lady Marchmain dies, Cordelia confides to Charles that her mother 'was saintly but she wasn't a saint' and that 'when people wanted to hate God, they hated mummy'. There is a resigned acceptance at her inability to love her mother and of the lapse of faith of her father, sister and beloved brother. Sebastian's deep depression and inner battle to reconcile his beliefs with his mother's expectations of him, are exemplified by Charles' responses in the conversation that he and Sebastian shared 'in the collonade with the papers'. Sebastian would not find true solace in his relationship with Charles because he perceived that Charles could not grasp the gravity of his dilemma, despite their mutual love. Waugh's decision to portray Charles as irreligious adds depth to Sebastian's dilemma. The reader is left with the distinct feeling that love does not 'conquer all' and that the chasm between being unaffected by religion and the need to be devout of faith is too wide to bridge for these two introspective young men. The book's most amusing dialogue occurs when Sebastian, unable or not wishing to try to defend his faith, exclaims 'Oh don't be a bore, Charles. I want to read about a woman in Hull who's been using an instrument'. Lady Marchmain attempts to solicit Charles 'to her side' in order that he assist her to deny Sebastian the alcohol he increasingly relies upon. Initially charmed by her, Charles eventually recognises her ploy and rather than winning his confidence, Lady Marchmain's emotional blackmail succeeds in 'closing the low door in the wall' and Charles is destined to no longer meet Sebastian in their 'enchanted garden'. Charles loses contact with the Marchmains until many years later when he and Julia are literally thrown together on a ship in a storm. It is a fitting climax to Charles' involvement with the Marchmain family that he and Julia should become lovers. The raging storm could be perceived to be a metaphor for the consummation of their relationship and that in itself to some degree, closure to Charles' lost love for Sebastian. Presumably Evelyn Waugh sought to mourn the passing of an era and to celebrate his 1930 conversion to Roman Catholicism. In doing so he created an extraordinarily splendid tale. The novel may be excused for glorifying the aristocracy, because it transports the reader to 'that enchanted garden' which is full of life's glorious excesses. It is tragic to lose an enchanting, teddy toting, young man to the bottle and it is sad to see love lost on a technicality but it is comforting to watch Waugh's characters rediscover their faith despite sinking to desolation and despair before doing so. Brideshead Revisited is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read and I have no doubt I shall read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Classic--Waugh's masterpiece
Review: Short & sweet because other reviewers have provided wonderful descriptions already: reading such a book as this is an education in itself.
Brideshead is a classic novel by a genuine master of English prose. Well-worth reading not once, but many times, to understand the depth of the story itself as well as appreciate Waugh's obvious mastery of language.
Also highly recommended is Mortimer's adaptation of the book as a mini-series starring Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Anthony Andrews and Jeremy Irons. It is the definitive Brideshead on film, from the opening lines spoken by Jeremy Irons (as usual, his speaking voice is flawless) to the final scene of Charles in Brideshead chapel during WWII where Charles prays "an ancient prayer, newly learned."
(There are some reviewers who've given it a low rating based on their dislike of the underlying theme of the book. Evelyn Waugh was a convert to Catholicism and his novel revolves around the characters' wandering away but ultimately back again, to faith: for the Flyte family, it is a return to their heritage (two of the most moving scenes are Lord Marchmain's death-bed conversion and Julia's painful but utterly noble decision), and for Charles Ryder (not "Simon" as a one-star critic mistakenly called him! Have you read the book, sir?), it is a newly found conviction. Hence, Book III's title "A Twitch upon the Thread" (quoting Chesterton), the thread referring to the fine, but strong pull of the Catholic faith over these individuals. If this is the book's only 'flaw', as some assert it to be, perhaps this line from a Capra film will help: for those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not, no explanation is possible. Agnostic, atheist or believer, the workings of grace is a mysterious thing.)
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging but silly
Review: FORMAT. There is one narrator, Simon Ryder. The novel is in four parts. The first and last are in the "present" while the middle two are in the "past." The middle two compose the bulk of the book.
SYNOPSIS. The first of them is apparently about an eccentric h*m*s*x**l alcoholic, Sebastian Flyte (I wrote that word that way to deceive the automatic censor). It is mostly about how his alcoholism gets him kicked out of Oxford and how his family tries to get him dried up, without avail. Ryder is in the background, but interacts with the other characters.
The second of them is apparently about the affair between Ryder and Flyte's sister Julia. They both are unhappily married and decide to divorce their spouses and then marry one another. However, after they are divorced but before they remarry (or something like that), Julia's father dies. He had become a Catholic to marry his wife, but had been excommunicated later. But, in his death throes, he made some gestures that might have indicated that he wanted to become a Catholic again. The whole family (also Catholic), whether observant or not, is concerned about his soul. They are therefore relieved when it seems he might have repented. Ryder, seeing this, suddenly stops being a jaded agnostic and believes in God. He and Julia decide not to marry after all, since Catholicism forbade remarriage unless the marriage was annulled by the Holy See.
The first and last parts are Ryder returning to the Flyte family house (known as Brideshead, it being at the head of the stream called Bride) years later.
EVALUATION. The dialogue is frequently scintillating and delightful. The narration has some great phrases. Take, for example, the metaphor, "thin bat's squeak of sexuality audible only to me," which refers to his reaction when a girl asks him to light a cigarette, apparently requiring him to put it in his mouth. The narration, however, is obnoxious at times. Waugh tried to use a physics metaphor without even describing the metaphor, pleading ignorance of physics.
The division of the book mostly into two separate stories is bad. It disassociates parts of the story from one another, interrupting the narrative and one's identification with the characters. In fact, the two halves seem like different novels.
The whole feel of the story of a dysfunctional English aristocratic family in the 1930s was warm and fuzzy.
Now for the book's purpose, which is supposedly to show divine grace. Firstly, I do not like novels that try to demonstrate a proposition or teach a lesson. Secondly, I do not like the proposition or lesson of this book. Are we to believe that grace comes at certain times to certain persons for no given reason? That seems quite odd. The idea that one has lived his whole life one way can suddenly decide to change at the last minute is inexplicable. Also, it seems that the book is saying that those raised Catholic cannot escape the faith. That seems to deny the power of choice of the one taught. I regard these theses as repugnant.
Rating:
Summary: Sublime Masterful Artistry Leading To Questionable Intention
Review: On August 17, 1939, Waugh wrote in his diary, "I don't want to influence opinions, events, or expose humbug or anything of that kind. I don't want to be of service to anyone or anything. I simply want to do my work as an artist."
Certainly nothing useful can be added to the abundant praise of Waugh's wonderful artistry in creating "Brideshead Revisited", nor in Lindsey-Hogg's skill in bringing the novel faithfully to life on the screen. But we may wonder if Waugh lived up to the intent stated in his diary because "Brideshead Revisited" seems at first acquaintance to be an unabashed effort to present religious faith in a serious positive light without the skepticism so often found in modern fiction. Waugh strives to reach his goal through the delineation of his characters of whom Charles Ryder is masterfully portrayed by Jeremy Irons. We find Charles a rather cold, diffident, unsympathetically remote agnostic, and largely a foil for bringing the other characters to life in illustration of Waugh's chief agendas.
Waugh's biographer, Christopher Sykes who knew Waugh personally, characterized him as something of a snob from middle class origins who looked up to the aristocracy, and looking down on the lower classes did not hesitate to make people feel ill at ease with regard to their origins through a clever form of bullying. We see this depicted by Waugh's reveling in the social gaffes on the voyage, and in the hair-cutting incident with Hooper and Charles contemptuous treatment of him, but curiously in the end Hooper appears to rise cheerfully above such harassments. Does Waugh see Hooper as too stupid and insensitive to know that he has been insulted, or of such inner strength that he makes his assailants look shabby by comparison? Waugh is said to have despised the man he modeled Rex Mottram on, characterizing Mottram as a fraud marrying Julia for advantage. But Mottram also is revealed as a pragmatic success in a society bound by the questionable prohibitions of Catholic doctrine regarding marriage and divorce.
Biographer Sykes, a Roman Catholic himself, wrote that Brideshead Revisited. "is solely addressed to believing Catholics and admirers of the Catholic Church. The general reader is rather left in the cold." This is certainly evident in the story's climax at Marchmain's deathbed scene where Charles first argues vehemently against a priest administering the last rites but suddenly undergoes a totally surprising conversion at the dying man's sign of acceptance. Whether Waugh brings this off successfully or not will depend of what the viewer/reader brings to the scene. Certainly what Waugh has shown us to this point is what misery the strictures of organized religion can impose on the lives of its subjects through guilt and conditioning. Sebastian drowning his remorse for his homosexuality in alcohol; Marchmain's alienation from his wife's obsessive conformity driving him to Paris and a loveless relationship with a mistress; Brideshead's mindless obedience condemning him to collecting matchboxes and a ridiculous marriage; Julia's lapses from doctrine leaving her with a life of endless tormenting guilt summed up in her final remark to Charles as she sacrifices her final chance at happiness, "I am not quite bad enough to set up a rival good to God's". All this and more leaves us with many questions as to what Waugh's intentions actually were as revealed in this masterpiece that is reality rather than fiction.
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Summary: Reflections on Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited"
Review: Evelyn Waugh's classic novel "Brideshead Revisited" offers an intimate view of family life in World War II England. Revolving around the dying patriarch Lord Marchmain, it is a story narrated by his elder daughter Julia's lover, Charles Ryder. A man notably detached from his emotions, Ryder experiences a dramatic turn-around by novel's end.
Ryder's change of heart comes about during the final months of Marchmain's life. The lord himself has been unconcerned about his latest round of failing health and fully expects to bounce back. His son, Lord Brideshead (Bridey), however, sees otherwise and summons the local priest (Father Mackay) to anoint his father. Without even feigning hospitality, Marchmain has his younger daughter Cordelia spirit the priest out the door. In the eyes of his Venetian mistress Cara, Marchmain is a scoffer who shuns the Church.
Marchmain's shabby dismissal of Father Mackay sets a negative tone. Ryder himself chimes in with the sarcastic remark, "The witch-doctor has gone." Skepticism like this, however, provides little comfort to the dying aristocrat. Even his personal physician can do nothing more than to try to keep his patient alive one day to the next.
Both Cordelia and Bridey are away when their father's condition takes a sharp turn for the worse. Julia, on the other hand, is at the home and promptly goes out to call for Father Mackay. After she and the priest return, Mackay gets an update from Marchmain's doctor: the lord is now semi-comatose. The priest then approaches the dying man and asks him to acknowledge remorse.
At first Marchmain does nothing. Father Mackay anoints him anyway and as he gives the final blessing, the lord surprises everyone by motioning with the sign of the cross. Marchmain thus makes his peace with God and dies reconciled to the Church. For Ryder this is like the "veil of the temple being rent from top to bottom." From then on, both he and Julia know instinctively that their affair is over and that they would be leading separate lives.
Dennis J. Mercieri, Holy Apostles Seminary, Cromwell, CT, USA
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