About this title: Waugh's first published novel is a picaresque satire in the manner of Fielding or Sterne. It follows the misadventures of Paul Pennyfeather, a divinity student at Oxford who is stripped naked by a gang of drunken classmates one night and subsequently expelled for gross indecency. He takes a job as a schoolmaster in Wales and falls in love with the mother of one of his students, who runs an employment agency for young women who wish to work abroad. His involvement with this enterprise lands him in jail, an experience that does not devastate him as much as one would think: "Anyone who has been ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780194230834ISBN:019423083X
Description: Acceptable. 12-Y Notes on first few pages. Books rated "Acceptable" may have significant wear & tear; may have significant amounts of underlining, highlighting, or notes; may have moderate stains, creases, or tears; may have cracked spines or loose pages; may have the previous owner's name, stamp, sticker, or gift inscription; or may be library discards. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Date Published: 1999
ISBN-13:9780316926072ISBN:0316926078
Description: Good. Cover art varies. Front cover creased & sm. dings. Numerous interior top page corners creased/curled. Underlining & marginal notes throughout text. Prev. owner's name & $ written on front fly page. Binding solid & in tact. See my website for cover image. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Edition: Illustrated.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Date Published: 1977
ISBN-13:9780316926072ISBN:0316926078
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 293 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. Book is in excellent condition. Cover and pages are clean, binding is tight. We ship daily, Satisfation Guaranteed. read more
Description: 185pp. navy cloth 8vo w/sewn in marker ribbon: near Fine/no dj [rear endpp. is missing the bottom corner; else a very nice crisp copy] English writer Waugh's (1903-66) first novel in an attractive Everyman reissue (No. 156), originally published in 1928. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc an Umbrella Book, Westminister, Maryland, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780679420415ISBN:067942041X
Description: Fine/No Dust Jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall 067942041x 185 pages. navy cloth with gilt lettering. read more
Description: Waugh, Evelyn., Little, Brown & Co., nd, c1956, (ca 1979? ) illus. soft cover, fine, 293 pp, B & W illus. by the author, 8vo, 'The Wedding was an Unparalleled Sucess Among the Lower Orders' Waugh, Evelyn. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Everyman's Library
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9781857151565ISBN:1857151569
Description: As New in As New dust jacket. 1857151569. In shrink-wrap.; In shrink-wrap.; Everyman's library; 185 pages; Decline and Fall (1928) was Evelyn Waugh's immensely successful first novel, and it displays not only all of its author's customary satiric genius and flair for unearthing the ridiculous in human nature, but also a youthful willingness to train those weapons on any and every thing in his path. In this fractured picaresque comedy of the hapless Paul Pennyfeather stumbling from one disaster ... read more
"I recently read Evelyn Waugh's grandson's biography, Fathers and Sons, so I am curious to dip into his work. I'm starting at the beginning with Decline and Fall, which I thought sort of funny, but juvenile. Certainly not dull, so I'll read on."
"I picked this up at a bookstore partly because of the beautiful cover and partly because it sounded right up my alley--"short sardonic prose," I believe the store index card said. It was that and more. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much or was so delighted with an author. The first half is more entertaining, but it's a pretty solid read. I can't wait to read more of Waugh's work!"
"After the debacle of Brideshead Revisited last year, which I liked in parts, I decided to try again with another, more humorous Waugh. Decline and Fall is much lighter fare and follows one Paul Pennyfeather around in his misfortunes and adventures with a keen, satiric eye and at times vicious wit. But I have to say that I much prefer the first section of Decline and Fall to the latter! The section between the termination of Pennyfeather's stay at Llanabba and his entry into prison was especially weak. It often seemed that things that felt they should have some explanation happened very quickly and without cause or development. It is almost as if Waugh had a list of things he wanted to skewer and now he is just going down the list with less regard for plot or continuity. The last three chapters too were similarly weak. The wheel segment in particular is drawn-out and felt injected. I did however like Pennyfeather at school (Little Lord Tangent - yes please), and the first chapter was marvelous; I only wish the rest of the book had continued in that strain."
"i was expecting a lot out of this book. i read other people's reviews of evelyn waugh novels and scoffed at their low ratings. i really was expecting the most stellar story ever. it wasn't bad, but the main character is completely not present. there's no connection between him and the reader. that's the main problem. that's why i didn't get to wrapped up in it. it was funny though, that's for sure. it could've really been another Lucky Jim. unfortunately where Lucky Jim invested the reader in the characters, Decline and Fall did not do that at all. and it's kind of confusing. i approve of this, however, it IS pretty confusing. it's hard to tell who's talking, and a lot of times it doesn't matter, but eventually you need to get on track because the story starts up again and the montage ends. what i'm really talking about when i say confusing though is the philosophic ending. the novel is very straightforward until the last fifty pages where it gets kind of dream-like and abstract. it's a neat way to wrap it up and contributes the novel's worth in society. certainly not a bad book. i'll probably try another waugh novel again before putting him off to the side."
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