About this title: This is Evelyn Waugh's outsider's account of a troubled aristocratic family. Charles Ryder, the narrator, is a dull and rather pompous undergraduate at Oxford when he meets Sebastian Flyte, a wealthy and sybaritic classmate. The two become improbable friends, and Sebastian brings Charles to Brideshead, his family estate, and introduces him into the circle of rich aristocratic layabouts who inhabit the place. Charles falls in love with Sebastian's sister, Julia, but religious objections (Charles is divorced, and the Flytes are Catholics) stand in the way of their marriage. Although strongly ...
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Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. 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
Description: Good. 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
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
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Putnam~trade
Date Published: 1992
ISBN-13:9780140059151ISBN:0140059156
Description: Acceptable. Fair Condition. Considerable wear, but still very useable. Text appears free of marks, writing, and highlighting. May have bookstore-related stamps/stickers/marks. Multiple copies may be available. SHIPS W/IN 24 HOURS! FREE INSURANCE on all orders! E-mail notification! Careful, thorough packaging. Fast, personal service. No hassle, full refund return policy! COMBINE SHIPPING-TENS OF THOUSANDS OF OTHER BOOKS/CDs/MOVIES AVAILABLE! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Little, Brown, Boston
Date Published: c1945
Description: Good in Fair dust jacket. much edgewear on d/j. Book good, inside text good, first few pgs have discolored bottom pg. edge. Rest of text clean, & tightly bound. Unknown printing. Illustrated by. 351 p. ; 21 cm. read more
"In his letter of 7 January 1945 Evelyn Waugh wrote to Nancy Mitford that (regarding Lady Marchmain) "no I am not on her side; but God is, who suffers fools gladly; and the book is about God." Nancy, in a subsequent letter (17 January 1945) commented that she was "immune from" the "subtle" Catholic propaganda supposedly in the novel. Well, I guess that I am in Nancy's camp, recognizing the excellence of this G.E.C. (Great English Classic) and in my own way fascinated by the role of God in it, I remain unmoved by any hidden proselytizing (perhaps too harsh a word). Brideshead Revisited is possibly Evelyn Waugh's greatest novel and certainly one of the best English novels of the twentieth century. The demonstration of the battle between the culture of a civilization dying in the aftermath of World War I and the modern "hollow" culture of the the twentieth century plays out in this drama of a family and their estate, Brideshead. The journey of Charles Ryder, who guides us through this story, from his first encounter with Sebastian Flyte and his first visit to Brideshead keeps the reader rapt until the final pages, when under the shadow of the Second World War Charles returns to Brideshead for a final visit. His growth through encounters with the Flyte children and their mother and father plays out against the background of the Brideshead and all that for which it stands. Waugh uses comic relief in a judicious manner to lighten the way for the reader in a way that keeps the serious themes of the novel from becoming overwhelming. This classic novel also provides a beautiful depiction of the experience of going up to Oxford during the 1920s."
""...perhaps all our loves are merely hints and symbols; vagabond-language scrawled on gate-posts and paving-stones along the weary road that others have tramped before us; perhaps you and I are types and this sadness which sometimes falls between us springs from disappointment in our search, each straining through and beyond the other, snatching a glimpse now and then of the shadow which turns the corner always a pace or two ahead of us."
In Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh (who I seriously thought was a woman) uses beautiful, poetic language to tell the nostalgic story of an era long gone. The narrator, Charles Ryder, recalls the days of his youth and his involvement with a charming but problematic Catholic family. He befriends the eccentric, teddy bear-carrying Sebastian Flyte during college in 1920s Oxford, and subsequently gets acquainted with Sebastian's family members: his estranged father, Lord Marchmain; his strict Catholic mother, Lady Marchmain; his dull eldest brother, the Earl of Brideshead; his practical-minded sister Julia; and his witty youngest sister Cordelia. The huge, ornamental Brideshead castle becomes Charles' playground, "that low door in the wall... which opened on an enclosed and enchanted garden".
Charles and Sebastian's relationship remains a point of debate, as some interpret their intimacy as homoerotic while others see it as merely a very close friendship. There was no indication of a physical relationship between them, but Charles did not hesitate in using the word 'love' in relation to Sebastian; he thinks "to know and love one other human being is the root of all wisdom". The two of them fell apart as Sebastian descends further into alcoholism and runs abroad to escape the clutches of his family, which he finds overbearing. I do, however, think that feeling imprisoned by his religion and wealthy family seem like a poor excuse to destroy himself when he knows it will hurt his family. Perhaps that's why I feel there's something about Sebastian's character that I can't quite put my finger on.
Years later, Charles meets Julia again on board a ship in stormy seas and the two of them, lonely and unhappily married, began an affair which causes them to divorce their spouses in order to marry. To me this second relationship of Charles' seems much like an extension, or even a replacement, of his earlier attachment to Sebastian. Charles himself is ambiguous in the matter; he mentioned that he sees Sebastian in Julia, but may have also seen Julia in Sebastian all those years.
However, the real essence of the story, as Waugh describes himself in the preface, is not romance but divine grace that compels the characters to return to Catholicism no matter how far they've seemed to stray. Lord Marchmain, who renounced Catholicism and went to live in Italy with his mistress, finally returns to God in the last moments of his life. Julia starts out as a non-believer but in the end she can't continue to "live in sin" with Charles and chooses God instead. Sebastian, who never returns to England, seeks help from a monastery abroad. Charles argues against God and Catholicism throughout the novel but at Lord Marchmain's deathbed he goes down on his knees and sincerely prays for him. Overall, the main strength of this novel to me is the mesmerizing language that makes you wish you'd written some of the passages, as well as the mix of diverse characters that make for very interesting subjects for discussion."
"Brideshead Revisited was the 21st book I have read on my quest to complete the list compiled by the Modern Library of the Top 100 English Language Novels of the 20th Century.
Being nearly devoid of organized religion for most of my life, I was at times fascinated by the overriding theme of Catholic/religious morals versus human needs and desires. I generally find that religion is little more than a nuisance in our society today and I get the feeling that Mr. Waugh shared that sentiment in his time.
This theme starts almost immediately with Charles ignoring his cousin's advice and rebelling against the established social and religious framework at Oxford. This theme continues through the bizarre, asexual relationship between Charles and Sebastian. The clash continues as the main characters age and begins to resolve itself in more mature situations, including adultery, marriage and divorce. In every situation, it seems that the Catholic beliefs of the characters do nothing more than confuse and demoralize them while failing to serve any real purpose in their lives, other than to provide them with a comfortable trampoline for their lives.
While the main theme in the novel was quite interesting to me, I was very disturbed by Lord Marchmain's final rites and the resolution of the story. I felt it did not flow with the rest of the novel and confused the issue at the end. Perhaps Waugh meant the "acceptance" of final rights by Lord Marchmain as a sarcastic nod toward those who take from religion and belief what the desire. In any event, I felt somewhat let down by the conclusion to the novel and was left feeling like it could have been something more."
"Soup of oseille, sole in white wine sauce, caneton à la presse, caviare aux blinis, lemon soufflé, wines, cognac, and cigars – few scenes in Brideshead Revisited (1945) better capture the sumptuous, decadent texture of the Waugh's encomium and critique of British aristocracy between the wars than Ryder's dinner at Paillard's. Indeed, one of the great pleasures of the book is savoring the novel's rich settings: Oxford, London, Venice, Paris, the Maghreb, and of course Brideshead Castle. We get to peek inside the posh rooms of Oxford undergrads, wander through stately mansions, attend balls with the wealthy and influential, and cross the Atlantic, first class, on the Queen Mary.
Like the different courses of the meals he so temptingly describes and like the sumptuous variety of settings he so intricately details, Waugh's style, too, pleasantly alternates: at times richly "rhetorical and ornamental," at others light, spare, and refreshing, occasionally bitter, frequently poignant. From a technical point of view, the book leaves you satisfied, even surfeited.
But after sampling all this rich fare, you may still find that the plot leaves you empty and questioning. Like Hardy's Jude the Obscure, which profoundly influenced Waugh's novel, Brideshead Revisited is a study of the tension between the appetites of the flesh and the pull of the spirit. If you've read Hardy's last novel, you'll quickly recognize that Charles and Julia's affair is Waugh's retelling, his gentler "revisitation," of Jude and Sue Bridehead's harrowing relationship (hence the title of Waugh's book). Brace yourself: the enigmatic outcome of Waugh's book may be almost as maddening as the disturbing conclusion of Hardy's tragedy.
I was absorbed in Brideshead Revisited for 250 pages, interested for the next 90, but mystified and disappointed by the last 10... still, the book gets four stars, almost five, because in spite of the ending, maybe because of it, I'm ready to turn to page 1 and read the whole thing all over again."
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