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^ Happy Christmas to you and your family too Greg.

I was very happy to help you to listen to Sword of Honour. I enjoyed having a co-listener with whom to compare notes.

I'll be reading this, but not until January...looking forward to discussing it too

I've decided to start Men at Arms. I need a fiction book to read (so many non-fiction started...), and wanted to start the Sword of Honor books before we started discussing them in January. I do hope to enjoy it. I haven't really been let down by Waugh yet.

^ Great news Bronwyn and Pink. Having read the introduction to Sword of Honour I learnt that in the version that combines all three books, Waugh changed some of the text including the ending. I am not sure if you are reading the three separate books Bronwyn, if you are there might be some differences from the combined version.

Bronwyn wrote: "I do hope to enjoy it. I haven't really been let down by Waugh yet. "

If you've enjoyed other books, and based on what I've read so far, I think you're in safe hands

Nigeyb wrote: "Having read the introduction to Sword of Honour I learnt that in the version that combines all three books, Waugh changed some of the text including the ending. I am not sure if you are reading the three separate books Bronwyn, if you are there might be some differences from the combined version."

Oh, I wonder how much of a change there is? I have the combined version, and I'm wondering whether to try and get the separate books as well.

Interesting. I have the three separate books. I wonder what was changed.

Bronwyn wrote: "Interesting. I have the three separate books. I wonder what was changed."

This is quite a good non-spoiler-ish summary...

In the late 1950’s and the 1960’s his publisher asked Waugh to prepare all his novels for re-publication in a Uniform Edition. This activity gave him the opportunity of modifying them, some more than others. Perhaps his biggest challenge in preparation for this edition was to make what he called a recension of the three novels of World War II, combining them into one volume. Sword of Honour appeared in 1965, just a few months before its author’s death at Easter 1966. He took the opportunity to tighten up the action a little and to develop the personality of his hero Guy Crouchback, who might otherwise have been judged immature for a man aged 36 at the outbreak of the war. He dropped a rather schoolboyish inclination to reverie in Guy and softened a pronounced tendency to misjudgment in military matters.



He also changed the ending in quite a subtle but significant way - I guess we might talk more about that in January.

Interesting. Thanks!

eta: That link's not working, btw.

I just today (I'm away from home, in a sad circumstance) started rereading Trollope's Can You Forgive Her?

If you have the patience, his major works (including the famous Palliser novels,with one of the most interesting marriages in literature) always repay.

Watch how he shows the effect of the passage of time on all our opinions and the potential to exercise both our virtues and our flaws...

Shelley

Bronwyn wrote: "Interesting. Thanks!

eta: That link's not working, btw."

I've edited it so it should work now. Sorry about that.

Thanks so much. I'll read it when I get home from work.

Just started to read The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I remember the original film with Danny Kaye.

I wonder just how much of a Walter Mitty character there is in all of us.

I have now read over a third of Sword of Honour. I am enjoying it very much.

I think Evelyn Waugh perfectly captures the bureaucracy, pettiness, absurdity, and confusion of war. It all rings true to me and the little details are what is making this so satisfying. Wonderful book. It's everything that great literature should be - beautifully written, evocative. poignant, funny, tragic and profound.

Evelyn Waugh's own unhappy experience of being a soldier clearly informing much of the narrative.

I wonder how many of the great characters are also based on real people. I really want Jumbo Trotter, Apthorpe, and - of course - Brigadier Ritchie-Hook to be real characters, as I do, the denizens of Bellamy's club.

We've already touched on which edition of this book to read. It was originally published as three separate volumes Officers and Gentlemen, Men At Arms, and Unconditional Surrender, however Waugh extensively revised these books to create a one-volume version "Sword of Honour" in 1965, and it is this version that Waugh wanted people to read.

The Penguin Classics version of "Sword of Honour", that I am currently reading, contains numerous informative and interesting footnotes, which include a note each time Waugh has changed the text. Most of these are notes about sections that Waugh has removed with a view to ensuring that his "hero" Guy Crouchback is perceived as more worldly and experienced than was the case in the original version of the books. I can already see why Waugh would choose to change the emphasis in this way and I think it makes the overall narrative more convincing and effective.

Waugh also changed the ending in quite a subtle but significant way - I guess we might talk more about that in January.

Sword of Honour by Evelyn Waugh is the BYT fiction choice for January 2014. I hope we get plenty of participation in this discussion. It's a wonderful read. I hesitate to evoke the M-word however, if it carries on in this vein, I think we might just be discussing another Waugh masterpiece.

Either way, I think it's another splendid BYT era book and one that would be a perfect start to 2014 for anyone interested in reading books from the BYT era.

See you in January 2014.

Less than a hundred pages of Sword Of Honour left now. I would never have believed that Evelyn Waugh could have written two masterpieces - this and Brideshead - in addition to all the other wonderful fiction and non-fiction. Extraordinary and beguiling. You really should read it. I am really looking forward to our discussion in January 2014.

I'm also reading the Penguin Classics Sword of Honour with the footnotes - I only got it yesterday and am just 60 pages in so far, but really enjoying it so far.

I also found which has a lot more notes - I will probably just refer to this if I have a query that isn't answered in my edition, to avoid getting knee-deep in notes!

I was going to start Men at Arms whenever that was I said, but didn't. Hopefully soon so I can at least participate a little.

Meanwhile I've been reading McSweeney's #45 (Hitchcock and Bradbury Fistfight in Heaven), which my sister gave me for Christmas. It's fantastic. It's short stories pulled from two magazines (one each edited by Hitchcock and Bradbury), plus four new short stories. They're amazing. I have just over a quarter left. I highly recommend it if you can find it.

Great news Judy. I hope you can join us too Bronwyn.

I have about 30 pages left now - will probably finish Sword of Honour this very night.

McSweeney's #45 sounds fab Bronwyn.

I've just finished Sword of Honour in readiness for our BYT fiction discussion in January 2014...

Through Guy Crouchback, the detached observer and would be knight, who thought his private honour would be satisfied by war, Evelyn Waugh perfectly captures the bureaucracy, pettiness, absurdity, humour, and confusion of war. It all rings true with numerous little details that make this book so satisfying. It's everything that great literature should be - beautifully written, evocative. poignant, funny, tragic and profound.

I wonder how many of the great characters are also based on real people. I really want Jumbo Trotter, Apthorpe, Ludovic, Box-Bender, Trimmer Virginia, Peregrine, and - of course - Brigadier Ritchie-Hook to be real characters, as I do, the denizens of Bellamy's club.

In April 2013, I finally read Brideshead Revisited and was captivated from start to finish. You probably don't me to tell you it's a masterpiece. Before embarking on Sword of Honour, I would never have believed that Evelyn Waugh could have written two masterpieces. He has. Brideshead Revisited and Sword of Honour. That's in addition to all the other wonderful fiction and non-fiction.

Epic and extraordinary. You really should read Sword of Honour. A wonderful book. 5/5

NOTE ABOUT DIFFERENT EDITIONS:

Sword of Honour was originally published as three separate volumes Men At Arms (1952), Officers and Gentlemen (1955), and Unconditional Surrender 1961, however Waugh extensively revised these books to create a one-volume version "Sword of Honour" in 1965, and it is this version that Waugh wanted people to read.

The Penguin Classics version of "Sword of Honour", contains numerous informative and interesting footnotes and an introduction by Angus Calder, each time Waugh changed the text there was a note. Most of these are notes about sections that Waugh has removed with a view to ensuring that his "hero" Guy Crouchback is perceived as more worldly and experienced than was the case in the original version of the books. I can see why Waugh would choose to change the emphasis in this way and I think it makes the overall narrative more convincing and effective.

I've just started The Age of Illusion: England in the Twenties and Thirties, 1919-1940, which is the BYT non-fiction read for January 2014. I'm hoping to read it quickly, before reading my Book Group choice in early Jan.

The Age of Illusion: England in the Twenties and Thirties, 1919-1940 starts with a perfect précis of the insanity of the First World War and put me in mind our forthcoming 2014 reading challenge.

First impressions of The Age of Illusion: England in the Twenties and Thirties, 1919-1940, are that it's written in a very engaging and accessible style, and so should be a pleasure to read. I'll keep you posted.

Nigeyb wrote: "I've just started The Age of Illusion: England in the Twenties and Thirties, 1919-1940, which is the BYT non-fiction read for January 2014. I'm hoping to read it quickly, before rea..."

Doesn't look like I will be able to read this one. Not available at local libraries (except universities), Powell's (my preferred used book location). It is available at Abebooks but only if I want to buy internationally and thus add a fee. I'll put it on my TBR and look out for it.

Sorry to hear that Jan.

There's plenty of new and used copies on Amazon.com, some very cheaply priced, however I seem to remember that for some reason you don't like to buy from Amazon.

Good luck in your quest to find it. It is an enjoyable and pleasant read. I suspect you would find much to enjoy in its pages.

Nigeyb wrote: "Sorry to hear that Jan.

There's plenty of new and used copies on Amazon.com, some very cheaply priced, however I seem to remember that for some reason you don't like to buy from Amazon.

Good luc..."

I don't buy "used" from Amazon. Maybe I will take a trip to Half-Price Books and see if they have it there. It has been open for several years and I still haven't made it over there.

I'm still reading, and really enjoying, The Age of Illusion: England in the Twenties and Thirties, 1919-1940, which is the BYT non-fiction read for January 2014.

I liken it to being in a pub with a very well informed raconteur, who throws out a stream of interesting facts and stimulating anecdotes, that bring the 1920s and 1930s to life. This is a wonderful companion piece to The Long Week-end: A Social History of Great Britain, 1918-39 by Robert Graves, which we read quite recently. As with all interesting social histories, I have to keep pausing to make notes about references that I want to follow up.

I really enjoyed the chapter on Sir William Joynson-Hicks, alias Jix, who as Home Secretary waged war on the progressive spirit of the 1920s. Likewise the chapter on Amy Johnson is marvellous and inspires me to find out more about this remarkable woman. And of course, TE Lawrence what an enigma, forever vacillating between post-fame anonymity and wanting something more. I visited Cloud Hill a few years back and could really imagine this tortured soul living there.

Well worth reading BYT'ers - I look forward to discussing this tomorrow! Happy 2014.

I am still enjoying The Age of Illusion: England in the Twenties and Thirties, 1919-1940, which is the BYT non-fiction read for January 2014.

I was very interested to read more about Victor Gollancz, who founded the Left Book Club in 1936. I've come across his name a few times and am now intrigued to read more about him. As you probably know, he was a British publisher and supporter of left-wing causes. He was one of the first people to forecast the Nazi extermination of Jews. In 1933 he had published the compilation volume "The Little Brown Book of the Hitler Terror" and Fritz Seidler's book on the Nazi persecution of the Jews "The Bloodless Pogrom" in 1934. I recall Jessica Mitford being inspired by "The Little Brown Book of the Hitler Terror", and railing against her mother and two of her sisters at the dark side of the Nazi regime. Anyway, he seems to have been very wise, and a real force for good, as well as very successful at publishing, and I'd like to find out more. Any suggestions?

The chapter on Harold Davidson, aka the Rector of Stiffkey, aka the "Prostitutes' Padre" is very interesting. He's a character who would have garnered headlines in any era. As the "Prostitutes' Padre" he approached and befriended hundreds of girls, and although there was little direct evidence of improper behaviour, Davidson was frequently found in compromising situations. He neglected his parish to such an extent that he was in London six days a week, sometimes not even bothering to come back on Sundays and getting someone else to deputise. After a formal complaint, the Bishop of Norwich instituted disciplinary proceedings. Davidson's defence was severely compromised by his own eccentric conduct and was damaged beyond repair when the prosecution produced a photograph of Davidson with a near-naked teenage girl. Harold was ultimately killed by a lion at Skegness Amusement Park - truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

I'm currently a chapter called "Thugs, Trunks and Things" which manages to combine Oswald Mosley, and his bully boys (who knew they were actually called "Biff Boys"?) and the Brighton trunk murders. The sort of beguiling combination that always finds favour in my reading.

Well worth reading BYT'ers - here's to a great discussion this month. Happy new year.

I've resolved to rethink my reading, and not start a new book until I've finished the books I've started. Several on art history which I take lots of notes on don't seem to be getting finished. Currently reading Sword of Honour, and also really starting to enjoy Little Wilson And Big God: Being The First Part Of The Confessions Of Anthony Burgess by Anthony Burgess. Burgess, being a 'cradle Catholic', talks about convert catholics like Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene. This is all very interesting.

Here's a quote.
"The converts can look back to a family history graced by the economic rewards of Protestantism and the advantages of education provided by a Protestant establishment. They converted in a cool time." , and a little further, " The converted Catholics of modern literature seem to be concerned with a different faith from the one I was nurtured in - naively romantic, pedantically scrupulous. Novels like The Heart of the Matter, The End of the Affair, Brideshead Revisited, and The Sword of Honour Trilogy falsify the faith by over-dramatising it. Waugh's fictional Catholicism is too snobbish to be true."

Wow! That's what Anthony Burgess thinks of converts! From what I'm reading, I think cradle Catholics have long memories. Burgess said "Until the Emancipation Act of 1829, no British Catholic was permitted higher education." One can understand some deep resentment there. No wonder old Guy Crouchback's father didn't acknowledge any monarch since James II.

Little Wilson And Big God: Being The First Part Of The Confessions Of Anthony Burgess is so good, positively bursting with interesting stuff, Burgess is a fabulous writer. I'll keep adding comments to the 'Little Wilson and Big God' Hot books/small group reads thread.

Greg wrote: "I've resolved to rethink my reading, and not start a new book until I've finished the books I've started."

I reached the same conclusion quite some time ago Greg - I find it most satisfying, and satisfactory, to read one book at a time.

When I read more than one book, like you I just end up neglecting some of the books that I am reading simultaneously. Given that I always feel motivated to read each book I pick up, it works best for me to focus all my reading attention on just one book, before moving on.

Thanks for the interesting comments about Little Wilson and Big God, I'll add them over in the dedicated thread too, and you've reminded me that I need to read it soon.

I'm like you two. I'd rather only have one thing going at a time and so want to finish some books before starting anything new at the moment. I have 8 books started at the moment but I don't really count two of them. (One a Sherlock Holmes I read on my phone when I don't have a physical book with me, and North and South that I was listening to through LibriVox but haven't in probably about a year - some of the narrators were just awful so I stopped...) I've three nonfiction books going right now, the second Mary Poppins book, a book from audible for in the car, and a mystery that I didn't realize was part of a series but I'm enjoying it still. I definitely need to finish some, as I got a number for Christmas I'd like to read soon.

As I mentioned in the Hot Books thread, I've recently started Gone with the Wind. I also picked up a new audiobook from the library, The Seamstress, which is equally huge (23 discs!), but so far, seems like it will be enjoyable.

I started Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell last night, and even in my slightly befuddled, post-pub mood, was impressed by the writing and the details.

The story, "McSorley's Wonderful Saloon" made me feel wistful for a place to which I've never been but which I instantly felt at home.

Bar, pubs, saloons.. has humanity come up with a better invention?

How about this for tempting? The GR synopsis...

'Mitchell bottled and preserved more of the soul of New York than any man before or since; Up in the Old Hotel is required reading for anyone who wants to hear the lost voices of the city' Tim Adams, Observer

'The master of a journalistic style long vanished - urbane, lucid, courteous... A masterpiece of observation and storytelling' Ian McEwan

Mitchell is the laureate of old New York. The hidden corners of the city and the people who lived there are his subject. He captured the waterfront rooming-houses , nickel-a-drink saloons, all-night restaurants, the 'visionaries, obsessives, imposters, fanatics, lost souls, the end-is-near street preachers, old Gypsy Kings and old Gypsy Queens, and out-and-out freak-show freaks.' Mitchell's trademark curiosity, respect and graveyard humour fuel these magical essays.

Written between 1943 and 1965, Up in the Old Hotel is the complete collection of Joseph Mitchell 's New Yorker journalism and includes McSorley's Wonderful Saloon, Old Mr Flood, The Bottom of the Harbour and Joe Gould's Secret.

'Joseph Mitchell is buried treasure' Salman Rushdie

Question: why are all the quotes from the English. Not one New Yorker in the lot. Not even an American.

But I have heard good things about Up in the Old Hotel.

I think they are from an English edition of the book Jan. i've now finished the first article. Absolutely wonderful.

Looked it up again and it doesn't include personal reviews but has my local paper, Chicago Sun-Times, San Francisco Examiner and Newsweek.

Jan C wrote: "I have heard good things about Up in the Old Hotel."

I'm going to add to those good things. It's quite excellent. As Jakey will confirm, it’s a box of ghosts or a vivid HD documentary about a small number of lives in precise streets and buildings and restaurants. And it becomes all the more moving precisely because they all existed. A complete delight.

Nigeyb wrote: "


I started Up in the Old Hotel by Joseph Mitchell last night"

What a book. Loving it. Try this, from Chapter 4 entitled Professor Sea Gull...

Joe Gould, aka Professor Sea Gull, is writing "The Oral History" that is already 11 times the length of the Bible and apparently is a great hodgepodge and kitchen midden of hearsay, a repository of jabber, an omnium-gatherum of bushwa, gab, palaver, hogwash, flapdoodle, and and malarkey, the fruit, according to Gould's estimate of more than twenty thousand conversations.

Wonderful.

I am currently reading...




Scamp by Roland Camberton

It's another of those classic London novels from the 1950s that evokes Julian Maclaren-Ross, Patrick Hamilton, Norman Collins, Samuel Selvon and so on. Indeed it would make a brilliant companion piece to Adrift in Soho by Colin Wilson.

The back streets of Soho and the West End are brought vividly to life and, whilst the plot is slightly inconsequential, that doesn't make the book any less enjoyable. Every page provides an opportunity to experience late 1940s bohemian London and, as I think we can all agree, is a wonderful thing.

Julian Maclaren-Ross makes a few appearances as "Angus Sternforth Simms", who is usually to be found in The Corney Arms (a thinly disguised version of his home from home The Wheatsheaf).

This is the very spot, triv fans, where JMR would hold court every lunchtime and every evening in The Wheatsheaf..


(These are some friends who accompanied me on a literary tour of Fitzrovia a few months back - but that's another story for another day)

Indeed the sections of Scamp that take place in The Corney Arms could have come straight out of Paul Willetts's biography of Julian Maclaren-Ross "Fear and Loathing in Fitzrovia".

Interestingly, and despite his appearance (or perhaps because of), Julian Maclaren-Ross was particularly scathing about this book in his review of it for Times Literary Supplement on 10 November 1950...

The book is written from the standpoint of the "bum": that bearded and corduroyed figure who may be seen crouching over a half of bitter in the corner of a Bloomsbury "pub"; it is ostensibly concerned with the rise and fall of a short-lived literary review, but Mr. Camberton, who appears to be devoid of any narrative gift, makes this an excuse for dragging in disconnectedly and to little apparent purpose a series of thinly disguised local or literary celebrities.

Despite Julian Maclaren-Ross's negativity, the book won the 1951 Somerset Maugham Award (given to authors under the age of 35) and I can quite see why. As I say, the book's great strength is its evocation of late 1940's London and in particular the areas of Bloomsbury, Soho, Kings Cross, Fitzrovia, Fleet Street, and the multifarious and compelling bohemian characters that populate this world.

The book was out of print for many years until publishers Five Leaves, through their New London Editions imprint, republished it in 2010 (they've also republished two books by Alexander Baron which I have on my shelf and will be reading soon). I love books like this and am delighted that more of these titles are getting reprinted. There's a beauty and a purity in the shabby streets and seedy cafes and the lives lived on the margins.

Sadly Roland Camberton only wrote one other book before giving up writing, Rain On The Pavements, and that has also been republished by New London Editions. Needless to say I will be getting hold of that one too and reading it very soon.

I'll review this properly when I finish it in the next few days.

I've just started reading...





The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks

I've been meaning read this book for ages and am delighted to be finally getting down to it.

Both Val and Sarah have recommended it to me and I trust their judgement completely. And the always reliable Mark, over at the Patrick Hamilton Appreciation Society, thinks it's right up there with 'Adrift in Soho' and also somewhat reminiscent of 'Craven House' & 'The Slaves of Solitude' because it chronicles the lives of people on the fringes of society thrown together in a boarding house.

Excited? How could I not be? I'll report back.

I'm a bit nervous now, Nigeyb, having recommended it. It's one of my all time favourite books so I'm on tenterhooks waiting to hear your verdict!!

Sarah wrote: "I'm a bit nervous now, Nigeyb, having recommended it. It's one of my all time favourite books so I'm on tenterhooks waiting to hear your verdict!!"

Thanks Sarah. There's no need for nerves, no matter what the outcome. That said, I'm pretty confident it's going to be a big thumbs up from this reader. I've just finished the first chapter - and I think it's splendid. Just the kind of thing I like: accessible, well written, evoking a sense of time and place, strong central character, credible. What's not to love?

I just started 'A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian'...I'm really enjoying it so far.

^ I enjoyed that book too Ally. Fun stuff. I can't remember much about it, just that I liked it. Good cover too.

Nigeyb wrote: "I've just started reading...

The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks"

About two thirds through now and really enjoying it. Although a few years outside our time frame I think there's plenty there for BYTers to appreciate.

It's amazing how much attitudes have changed since the book was published in 1960 and set - so far as I can make out - in the late 1950s. Abortions are still illegal, the pill has yet to be invented, and an unmarried and pregnant woman will still attract condemnation.

Jane, the pregnant narrator, is chucked out of her widowed father's home as a consequence of getting pregnant. She also faces the stigma of being an unmarried mother who is transformed from a clean living middle class office girl employed in a prestigious job, to being little better than the prostitutes that live in the basement of her new home.

The book perfectly captures the misery and uncertainly her predicament has caused. What is also beautifully captured are the hints of a changing world. Full review to follow soon.

Nigeyb wrote: "Nigeyb wrote: "I've just started reading...

The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks"

About two thirds through now and really enjoying it. Although a few years outside ..."

Nigeyb, I look forward to your review. I haven't read the book but I have seen the film version made in the '60s which I liked. Looking at the GR synopsis of The L-Shaped Room another similar subject story that looks really interesting is The Millstone. I recently found a copy of Alfie which is on the to-read-soon list. The Michael Caine film version of Alfie is still great and captures the times and place. Likewise with The Ipcress File, but that's getting off subject.

^ Thanks Greg.

I've not seen the film but I look forward to it.

You may be interested in this blog...

That's great Nigeyb, that is interesting thanks.

On subject about single girl getting pregnant, have you seen the new film called Philomena starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan?

Greg wrote: "That's great Nigeyb, that is interesting thanks.

On subject about single girl getting pregnant, have you seen the new film called Philomena starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan?"

PHILOMENA was a gem. I didn't see very many films last year, but I didn't miss that one.

Greg those Michael Caine films you mentioned are great too - especially ALFIE. I didn't read the books they were based on, or THE L SHAPED ROOM either.

I'm reading The Circus of Dr. Lao and finding it hugely entertaining, but a tad slow to start.

Yes Ivan, Philomena was very well made. Intelligently and sensitively handled dealing with such a harrowing story. The injustice! It is a very moving film but I left the cinema not in a good mood.

^ Ivan and Greg, I've not seen Philomena but know, instinctively, that it's a film I will find worthwhile. I'll definitely get round to it sometime soon.

Alfie is indeed a classic film. There was an ill-conceived remake with Jude Law that I never saw but shudder at the very thought. Really, what's the point in trying to match cinematic perfection? The Ipcress File, whilst great, is indeed getting way off the Kitchen-Sink-y vibe of Philomena and, most especially, L-Shaped Room

The Circus of Dr. Lao is a completely new title for me. I look forward to your review/rating Ivan.

Greg wrote: "Yes Ivan, Philomena was very well made. Intelligently and sensitively handled dealing with such a harrowing story. The injustice! It is a very moving film but I left the cinema not in a good mood."

I saw Philomena when it was here. I enjoyed it but felt that at times Dench was made up to look older than either herself or the real Philomena. i have the Kindle sample of the book and am trying to decide if I want to read it.

It wasn't as much a downer as The Magdalene Sisters even though it was different aspects of the same story.

The Magdalene Sisters was excellent, but yeah very depressing. I'm interested in Philomena but it will probably be a bit before I can see it.