In mourning
In the 19th century, it was customary to use black-bordered paper and envelopes to inform someone of a death. Here...
The root of all wisdom
This is surely the crux of Brideshead Revisited and its most arresting, limpid quotation. It comes quite early in the...
Tapestry-hung hall
An instant image of a hundred English great halls of Tudor or later provenance, the walls lined with a thousand...
All-seeing eyes
A fictitious dedication in the novel, imbuing its artist-narrator with an almost godly omnivision, although he doesn't portray himself as...
A bundle of letters
It is now so rare to receive a letter (not talking about bills or other officialese, but real letters) that...
The power of a name
One of the finest devices of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited is the flashback from present war to past Arcadia. When...
Half-shaven scrimshankers
Lovely word 'scrimshank', describing either something being a mess, at sixes and sevens, or referring to work-shirking,...
Evidence of life?
This response by Charles Ryder to his wife's question is striking. While change is inevitable, I am not sure it...
A pool of embarrassment
Curious idea that the person causing the pool of uneasiness is oblivious to it and just floats as dumb and...
Glee-singing competition
There is something a little dated about this description of someone's clothing, but I liked the 'glee-singing competition'.  I had...
The fermentation of fear
A great metaphor for the way fear can bubble and multiply, bringing to the surface appalling images. What's the antidote? ...
Glee between two leaves
Ryder's father seems to have a quiet, relentless sadism about him, positively enjoying any discomfiture he can inflict on his...
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