A Handful of Dust - The Cheating Game
On the 60th anniversary of his death, Russell Kane delves into seven of Evelyn Waugh’s most important works. In episode 4, A Handful of Dust (1934) – a book about fidelity.
Many people hold Evelyn Waugh among the best British writers of the 20th Century -Russell Kane is one of them. To mark the 60th anniversary of his death, Russell delves into seven of Waugh’s most important works.
While Waugh has been unfashionable for some time, Kane believes it’s high time to turn back to him. He says he was way ahead of his time and, in his books, he reveals ourselves to ourselves and uncovers clues for how we should live our lives today.
Over seven episodes, Waugh tells us everything we need to know about the cluttered corridors of English culture - its class system, media, cult of masculinity, colonial hang-ups: everything it’s made of, good and bad. Not only does Waugh show our society for what it is, but he demonstrates how it can be hacked - infiltrated by savvy interlopers like himself. And Russell sees a kindred spirit.
Waugh may be a divisive figure, with the public reputation of a pantomime villain. Some say Waugh’s vitriolic streak, cultural insensitivity and idolisation of the upper classes should condemn him to the male, pale and stale literary past - but Russell believes he is prescient, not reactionary, that he was ahead of his time. Waugh holds the least flattering of mirrors up to us - and actually, it’s not Waugh but what we see that we don’t like.
In episode 4, we look at A Handful of Dust (1934) – a book about fidelity. It’s about men and women, toxic masculinity and treacherous female desire. Tony Last is abandoned by his wife, leading to divorce, reflecting events in Waugh’s own life: his marriage breakdown and Catholic conversion. Fidelity and faith are key themes. Back then, infidelity was accepted in certain circles, but had disastrous consequences. Today, social media complicates what cheating means. The book is also about money and materialism - how to stop wanting the wealth that can make you miserable.
Producer: Dom Byrne & Freya Hellier
Executive Producer: Rosamund Jones
Editor: Kirsten Lass
Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke
Sound Mix: Jon Calver
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
On radio
Broadcast
- Thu 5 Mar 202613:45BBC Radio 4
