"A story both tragic and hilariously funny, that seems to move along without aid from its author...Unquestionably the best book Mr. Waugh has written."—Saturday Review
"The most mature and the best written novel that Mr. Waugh has yet produced."—New Statesman & Nation
"Absolutely delightful."—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times
"Glacially sardonic....A masterpiece."—TIME
"A brilliant satirical study of the eccentric between-wars society to which Waugh belonged."—LIFE
"Waugh treats society as a wonderland in which he plays the part of a rude, libellous, yet domestic Alice."—V.S. Pritchett
A new biography by Philip Eade seeks to use newly available documents to reopen questions about the writer’s love life and wartime exploits. Review by Katherine A. Powers.