by Evelyn Waugh
First published 1999
Charles Ryder, a disillusioned painter, stumbles back into the world of the aristocratic Marchmain family through an unexpected military posting. Drawn into their opulent yet fractured universe, he becomes obsessed with Sebastian Flyte, a troubled young aristocrat, and later Sebastian's sister Julia. As Charles navigates the rarefied spaces of British upper-class life—from Oxford's hallowed halls to grand country estates—he confronts the complex intersections of desire, faith, and social expectation. The Marchmain family's dramatic internal conflicts, rooted in religious conviction and personal rebellion, threaten to consume everyone in their orbit. Charles watches as each family member wrestles with their own impossible choices, knowing his own fate hangs in the delicate balance of their unfolding drama.
Genres: drama, romance, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, british-literature, family-drama, academic
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: London
Period: 20th-century
351 pages · Paperback · Back Bay Books