Overview

If there is a literary gene, then the Waugh family most certainly has it--and it clearly seems to be passed down from father to son. The first of the literary Waughs was Arthur, who, when he won the Newdigate Prize for poetry at Oxford in 1888, broke with the family tradition of medicine. He went on to become a distinguished publisher and an immensely influential book columnist. He fathered two sons, Alec and Evelyn, both of whom were to become novelists of note (and whom Arthur, somewhat uneasily, would himself publish); both of whom were to rebel in their own ways against his bedrock Victorianism; and one of whom, Evelyn, was to write a series of immortal novels that will be prized as long as elegance and lethal wit are admired. Evelyn begat, among seven others, Auberon Waugh, who would carry on in the family tradition of literary skill and eccentricity, becoming one of England's most incorrigibly cantankerous and provocative newspaper columnists, loved and loathed in equal measure. And Auberon begat Alexander, yet another writer in the family, to whom it has fallen to tell this extraordinary tale of four generations of scribbling male Waughs. The result of his labors is Fathers and Sons, one of the most unusual works of biographical memoir ever written. In this remarkable history of father-son relationships in his family, Alexander Waugh exposes the fraught dynamics of love and strife that has produced a succession of successful authors. Based on the recollections of his father and on a mine of hitherto unseen documents relating to his grandfather, Evelyn, the book skillfully traces the threads that have linked father to son across a century of war, conflict, turmoil, and change. It is at once very, very funny, fearlessly candid, and exceptionally moving--a supremely entertaining book that will speak to all fathers and sons, as well as the women who love them.

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Reviews

"""A remarkable work of family history, exceptional for its honesty, inventiveness, humor and for the beguiling individuality of its author's voice...Alexander Waugh proves himself outrageously graceful and accomplished with a talent that needs no help at all from his illustrious forebears."" -- ""Literary Review (UK)"" ""A wonderful critical-loving job...A stupendous story."" -- ""V. S. Naipaul, Booker Prize-winning author"" ""Alternately scalding and tender, this group portrait deserves a place next to other Waugh masterpieces."" -- ""Booklist (starred review)"" ""If this tome were merely an excuse to reprint some of Evelyn's hilarious jottings, it would be well worth the price, but it's also an absorbing study of how writers process their most painfully formative experiences."" -- ""Publishers Weekly (starred review)"" ""Written with wit, great shrewdness, and without a trace of sentimentality."" -- ""Guardian (UK)"""

A remarkable work of family history, exceptional for its honesty, inventiveness, humor and for the beguiling individuality of its author's voice...Alexander Waugh proves himself outrageously graceful and accomplished with a talent that needs no help at all from his illustrious forebears. -- Literary Review (UK) A wonderful critical-loving job...a stupendous story. -- V. S. Naipaul, Booker Prize-winning author Alternately scalding and tender, this group portrait deserves a place next to other Waugh masterpieces. -- Booklist (starred review) If this tome were merely an excuse to reprint some of Evelyn's hilarious jottings, it would be well worth the price, but it's also an absorbing study of how writers process their most painfully formative experiences. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Written with wit, great shrewdness, and without a trace of sentimentality. -- Guardian (UK)

A remarkable work of family history, exceptional for its honesty, inventiveness, humor and for the beguiling individuality of its author's voice...Alexander Waugh proves himself outrageously graceful and accomplished with a talent that needs no help at all from his illustrious forebears. -- Literary Review (UK) A wonderful critical-loving job...A stupendous story. -- V. S. Naipaul, Booker Prize-winning author Alternately scalding and tender, this group portrait deserves a place next to other Waugh masterpieces. -- Booklist (starred review) If this tome were merely an excuse to reprint some of Evelyn's hilarious jottings, it would be well worth the price, but it's also an absorbing study of how writers process their most painfully formative experiences. -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Written with wit, great shrewdness, and without a trace of sentimentality. -- Guardian (UK)

Author Information

Alexander Waugh is the grandson of Evelyn Waugh and the son of columnist Auberon Waugh and novelist Teresa Waugh. He has been the opera critic at the Mail on Sunday and the Evening Standard and has written several books on music, as well as Time, God, and The House of Wittgenstein. He lives in Somerset, England, with his wife, two daughters, and one son. Dennis Kleinman has been narrating audiobooks since 2013 and has at least forty titles to his credit. His career began with a biography of a British general, Sir David Fraser, and then transitioned into a series of period romance audiobooks, which opened up his creative approaches and choices to the characters that he brought to life. His body of work includes drama and mysteries, coupled with fan fiction and adventure. Adding to his resume is a three-part audiobook series covering espionage across Eastern Europe, in the Birth of an Assassin series, as well as the in-depth exploration of a family's heritage in Out of The Shoebox. Dennis worked with Douglass Davies on his novel Steinburg-a work about international political intrigue, which allowed Dennis the artistic freedom to explore his own European origins and early family history. Working with Ed Renehan of New Street Nautical Audio, Dennis has narrated half a dozen nautical themed audiobooks, including Desperate Voyage, the account of Donald Crowhurst's attempt to sail in a round the world yacht race in 1968. Dennis has worked on South African themed works that include The Lion Seeker, about early Jewish settlement and emigration to South Africa. He narrated and brought many characters to life in The Zebra Affaire, set in 1976 apartheid South Africa. Dennis adopts the various South African accents in an authentic, meaningful, and sensitive way, allowing his own South African roots to flow through the narration. Dennis was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and emigrated to the United States in 1980 after completing his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Cape Town. He lives with his family in Los Angeles.

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