Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh (Book Analysis)

This practical and insightful reading guide offers a complete summary and analysis of Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh. It provides a thorough exploration of the novel’s plot, characters and main themes, as well as a helpful exploration of the events in Waugh’s personal life that influenced the conception of the novel. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This clear and detailed 52-page reading guide is structured as follows:

• Biography of Evelyn Waugh
• Presentation of Vile Bodies
• Summary of Vile Bodies
• Character study
  • Adam Fenwick-Symes
  • Nina Blount
  • Colonel Blount
  • Agatha Runcible
• Analysis of Vile Bodies
  • Context
  • Drama, speech and events
  • Bright Young People

About Vile Bodies

Vile Bodies was Evelyn Waugh’s second novel, and tells the story of the doomed relationship between Adam Fenwick-Symes and his fiancée, Nina Blount, both of whom are part of the generation of ‘Bright Young Things’ – the upper-class youth of 1920s England, whose lives are devoted to all kinds of decadence. As Adam and Nina struggle to keep their engagement on track, they are foiled at every turn by cantankerous fathers, the whims of the tabloids and the unexpected reappearance of Nina’s childhood sweetheart.

About Evelyn Waugh

Evelyn Waugh was a British writer who also worked as a journalist and served in the British armed forces during the Second World War. After studying at Oxford University and briefly working as a schoolmaster, he turned his hand to writing and produced a number of novels which are typically characterized by their sharp wit and incisive portrayal of the interwar period. Waugh was also an ardent traditionalist who frequently expressed his dislike of the modern world. He died on Easter Sunday in 1966.