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A Handful of Dust
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A Handful of Dust Hardback - 2002

by Evelyn Waugh


About this book

British writer Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust tells the story of Tony Last, a disillusioned and soon-to-be-divorced country squire, who travels of the jungle of Brazil — only to find himself the prisoner of an unhinged settler who forces him to continuously read aloud the works of Charles Dickens. A Handful of Dust is often grouped with Waugh’s satirical novels prior to World War II; however, because of its serious undertones, it can also been seen as a transitional work to his more substantial postwar fiction. The novel has autobiographical elements, reflecting the author’s own failed marriage and his resulting South American journey in 1933-1934. But on a deeper note, A Handful of Dust illustrates the parallels the savage nature of London society with uncivilized barbarity of the jungle.

Waugh first used Tony as the protagonist in his 1933 short story titled The Man Who Liked Dickens. The piece was published in the US in Hearst's International–Cosmopolitan and in Britain in Nash's Pall Mall Magazine. Tony’s story was then serialized — after much revision and expansion — under the title A Flat in London. When it came time to publish the story as a novel, Waugh selected the title A Handful of Dust, inspired by a line in T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land: "I will show you fear in a handful of dust."

Upon publication, the critical reception of A Handful of Dust was less than impressive. Yet the novel was and has remained popular with the public and has never been out of print. A Handful of Dust is ranked 34th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. It is also listed as one of TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923). 

From the publisher

Evelyn Waugh was born in England in 1903 and died in 1966.

First Edition Identification

Chapman and Hall first published A Handful of Dust in 1934. First editions are bound in red and black “snakeskin” cloth with gilt lettering on the spine and have no additional printings listed on the copyright page.

Details

  • Title A Handful of Dust
  • Author Evelyn Waugh
  • Binding Hardback
  • Edition 3rd
  • Language EN
  • Publisher Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, North Clarendon, Vermont, U.S.A.
  • Date 2002-04-09
  • ISBN 9780375414206

Media reviews

“A vicious, witty novel.” —New York Times

“Waugh’s technique is relentless and razor-edged…By any standard it is super satire.” —Chicago Daily News

“The most mature and the best written novel that Mr. Waugh has yet produced.” —New Statesman & Nation

“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

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A Handful of Dust

A Handful of Dust

by Evelyn Waugh

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9780375414206
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0375414207
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Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2002. Hardcover. Good. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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A Handful of Dust (Everyman's Library)
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A Handful of Dust (Everyman's Library)

by Evelyn Waugh; Introduction-William Boyd

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A Handful of Dust
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A Handful of Dust

by Waugh, Evelyn & William Boyd

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Everyman's Library. Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. 2002. Hardcover. 0375414207 . This book is in very good condition; no remainder marks. Dustjacket does have some shelfwear. Inside pages are clean. ; Everyman's Library; 5.25 X 1 X 8.25 inches; 264 pages .
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A Handful of Dust
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A Handful of Dust

by Evelyn Waugh

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A Handful of Dust (Everyman's Library)
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A Handful of Dust (Everyman's Library)

by Waugh, Evelyn

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A Handful of Dust (Everyman's Library) Waugh, Evelyn and Boyd, William
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A Handful of Dust (Everyman's Library) Waugh, Evelyn and Boyd, William

by Waugh, Evelyn

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A Handful of Dust
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A Handful of Dust

by Evelyn Waugh

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A Handful of Dust (Everyman's Library)
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A Handful of Dust (Everyman's Library)

by Waugh, Evelyn; Boyd, William [Introduction]

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A Handful of Dust (Everyman's Library)
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A Handful of Dust (Everyman's Library)

by Waugh, Evelyn; Boyd, William [Introduction]

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