A Handful of Dust is a novel by the British writer Evelyn Waugh (pictured). First published in 1934, it concerns the misfortunes of Tony Last, a contented but shallow English country squire who, betrayed by his wife and seeing his illusions shattered one by one, joins an expedition to the Brazilian jungle. Here he is trapped in a remote outpost, as the prisoner and plaything of an insane captor, and is forced to read the novels of Charles Dickens, aloud, in perpetuity. Waugh incorporated several autobiographical elements into the story, notably a journey into the South American interior undertaken in 1933–34, and his own recent desertion by his young wife. The book was immediately popular with the public and has never been out of print; its literary reputation has grown, and it has been listed among the 20th century's best novels. Unlike in much of his work, Waugh did not introduce overt religious themes into A Handful of Dust. He later explained that he intended the book to demonstrate the futility of humanist as distinct from religious values. (Full article...)
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