Brideshead Revisited is a timeless classic which has inspired countless adaptations due to its emotive and masterfully-crafted narrative. A poignant story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in the glamorous upper-class world prior to the Second World War, Waugh's most famous novel is partly autobiographical and is a gripping study of aristocratic life behind closed doors.The story begins in 1925 at Oxford where Charles Ryder is befriended by the louche and flamboyant Sebastian Flyte, son of Lord and Lady ...
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Brideshead Revisited is a timeless classic which has inspired countless adaptations due to its emotive and masterfully-crafted narrative. A poignant story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in the glamorous upper-class world prior to the Second World War, Waugh's most famous novel is partly autobiographical and is a gripping study of aristocratic life behind closed doors.The story begins in 1925 at Oxford where Charles Ryder is befriended by the louche and flamboyant Sebastian Flyte, son of Lord and Lady Marchmain. Charles is quickly seduced by his friend's opulent and glamorous world and thrilled by an invitation to 'Brideshead', the Marchmain's magnificent ancestral home. Beguiled by his surroundings, Charles becomes infatuated with Sebastian's beautiful sister Julia. As his emotional attachment to the young Marchmains grows, Charles finds himself increasingly at odds with the family's strongest bond: a deep and abiding Catholic faith. The reader Jeremy Northam is a well-established British film and television actor, and appeared in Gosford Park and The Tudors.
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Absorbing plot and so evocative of its age. Much better than the overblown screen versions. Though these are beautifully acted, directed and shot they lose the humorous elements that form a part of the novel. Waugh is a master of brevity in style and this is lost in the adaptations.
katheliz1938
Oct 23, 2008
Wonderful book
This is well-known to be an excellent novel - nothing I can say will add to its fame.
venti1
Sep 25, 2008
Brideshead Worth Revisiting
After many years, I enjoyed rereading Waugh's classic novel. With the added hindsight of having viewed the Masterpiece Theatre production, I appreciated Waugh's stinging indictment of, and appreciation for, this view of early 20th Century Britain. Clearly, while the video captured every nuance of the disfunctional Flyte family and Charles Ryder's fascination with them, rereading the book allows for a thorough saturation in the language and a renewed appreciation of the narrative structure. I also learned something that I forget from time to time: if it looks too good to be true, it is: the book I purchased was a first edition;first printing of a reprint series -- not the original as I had thought. Live and learn.
ghmus7
Nov 20, 2007
One of the Finest english Novels
A great novel that captures so many currents of English life during the early 20th century. The charachters are so believable, that when the PBS series aired, many viewers exlaimed: "That not what Sebastian looks like!" The depiction of privleged English life at Oxbridge, the statley houses, the parties and denial of the upper-crust world coming into war is sort of a camoflage over the underlying theme of the book, the importance of faith and the state of one's soul. That, as glorious or squalid as life can be, it does not last and each person ought consider his soul in light of eternity. There is a marvelous atmosphere and feeling to the book, a sense of regretfulness that "This was once what was so great about English life...but will never be again". Waugh is essentially writing as a exile in place - As a Catholic, he was a disciple of a religion that England has never been comfortable with, to say the least. Considered a literary masterpiece, it is undoubtably Waugh's best book, and certainly his most insightful. Quite funny at times, it encommpasses so much of life in it's economical length. A truly great book that you will read several times.
WhisperingWind
Oct 25, 2007
Destined to be a classic.
I've read it more than a half-dozen times. It is filled with incredible insight into the human condtion and is more enjoyable each reading.
