Evelyn Waugh, ‘Mr Loveday’s Little Outing’ (1949)

Angela goes to visit her father, Lord Moping, in the asylum, to find another of the inmates, a Mr Loveday, acting as his ‘secretary’. Observing his apparent sanity, Angela contrives to have Loveday released — and then…

The dark humour of this tale reminded me of Dylan Thomas’s story in the anthology, though I don’t think it has quite the same range and depth of effect as that other piece. This was my first encounter with Waugh’s work, and I am certainly interested in reading more by him.

Rating: ***½

8 thoughts on “Evelyn Waugh, ‘Mr Loveday’s Little Outing’ (1949)”

  1. Pingback: The Oxford Library of Classic English Short Stories, Vol. I: 1900-1956 (1989) « Follow the Thread

  3. Charles, that’s probably the best one-line recommendation of a book I’ve ever received. I shall investigate – thanks!

  4. David, I agree with Charles, please read ‘A Handful of Dust’ – it’s quite bleak and upsetting. I also love ‘Decline and Fall’ and ‘Scoop’ – they’re both brilliantly funny.

    I don’t remember reading Mr Loveday’s Little Outing, though I usually claim to have read most of Evelyn Waugh’s work. I’ll have to look it out – thanks for the post.

  6. I’d recommend, well, pretty much anything by Waugh actually.

    I’m wondering if I’ve read this one. It sounds suspiciously familiar. If I have it was a very long time ago.

  7. I really loved this story! I’ve never read Evelyn Waugh’s books before and was admired. The plot is thrilling. While reading I recollected the stories by Roald Dahl. I think they’re alike a bit. So I advice to read it, hope that everybody’ll like it.
    Also I would recommend to read Jeffrey Archer’s stories! They’re my favourite.

  8. Thanks for the comment. I hadn’t thought of Roald Dahl at the time; but,now you mention it, I can see the similarity. It’s an interesting comparison.

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