20th Century Sword Of Honour Trilogy

20th Century Sword Of Honour Trilogy by Waugh, Evelyn. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780140182514.

This trilogy spanning World War II, based in part on Evelyn Waughs own experiences as an army officer, is the authors surpassing achievement as a novelist. Its central character is Guy Crouchback, head of an ancient but decayed Catholic family, who at first discovers new purpose in the challenge to defend Christian values against Nazi barbarism, but then gradually finds the complexities and cruelties of war overwhelming. Though often somber, Sword of Honor is also a brilliant comedy, peopled by the fantastic figures so familiar from Waughs early satires. The deepest pleasures these novels afford come from observing a great satiric writer employ his gifts with extraordinary subtlety, delicacy, and human feeling, for purposes that are ultimately anything but satiric.