(Oct 28, 1903, London – Apr 10, 1966, Combe Florey, Somerset), a great prose stylist, was the son of a publisher; he began his literary career early, as editor of his school magazine. After studying in Oxford and London, he worked briefly as a schoolmaster until his satirical social novels (Decline and Fall, 1928; Vile Bodies, 1930; A Handful of Dust, 1934) brought him financial success. In 1930, after the failure of his first marriage, he became a Catholic. The problems of faith in the midst of a world he experienced as godless informed his subsequent works.
Besides historic…