A Handful of Dust (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Modernist NovelBy Evelyn Waugh
Length9h 50m
About this audiobook
A Handful of Dust is Evelyn Waugh's bleakly comic anatomy of a decaying aristocratic England, centred on Tony Last, whose devotion to the Gothic family seat of Hetton proves tragically inadequate against modern vanity, adultery, and emotional frivolity. Written in Waugh's crystalline, satirical prose, the novel moves from drawing-room comedy to existential nightmare, exposing the hollowness beneath interwar social rituals. Its title, echoing T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land, situates the work within a broader modernist meditation on spiritual desolation. Evelyn Waugh, already renowned for the brilliant farce of Decline and Fall and Vile Bodies, brought to this 1934 novel both his insider's knowledge of upper-class manners and his growing disenchantment with modern secular society. His conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1930 deepened his sense of moral disorder, while personal experiences of marital breakdown sharpened the novel's treatment of betrayal, illusion, and abandonment. This is essential reading for those interested in twentieth-century satire, the English country-house tradition, or the darker energies of modernism. Elegant, merciless, and unexpectedly haunting, A Handful of Dust rewards readers who appreciate comedy edged with metaphysical dread.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.0 (32.4K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon
GenreHumor, Literary Classics
Length9 hrs 50 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateApr 27, 2023
LanguageEnglish
More from Evelyn Waugh
Brideshead Revisited (Annotated)Evelyn Waugh14h 19m4.2 (169)$2 · $0.00
Work Suspended and Other StoriesEvelyn Waugh7h 1m3.8 (237)$2 · $0.00
Put Out More FlagsEvelyn Waugh8h 46m3.9 (7.8K)$1 · $0.00
Unconditional SurrenderEvelyn Waugh9h 18m4.2 (2K)$1 · $0.00
ScoopEvelyn Waugh9h 11m3.9 (32.2K)$1 · $0.00
The Ordeal of Gilbert PinfoldEvelyn Waugh6h 31m3.9 (4.1K)$2 · $0.00
Decline and Fall (Annotated)Evelyn Waugh8h 37m4.7 (16)$1.99 · $0.00
Vile BodiesEvelyn Waugh6h 3m$27 · $0.00
Decline and FallEvelyn Waugh6h 20m4.0 (24.7K)$20 · $0.00
Lost In TranslationAudrey Davis9h 15m4.4 (235)Free
How to Test Negative for StupidJohn Kennedy8h 13m4.7 (9.7K)$28 · $0.00
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m4.7 (2.8K)$15 · $0.00
Birdie & HarlowTaylor Wolfe7h 50m4.6 (6.5K)$26 · $0.00
The Life of DaiDai Henwood, Jaquie Brown8h 2m4.6 (790)$26 · $0.00
Welcome to PawneeJim O'Heir6h 24m4.5 (5.3K)$24 · $0.00
Going PostalTerry Pratchett13h 36m4.5 (163.8K)$33 · $0.00
Woman UninterruptedBrodie Kane7h 1m4.6 (562)$24 · $0.00
1984 & Animal Farm (Annotated)George Orwell15h 54m4.5 (220.8K)$3.99 · $0.00
Kingsblood Royal (Annotated)Sinclair Lewis14h 42m4.6 (264)$2 · $0.00
This Is Going to HurtAdam Kay5h 47m4.4 (444.7K)$24 · $0.00
You Will Get Through This NightDaniel Howell6h 56m4.4 (11.8K)$24 · $0.00
Northanger Abbey (Annotated)Jane Austen10h 7m4.5 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
My Dear HamiltonStephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie23h 7m4.4 (63.6K)$46 · $0.00
THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS & SCREWTAPE PROPOSES A TOAST (Annotated)C. S. Lewis5h 6m4.4 (471K)$2 · $0.00
BufferingHannah Hart5h 55m4.4 (12.4K)$24 · $0.00
The Office BFFsJenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey8h 26m4.3 (45.4K)$26 · $0.00
The Collected Stories of Dorothy ParkerDorothy Parker8h 36m4.3 (13.6K)$1 · $0.00
LambChristopher Moore15h 22m4.3 (211.3K)$33 · $0.00
#IMomSoHardKristin Hensley, Jen Smedley7h 19m4.3 (7.3K)$24 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
Pride & Prejudice (Annotated)Jane Austen15h 10m4.7 (13.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m4.7 (2.8K)$15 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)William Shakespeare29h 42m4.6 (2.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 50m4.6 (1.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust16h 8m4.5 (10.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie3h 50m4.6 (1.4K)$4.70 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery11h 1m4.5 (1.2M)$2.30 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
You may also like
The Entire Original Maupassant Short StoriesGuy De55h 16m4.3 (1.3K)$3.50 · $0.00
Ordeal by HungerGeorge R. Stewart12h 10m4.2 (2.5K)$23
Mountain IntervalRobert Frost1h 41m4.1 (1.4K)$2.30
FlushVirginia Woolf4h 58m3.9 (22.8K)$2 · $0.00
The Festival of InsignificanceMilan Kundera2h 33m3.5 (25.8K)$18 · $0.00
UlyssesJames Joyce30h 45m3.9 (166.8K)$1.20 · $0.00
My Captivity Among the Sioux IndiansFanny Kelly6h 27m4.1 (2.2K)$1 · $0.00
The Death of Ivan IlychLeo Tolstoy2h 28m4.2 (303.5K)$2.30 · $0.00
UlyssesJames Joyce30h 40m4.0 (177.2K)$1.80 · $0.00
Coming Up for AirGeorge Orwell8h 28m3.9 (27.5K)$1.20 · $0.00
UlyssesJames Joyce28h 16m4.0 (176.6K)Free
Coming Up for AirGeorge Orwell8h 25m3.9 (30.6K)$20
Looking Back On The Spanish WarGeorge Orwell48m4.0 (536)$2 · $0.00
An Abbreviated LifeAriel Leve6h4.0 (2.9K)$24 · $0.00
L'AssommoirÉmile Zola16h 59m4.3 (53.4K)$2.30
Your Duck Is My DuckDeborah Eisenberg6h 55m3.7 (3.3K)$24 · $0.00
The Petchenyeg and Other Short StoriesAnton Chekhov4h 41m$2.30
Sea ChangeJeremy Page9h 2m3.4 (235)$20 · $0.00
The Cook's Wedding and Other StoriesAnton Pavlovich Chekhov6h 53m4.0 (153)$2 · $0.00
Grisha and Other Short StoriesAnton Chekhov2h 37m3.3 (59)$2.30