Letters to a friend : some letters and postcards from Evelyn Waugh to John Betjeman, 1936-1960
Date
1973
Authors
O'Connell, James Declan
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Abstract
Evelyn Waugh and the English poet and essayist John Betjeman were close friends for over thirty years. Waugh's letters and postcards in the Betjeman archive at the University of Victoria, written over a period of twenty-four years, testify to the warmth of their relationship. All of these are reproduced here together with an introduction.
The introduction is divided into two parts. The first provides brief biographical sketches of both writers together with a resume of the range of the correspondence Attention is drawn to Waugh's early days in the Royal Marines, his comments on the progress of his work and his sense of humour.
The second part of the introduction is concerned with a series of letters and postcards written between December 1946 and May 1947. These are of greatest biographical significance. They are notable for Waugh's acerbic refusal to sympathise with any arguments which Betjeman advances for his remaining an Anglican. Waugh continually and unequivocally holds out the prospect of eternal damnation to Betjeman, chiding him for both the lack of any substance in his arguments and for what he, Waugh, considers to be Betjeman's totally erroneous view of the purpose of religion. Striking features of these letters are Waugh's conviction of the absolute truth of Roman Catholicism and the vigour of his exhortations to Betjeman to think out his own position
Waugh became a Roman Catholic at the age of 27. He wrote only two short articles on the reasons for his conversion. In both of these he laid stress on the historical grounds which led him to Rome. His letters to Betjeman, too, stress the historical logic behind Waugh's choice, but they are more remarkable for the revelation of Waugh's rather visceral distaste for Anglicanism in general and its clergy in particular. These letters give an intimate, racy insight into the tenacity with which Waugh held his adopted faith and into the lengths to which he was willing to go in order to persuade a close friend to follow his example.
The letters and postcards, together with a statement of editorial principles follow the introduction.