Auberon Waugh

Auberon Alexander "Bron" Waugh (born November 17, 1939 in Pixton House, Dulverton , England ; † January 16, 2001 in Combe Florey near Taunton , England) was an English writer and journalist . Evelyn Waugh's son made a name for himself primarily as a vicious columnist.

Life

Auberon Waugh was born as the second oldest child and eldest son of the writer Evelyn Waugh and his second wife Laura Herbert. His father entered military service at the outbreak of World War II and was therefore separated from the family. He maintained a distant relationship with his children, whom he said he saw "once a day for 10, I hope, awesome minutes".

The family initially lived at Piers Court in Stinchcombe , Gloucestershire , before moving to the Combe Florey estate in Somerset in 1956 . Auberon visited the Catholic Downside boarding school near Bath and received a scholarship to Christ Church College of Oxford University .

Before he began his studies, he did military service with the Royal Horse Guards at the age of 18 as a cadet in the National Service . There was a serious accident in Cyprus ; when Auberon rattled the blocked machine gun of his armored car, a volley broke loose and four bullets pierced his upper body. He survived but lost a lung, a finger and suffered repeated pain for the rest of his life.

While he was recovering from the gunshot wounds and the operation in Italy, he wrote the humorous novel The Foxglove Saga , in which he also incorporated experiences from his boarding days. The book was published in 1960 and was well received by critics and buyers. However, he gave up his studies after failing some preliminary exams.

In 1961 he married Teresa Onslow , who was also a writer. The two had two sons and two daughters. After a few years in London, the family moved to the Combe Florey family estate after the death of Evelyn Waugh.

Auberon tried unsuccessfully to join the British Secret Service and instead began writing for various London papers, the Daily Telegraph , and later for the Daily Mirror , the Spectator and Private Eye . He has also written columns, reviews and wine recommendations for the Evening Standard , The Times and the Independent . Auberon Waugh was considered a conservative free spirit who was able to present his often eccentric points of view very pointedly. In his articles he used a pointed pen to attack people he disliked personally; he had long feuds with a number of colleagues.

He has published several books ( Paths of Dalliance (1963), Where are the Violets now? (1966), Consider the Lilies (1968) and A Bed of Flowers (1973)), none of which could build on the success of his debut. As a man of letters he could never step out of the great shadow of his father, he gave up fiction entirely.

Auberon Waugh was committed to the cause of the Nigerian province of Biafra , was initially a supporter of Margaret Thatcher , but whose policies he criticized most strongly, especially after the Falklands War .

He died at the age of 61.

Footnotes

1. ↑ in the original "once a day for 10, I hope, awe-inspiring minutes"

swell

• Obituary in the Guardian (English)
• Obituary in the Daily Telegraph (English)