Sword of Honour

"I love Evelyn Waugh as a writer. He is probably my favourite novelist. Like Elizabeth Jane Howard’s book, he really takes you there. This book brings that world to life in a wonderful way. He is very good on the eccentricity of it, and the madness of the war. There are so many things that we would take for granted that went out of the window in war time. It was a world without health and safety – a world of survival. Guy is an everyman. He is just an ordinary good guy, a very sympathetic character, who finds himself in all sorts of terrible situations which are completely beyond his control. What is so brilliant about Waugh is that while Guy Crouchback is very ordinary and plain – a bit dull in a way – Waugh makes him a good and strong character, and it is very difficult to do that. And all around Crouchback there is an amazing supporting cast of extraordinary characters and individuals, with plenty of colour. I also like the scope of the book, which takes you from Italy to England to West Africa to Crete. Yes. I think it is a complete masterpiece. He was absolutely vile! I am sure he is one of the ones where you should never meet your heroes. In a way my admiration for him is even greater considering that he managed to pull it off. I think the antagonism between Britain and America as allies has been massively overplayed. I think that the antagonism that did exist existed at the high level, and was to do with personality clashes. But you would equally find personality clashes within American and British ranks. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . One of the reasons why we have shared intelligence is the legacy of the Second World War, so I do think that there is a special relationship between Britain and America which stems from it. There was obviously a link between the US and Britain before, because America used to be a colony and all the rest of it. What the Second World War did was to bring us together and let Britain form a firmer relationship – which no one else in the world has been equal to – in terms of cosying up to the world’s leading power."