- Hardcover: 239 pages
- Publisher: Chapman and Hall; First Edition edition (1932)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0412505606
- ISBN-13: 978-0412505607
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,249,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Black Mischief (Penguin Modern Classics)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
"Black Mischief," Waugh's third novel, helped to establish his reputation as a master satirist. Set on the fictional African island of Azania, the novel chronicles the efforts of Emperor Seth, assisted by the Englishman Basil Seal, to modernize his kingdom. Profound hilarity ensues from the issuance of homemade currency, the staging of a "Birth Control Gala, " the rightful ruler's demise at his own rather long and tiring coronation ceremonies, and a good deal more mischief.
About the Author
Evelyn Waugh was born in Hampstead in 1903. His first novel, Decline and Fall, was soon followed by Vile Bodies (1930), Black Mischief (1932), A Handful of Dust (1934) and Scoop (1938). In 1942 he published Put Out More Flags and then in 1945 Brideshead Revisited. When the Going was Good and The Loved One preceded Men at Arms, which came out in 1952, the first volume of 'The Sword of Honour' trilogy, and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. The other volumes, Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender, followed in 1955 and 1961. In 1964 he published his last book, A Little Learning, the first volume of an autobiography. For many years he lived with his wife and six children in the West Country. He died in 1966.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
'We, Seth, Emperor of Azania, Chief of the Chiefs of Sakuyu, Lord of Wanda and Tyrant of the Seas, Bachelor of the Arts of Oxford University, being in this the twenty-fourth year of our life, summoned by the wisdom of Almighty God and the unanimous voice of our people to the throne of our ancestors, do hereby proclaim . . .' Seth paused in his dictation and gazed out across the harbour where in the fresh breeze of early morning the last dhow was setting sail for the open sea. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
'We, Seth, Emperor of Azania, Chief of the Chiefs of Sakuyu, Lord of Wanda and Tyrant of the Seas, Bachelor of the Arts of Oxford University, being in this the twenty-fourth year of our life, summoned by the wisdom of Almighty God and the unanimous voice of our people to the throne of our ancestors, do hereby proclaim . . .' Seth paused in his dictation and gazed out across the harbour where in the fresh breeze of early morning the last dhow was setting sail for the open sea. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thought about this book and Waugh's other comic African novel, "Scoop," after reading Michela Wrong's "Looking for Mr. Kurtz." While most of the news arising from sub-Saharan Africa today is tragic, behind these stories are tales that would be comic if not for their horrible endings. In "Black Mischief," Waugh tells the tale of a mythical African king whose English university education instills in him the desire to hammer the values and ethics of his nation into Western molds. He seeks the aid of a university classmate, Basil Seal, but Seal, upon his arrival, finds himself in the middle of a civil war. While the characters and dialogue seem drawn from a cartoon, and upon a superficial reading, racist, they ultimately ring true, and even at times compassionate, especially when measured against events in central Africa in the past ten years. Do not read this book though for a lesson in political science. It's a grand romp, and a sure page turner.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Waugh transfers his deadly wit and insight from the vacuuous parties of the youthful London society to the African Jungle with disastrous and hugely amusing results. Waugh manages to parody the eccentricities of the English, the French and tribal Africans in a magnificient muddle that makes the wild jungle look tame. Be prepared for Waugh's trademark combination of pathos and hilarity; this book makes you rock with laughter before you fully realise the horrific situations that a typically unmerciful Waugh is making you laugh at. A fantastic insight into our very worst fears of colonial consequences.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found Black Mischief an enjoyable read.It is nice to read politically incorrect statements about Africa and Africans without causing offence or being offensive. Waugh writes about a time that is now just a dim memory in history, but the morals of what was happening in Africa then still hold true to-day-corrupt emperors[dictators]unscrupulous assistants, the white man knows best how to rule the country, english traditions transposed to a different climate,and cultural environment
I do not think that this is Evelyn Waugh's best novel, but it certainly fits well into the genre of 1930's writing and the theme that Waugh selects for many of his novels
I do not think that this is Evelyn Waugh's best novel, but it certainly fits well into the genre of 1930's writing and the theme that Waugh selects for many of his novels
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Funniest Politically-Incorrect Novel of All Time!!
This is the funniest politically-incorrect novel of all time--OF ALL TIME!! It is the perfect, refreshing tonic to the age of anodyne sterility in which we now live.
Published 22 months ago by William D. Freeman
Carry on Azania
On the back of this is a quote from the times literary supplement describing it as outrageously funny, but despite this it is in parts actually humorous, it also includes at... Read more
Published on 14 July 2009 by K. J. Woods
The funniest opening chapter in fiction
Waugh is wickedly, mercilessly amoral; the horror in his books is the blank hollow indifference to his characters' fates. Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2007 by Niall MacKay
Great author. Dreadful novel.
I thought this was a terrible book. All political considerations aside (as far as one ever can do that), this is a badly written, unfunny and over-long novel from a novelist whom I... Read more
Published on 27 May 2003 by Lovborg
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