num_pages: 221
description: After seven years of marriage, the beautiful Lady Brenda Last is bored with life at Hetton Abbey, the Gothic mansion that is the pride and joy of her husband, Tony. She drifts into an affair with the shallow socialite John Beaver and forsakes Tony for the Belgravia set. Brilliantly combining tragedy, comedy and savage irony, A Handful of Dust captures the irresponsible mood of the 'crazy and sterile generation' between the wars. The breakdown of the Last marriage is a painful, comic re-working of Waugh's own divorce, and a symbol of the disintegration of society.
language: English
title: A Handful Of Dust
titlecomplete: A Handful Of Dust
characters: Tony Last, John Grant-Menzies, John Beaver, Mister Todd, Brenda Last, Polly Cockpurse, Doctor Messinger, Missis Beaver
genres: Classics, British Literature, Modern Classics, Humor, Novels, 20th Century, Literature, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Fiction
ratings_count: 25800
places: England
publisher: Penguin