Evelyn Waugh’s girl blasts ‘social media pharisees’

HE WAS one of the 20th century’s greatest novelists. Now Evelyn Waugh’s great-granddaughter Constance Watson has felt compelled to defend him from charges of racism.

‘Black Mischief, arguably one of Waugh’s most renowned novels, continues to be vilified by politically correct prudes (PCP),’ she says. ‘These PCPs have been given a new lease of life on social media. But here’s the thing: his critics are missing the point. Waugh ridicules women, Jews, fascists, Arabs, the French, upper-class white colonials, as well as indigenous populations, therefore showing himself to hold intense disdain for humanity.

‘Comedy is used to reveal the absurdity of the human race.

‘The social media pharisees are missing the joke.’