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When the Going Was Good
When The Going Was Good presents five long excerpts from the four travel books Evelyn Waugh wrote between 1929 and 1935, chosen by the author. Starting with a tour of Mediterranean pleasure dens, Waugh pushes on to Abyssinia (where he reports indelibly on the coronation of Haile Selassie), across the continent of South Africa, to the wilds of Brazil and British Guiana, and back to Abyssinia in the wake of the Italian invasion.
298 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1946
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About the author
Evelyn Waugh
340 books2,938 followersEvelyn Waugh's father Arthur was a noted editor and publisher. His only sibling Alec also became a writer of note. In fact, his book “The Loom of Youth” (1917) a novel about his old boarding school Sherborne caused Evelyn to be expelled from there and placed at Lancing College. He said of his time there, “…the whole of English education when I was brought up was to produce prose writers; it was all we were taught, really.” He went on to Hertford College, Oxford, where he read History. When asked if he took up any sports there he quipped, “I drank for Hertford.”
In 1924 Waugh left Oxford without taking his degree. After inglorious stints as a school teacher (he was dismissed for trying to seduce a school matron and/or inebriation), an apprentice cabinet maker and journalist, he wrote and had published his first novel, “Decline and Fall” in 1928.
In 1928 he married Evelyn Gardiner. She proved unfaithful, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1930. Waugh would derive parts of “A Handful of Dust” from this unhappy time. His second marriage to Audrey Herbert lasted the rest of his life and begat seven children. It was during this time that he converted to Catholicism.
During the thirties Waugh produced one gem after another. From this decade come: “Vile Bodies” (1930), “Black Mischief” (1932), the incomparable “A Handful of Dust” (1934) and “Scoop” (1938). After the Second World War he published what is for many his masterpiece, “Brideshead Revisited,” in which his Catholicism took centre stage. “The Loved One” a scathing satire of the American death industry followed in 1947. After publishing his “Sword of Honour Trilogy” about his experiences in World War II - “Men at Arms” (1952), “Officers and Gentlemen” (1955), “Unconditional Surrender" (1961) - his career was seen to be on the wane. In fact, “Basil Seal Rides Again” (1963) - his last published novel - received little critical or commercial attention.
Evelyn Waugh, considered by many to be the greatest satirical novelist of his day, died on 10 April 1966 at the age of 62.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_W...
In 1924 Waugh left Oxford without taking his degree. After inglorious stints as a school teacher (he was dismissed for trying to seduce a school matron and/or inebriation), an apprentice cabinet maker and journalist, he wrote and had published his first novel, “Decline and Fall” in 1928.
In 1928 he married Evelyn Gardiner. She proved unfaithful, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1930. Waugh would derive parts of “A Handful of Dust” from this unhappy time. His second marriage to Audrey Herbert lasted the rest of his life and begat seven children. It was during this time that he converted to Catholicism.
During the thirties Waugh produced one gem after another. From this decade come: “Vile Bodies” (1930), “Black Mischief” (1932), the incomparable “A Handful of Dust” (1934) and “Scoop” (1938). After the Second World War he published what is for many his masterpiece, “Brideshead Revisited,” in which his Catholicism took centre stage. “The Loved One” a scathing satire of the American death industry followed in 1947. After publishing his “Sword of Honour Trilogy” about his experiences in World War II - “Men at Arms” (1952), “Officers and Gentlemen” (1955), “Unconditional Surrender" (1961) - his career was seen to be on the wane. In fact, “Basil Seal Rides Again” (1963) - his last published novel - received little critical or commercial attention.
Evelyn Waugh, considered by many to be the greatest satirical novelist of his day, died on 10 April 1966 at the age of 62.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_W...
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September 19, 2023
In October 1930, Waugh, representing several newspapers, departed for Abyssinia to cover the coronation of Haile Selassie. He reported the event as "an elaborate propaganda effort" to convince the world that Abyssinia was a civilised nation. Waugh reports on the coronation festivities which lasted some 14 days. He tells some truly hilarious tales of the events. He participated, with gusto, every day and night at all parties, ceremonies, meanwhile consuming lots of booze and dancing till 5 a.m.
Subsequently, Waugh then departs for a journey through the British East Africa colonies, where he travelled in a very comfortable manner and sometimes stayed for a week or longer at plantations at the invitation of their owners. He loved Mombassa and Zanzibar, frequenting the bars and restaurants of mainly Greek or Armenian owners.
Then he made the very bad decision to travel to the Belgian Congo, as he had the intention to fly to the African west coast from the Belgian side of Lake Tanganyika. It took 5 days or more to cross Lake Tanganyika, purely because the sloppy rough captain travelled close along the whole coast line of the lake, shooting antilopes or other animals grazing at the shore, then docking the boat and have poor third class passengers gather the dead animals for consumption on board. Waugh got increasingly disgusted, especially when the ship finally docked where he thought he could book a flight to the west coast and was told the last plane left 10 months ago. He is then forced to give up the idea and travel to Cape Town by numerous different railways routes to catch a ship back to England with only 40 ponds left in his pocket and forced to buy a third class board ticket for 20 ponds to get back to England on only 20 ponds! He nevertheless enjoyed himself on board!
Such a great and also joyfull adventure his first African trip was. I so enjoyed to read all his hilarious details about people met and places visited! Even nowadays, his journey would have been quite impressive, if not quite impossible for some of the regions he travelled.
Waugh's next extended trip, in the winter of 1932–1933, was to British Guiana (now Guyana) in South America. On arrival in Georgetown, he arranged a river trip by steam launch into the interior. He travelled on via several staging-posts to Boa Vista in Brazil, where he had planned to get a boat to Manaus, but the captain of the Manaus riverboat rejected him, being of the firm opinion that Waugh was not an Englishman, but a foreign spy. He was then forced to take an overland journey back to Georgetown. Contrary to his African journey, he did not have an enjoyable time at all in South America.
He returned to Abyssinia in August 1935 to report the opening stages of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War for the Daily Mail. Waugh saw little action and was not wholly serious in his role as a war correspondent. He hated to be no longer a free traveller and felt that the world was not open to him like that was in 1930. He did not enjoy himself at all as he did the first time in Abyssinia. His tone of voice became increasingly more pessimistic and you feel his despair. When Italy started to bomb parts of the country, he managed to leave for England.
How special it was to read these travelogues of some 90 years ago! What guts the man had! Moreover, Waugh was a very witty man and his remarks and observations made reading this travelogues collection a real treat!
Subsequently, Waugh then departs for a journey through the British East Africa colonies, where he travelled in a very comfortable manner and sometimes stayed for a week or longer at plantations at the invitation of their owners. He loved Mombassa and Zanzibar, frequenting the bars and restaurants of mainly Greek or Armenian owners.
Then he made the very bad decision to travel to the Belgian Congo, as he had the intention to fly to the African west coast from the Belgian side of Lake Tanganyika. It took 5 days or more to cross Lake Tanganyika, purely because the sloppy rough captain travelled close along the whole coast line of the lake, shooting antilopes or other animals grazing at the shore, then docking the boat and have poor third class passengers gather the dead animals for consumption on board. Waugh got increasingly disgusted, especially when the ship finally docked where he thought he could book a flight to the west coast and was told the last plane left 10 months ago. He is then forced to give up the idea and travel to Cape Town by numerous different railways routes to catch a ship back to England with only 40 ponds left in his pocket and forced to buy a third class board ticket for 20 ponds to get back to England on only 20 ponds! He nevertheless enjoyed himself on board!
Such a great and also joyfull adventure his first African trip was. I so enjoyed to read all his hilarious details about people met and places visited! Even nowadays, his journey would have been quite impressive, if not quite impossible for some of the regions he travelled.
Waugh's next extended trip, in the winter of 1932–1933, was to British Guiana (now Guyana) in South America. On arrival in Georgetown, he arranged a river trip by steam launch into the interior. He travelled on via several staging-posts to Boa Vista in Brazil, where he had planned to get a boat to Manaus, but the captain of the Manaus riverboat rejected him, being of the firm opinion that Waugh was not an Englishman, but a foreign spy. He was then forced to take an overland journey back to Georgetown. Contrary to his African journey, he did not have an enjoyable time at all in South America.
He returned to Abyssinia in August 1935 to report the opening stages of the Second Italo-Abyssinian War for the Daily Mail. Waugh saw little action and was not wholly serious in his role as a war correspondent. He hated to be no longer a free traveller and felt that the world was not open to him like that was in 1930. He did not enjoy himself at all as he did the first time in Abyssinia. His tone of voice became increasingly more pessimistic and you feel his despair. When Italy started to bomb parts of the country, he managed to leave for England.
How special it was to read these travelogues of some 90 years ago! What guts the man had! Moreover, Waugh was a very witty man and his remarks and observations made reading this travelogues collection a real treat!
November 11, 2020
*Please scroll down for the English version.*
Gäbe es den perfekten Rahmen, in dem man Evelyn Waughs Reiseerinnerungen lesen sollte, müsste er ungefähr dergestalt sein, wie ihn das weltgewandte Schriftstellerduo Christian Kracht + Eckhart Nickel in ihrem exzellenten Reiseführer "Ferien für immer. Die angenehmsten Orte der Welt." vor einigen Jahren skizzierte:
***
If there were the perfect setting in which to read Evelyn Waugh's travel memories, it would have to be something like the cosmopolitan writer duo Christian Kracht + Eckhart Nickel described in their excellent travel guide "Ferien für immer. Die angenehmsten Orte der Welt." a few years ago:
Gäbe es den perfekten Rahmen, in dem man Evelyn Waughs Reiseerinnerungen lesen sollte, müsste er ungefähr dergestalt sein, wie ihn das weltgewandte Schriftstellerduo Christian Kracht + Eckhart Nickel in ihrem exzellenten Reiseführer "Ferien für immer. Die angenehmsten Orte der Welt." vor einigen Jahren skizzierte:
"Nie sollte der Indienreisende die erstmalige Erschließung des Subkontinents mit einem Aufenthalt in Delhi beginnen. Tut er es dennoch, dann raten wir zur sofortigen Besteigung des Pink City Express, der von der Old Delhi Railway Station schnurstracks nach Jaipur fährt. Im Zug selbst, laut räuspernd die gerade gekaufte "Times of India" aufschlagend, die Penguin-Ausgabe von Evelyn Waughs "When the going was good" neben sich legend, sich frisch gebrühten Chai aus der türkisfarbenen, bahneigenen Plastikthermoskanne eingießend und den Individualventilator über dem Scheitel anschaltend, beruhigt noch im Moment der Abfahrt aus Delhi das monotone Rattern der schlecht vernieteten Schienen den Kopf."Zu unser aller Leidwesen lassen es die Umstände der Pandemie derzeit kaum möglich erscheinen, sich einfach in ein Flugzeug in Richtung Indien oder anderswohin zu setzen, ohne einem strikten Quarantäne- bzw. Testregime unterworfen zu werden. Also heißt es für den geneigten Leser statt im noblen Bissau Palace Hotel in Jaipur, im heimischen Sessel Platz nehmen. Was vielleicht gar keine schlechte Alternative ist, wenn man die Unannehmlichkeiten bedenkt, die das Reisen im Allgemeinen für den wagemutigen Globetrotter potenziell bereithält: Strapaziöse Fahrten über holprige Straßen, eingepfercht zwischen engen Sitzreihen; fiese Tropenkrankheiten und giftiges Getier; gewöhnungsbedürftige kulinarische Spezialitäten; laute Hotelzimmer mit brettharten Betten; überteuerte Souvenirs, die sich keinesfalls harmonisch in die heimische Wohnlandschaft einfügen lassen oder Taxifahrer, die einen zwar nicht ans gewünschte Ziel, aber mit Sicherheit in irgendein zweifelhaftes Etablissement bringen. Deshalb lieber gleich zu Hause bleiben und Evelyn Waughs stilvolle Reiseberichte lesen. Am Ende hat man gelernt, wie man in den unmöglichsten Situationen gentlemanlike Haltung bewahrt und dazu noch eine Menge Geld gespart. (Wobei Letzteres für den echten Snob kaum von Belang sein dürfte. Geld ist schließlich zum Ausgeben da. Wozu sonst?)
***
If there were the perfect setting in which to read Evelyn Waugh's travel memories, it would have to be something like the cosmopolitan writer duo Christian Kracht + Eckhart Nickel described in their excellent travel guide "Ferien für immer. Die angenehmsten Orte der Welt." a few years ago:
"Never should the traveller to India begin the first exploration of the subcontinent with a stay in Delhi. If he does, however, we advise him to immediately board the Pink City Express, which runs straight from the Old Delhi Railway Station to Jaipur. On the train itself, loudly clearing the throat, opening the just bought "Times of India", placing the Penguin edition of Evelyn Waugh's "When the going was good" next to it, pouring freshly brewed chai from the turquoise, railway-owned plastic thermos flask and switching on the individual fan above the top of the head, the monotonous rattling of the badly riveted rails calms the head even at the moment of departure from Delhi".Much to the regret of all of us, the circumstances of the pandemic make it seem almost impossible at present to simply board an aircraft bound for India or elsewhere without being subjected to a strict quarantine or testing regime. So for the inclined reader, instead of sitting in the noble Bissau Palace Hotel in Jaipur, it is time to take a seat in the armchair at home. Which is perhaps not a bad alternative, considering the inconvenience that travel in general can potentially cause the daring globetrotter: Tiring journeys over bumpy roads, crammed between narrow rows of seats; nasty tropical diseases and poisonous creatures; culinary specialities that take some getting used to; noisy hotel rooms with rock-hard beds; overpriced souvenirs that don't blend in at all harmoniously with the domestic living environment; or taxi drivers who take you to some dubious establishment, although not to the desired destination. Therefore it is better to stay at home and read Evelyn Waugh's stylish travelogues. In the end, you have learned how to keep a gentlemanly attitude in the most impossible situations and save a lot of money on top of that. (Although the latter is hardly likely to be relevant for the real snob. After all, money is there to be spent. What else for?)
September 19, 2013
This anthology contains what very well might be the best post-WWI, pre-WWII travel writing extant. Waugh skilfully documents his travels through Yemen, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Zanzibar, Kenya, Congo, Guyana, and Brazil.
As I read this, I begin to feel a bit of nostalgia for the "good old days" of travel. That nostalgia was quickly extinguished, though, by Waugh's witty narrative, in which one clearly sees how miserable world travel was back then. As Paul Johnson once wrote in The American Spectator about this volume, we're so lucky we can see the world "so quickly and in comparative comfort".
Some of these experiences were quite formative for Waugh, and I can certainly see how some of these travels inspired his later novels.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading these accounts, though I must say it was tough sledding at times. It took me almost 3 months to finish this one. There are many delightful touches here and there, but you certainly need to have a bit of tenacity to stick with it right to the end. A person who doesn't have more than a passing interest in colonial Great Britain and Africa/South America may find themselves unable to slosh through some of this terrain.
As I close the covers of this book, I'm left marveling. At Waugh's genius as a travel writer. And at how the world has changed, especially the world of travel and journalism!
As I read this, I begin to feel a bit of nostalgia for the "good old days" of travel. That nostalgia was quickly extinguished, though, by Waugh's witty narrative, in which one clearly sees how miserable world travel was back then. As Paul Johnson once wrote in The American Spectator about this volume, we're so lucky we can see the world "so quickly and in comparative comfort".
Some of these experiences were quite formative for Waugh, and I can certainly see how some of these travels inspired his later novels.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading these accounts, though I must say it was tough sledding at times. It took me almost 3 months to finish this one. There are many delightful touches here and there, but you certainly need to have a bit of tenacity to stick with it right to the end. A person who doesn't have more than a passing interest in colonial Great Britain and Africa/South America may find themselves unable to slosh through some of this terrain.
As I close the covers of this book, I'm left marveling. At Waugh's genius as a travel writer. And at how the world has changed, especially the world of travel and journalism!
March 14, 2021
I picked up this collection of early 1930s travelogues by the young Evelyn Waugh, while I was living in Amsterdam for a month in the fall of 2019. Gripped by the foreword, written by Waugh in 1945, in which he reflects on the impossibility of repeating his travels in a world forever changed by the war. Cherishing his memories from the seemingly bygone age of easy travel, he was gled he went "when the going was good".
I remember thinking how unheard his worry was in 2019. Here I was standing in a bookshop in Amsterdam, far from my home some 400 km north of the Arctic Circle. Farther still were the American, Chinese and Japanese tourists making up the crowded square outside. Far from being right, Waughs prediction proved spectacularly wrong in the postwar years, ushering in an era which truly conquered the tyranny of distance.
Yet, the increasingly borderless world which proved Waugh's fears wrong after 1945 also fragilized that same world, laying the groundwork for the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
Although the 1930s did not prove to be Peak Tourism, it did prove to be the peak of other facets of life. The world which Waugh travelled in was a British-dominated world, and many of his travels are set in European, mostly British, colonies and posessions. This was the heyday of the British Empire, and Waugh would indeed find the going less good today, where there no longer is a British resident hosting parties in remote places.
In "When the going was good" we visit Egypt, Aden, Ethiopia, Kenya, Congo, British Guiana and getting a glimpse of the vast empire upon which the sun gradually set after 1945. We witness the unintentionally hilarious coronation of Haile Selassie, reflect on the true nature of Kenya, celebrate Norwegian constitution while on cruise in the Meditarranean sea, go up the rivers of the Congo in a bizarre trip reminiscent of "Heart of Darkness", and get acquainted with Creole tales of creation (featuring crabs).
We meet the gentleman Sultan of Aden, dodgy hotel owners, scheming servants, a completely clueless American college professor, the kaleidoscope of war correspondents covering the Italian-Abyssinian war as well as the Greek and Armenian diaspora turning up in the most unexpected places. Waugh surely knows how to paint a character. He is clearly comfortable with taking the backseat as a character, further illuminating the eccentricities of the people he meets. One cannot accuse Waugh of idealizing travelling, it is either too hot or too cold, the food terrible, the sanitary conditions beyond belief. Thus, one truly gets a sense of the highs and lows of travelling.
Waugh descrbies his motivations for travelling "as a matter of course", and today's travelling generation fo 20-somethings probably feels the same way. One can only wonder if we will feel the same nostalgia as Waugh did, being glad we went when the going was good, before everything changed. At the very least, I recommed this read for times when the going isn't particularly good, for the wit and humour of Waugh is not a bad quarantine companion.
I remember thinking how unheard his worry was in 2019. Here I was standing in a bookshop in Amsterdam, far from my home some 400 km north of the Arctic Circle. Farther still were the American, Chinese and Japanese tourists making up the crowded square outside. Far from being right, Waughs prediction proved spectacularly wrong in the postwar years, ushering in an era which truly conquered the tyranny of distance.
Yet, the increasingly borderless world which proved Waugh's fears wrong after 1945 also fragilized that same world, laying the groundwork for the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
Although the 1930s did not prove to be Peak Tourism, it did prove to be the peak of other facets of life. The world which Waugh travelled in was a British-dominated world, and many of his travels are set in European, mostly British, colonies and posessions. This was the heyday of the British Empire, and Waugh would indeed find the going less good today, where there no longer is a British resident hosting parties in remote places.
In "When the going was good" we visit Egypt, Aden, Ethiopia, Kenya, Congo, British Guiana and getting a glimpse of the vast empire upon which the sun gradually set after 1945. We witness the unintentionally hilarious coronation of Haile Selassie, reflect on the true nature of Kenya, celebrate Norwegian constitution while on cruise in the Meditarranean sea, go up the rivers of the Congo in a bizarre trip reminiscent of "Heart of Darkness", and get acquainted with Creole tales of creation (featuring crabs).
We meet the gentleman Sultan of Aden, dodgy hotel owners, scheming servants, a completely clueless American college professor, the kaleidoscope of war correspondents covering the Italian-Abyssinian war as well as the Greek and Armenian diaspora turning up in the most unexpected places. Waugh surely knows how to paint a character. He is clearly comfortable with taking the backseat as a character, further illuminating the eccentricities of the people he meets. One cannot accuse Waugh of idealizing travelling, it is either too hot or too cold, the food terrible, the sanitary conditions beyond belief. Thus, one truly gets a sense of the highs and lows of travelling.
Waugh descrbies his motivations for travelling "as a matter of course", and today's travelling generation fo 20-somethings probably feels the same way. One can only wonder if we will feel the same nostalgia as Waugh did, being glad we went when the going was good, before everything changed. At the very least, I recommed this read for times when the going isn't particularly good, for the wit and humour of Waugh is not a bad quarantine companion.
March 2, 2020
An anthology of travel writing that has a bit of a P. G. Wodehouse tours the world feel to it. Humorous and witty. More observations about fellow travellers and their idiosyncrasies than the places he visited.
December 17, 2013
"When the Going Was Good presents five long excerpts from the four travel books Evelyn Waugh wrote between 1929 and 1935, chosen by the author. Starting with a tour of Mediterranean pleasure dens, Waugh pushes on to Abyssinia (where he reports indeliby on the coronation of Haile Selassie), across the continent to South Africa, to the wilds of Brazil and British guiana, and back to Abyssinia in the wake of the Italian invasion."
~~back cogver
This isn't a travel book. At least not as you & I think of travel books. That first excerpt -- the tour of the Mediterranean pleasure dens -- was an excruciatingly boring account of mean or boring things done to the author as he traveled by ship around the Mediterranean. I think he was trying to get back to England, but in a very circumspect and circuitious way. I gave a huge sigh of relief when I finally arrived at the coronation piece, but after about 4 pages of it I kinew I just couldn't stand any more.
Gratefully abandoned.
~~back cogver
This isn't a travel book. At least not as you & I think of travel books. That first excerpt -- the tour of the Mediterranean pleasure dens -- was an excruciatingly boring account of mean or boring things done to the author as he traveled by ship around the Mediterranean. I think he was trying to get back to England, but in a very circumspect and circuitious way. I gave a huge sigh of relief when I finally arrived at the coronation piece, but after about 4 pages of it I kinew I just couldn't stand any more.
Gratefully abandoned.
January 8, 2016
There are moments and much humor in these collected fragments of kafkaesque adventures.Travel is a kind of divine punishment and here we see it through the twilight of the empire. One can easily see the influence of travel in Waugh's novels, and this is perhaps the most satisfying aspect of reading this.
February 9, 2016
I recommend both this book and the cocktail pick-me-up Evelyn drinks on page 59. Together, they make a splendid combination.
September 18, 2017
(FROM MY BLOG) Commercial travel by jet planes put a final end to the concept of travel as "exploration" or "adventure." We romanticists often look back on the days before Lonely Planet guidebooks, hotel reservations by internet, and instantaneous sharing of experiences on social media as the good old days of adventure travel, "when the going was good."
Such, of course, is the title of a well-known 1946 travel book by Evelyn Waugh. Waugh is best known today as the author of Brideshead Revisited, a novel that had been published a year earlier, in 1945. Both Brideshead Revisited and When the Going Was Good are, in a sense, studies in nostalgia for pre-war life -- for the culture of the British class system in Brideshead, and for the freedom to travel the world in When the Going Was Good.
Early in his career, Waugh wrote often of his travel experiences. Between 1928 and 1937, he published four books that were already out of print by 1946. In his Preface to When the Going Was Good, Waugh finds these early books to have been, for the most part, "pedestrian" and boring, filled with "commonplace commentary" and "callow comments." He notes with satisfaction that they were out of print, and that they would remains so.
Each did contain certain passages that he found worth preserving, however, and -- in the awful post-war world of 1946, when tourism seemed dead for the near future -- serving as a nostalgic reminder of what travel was like "when the going was good." He therefore collected his edited travel writings from the four books under that title.
Going Was Good contains five chapters, in chronological order -- (1) travels by sea throughout the eastern Mediterranean; (2) a humorous and condescending account of an impulsive visit to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to witness the coronation of the new emperor, Haile Selassie; (3) travels in Aden and East Africa, concluding with a frustrating crossing of the Belgian Congo as a "shortcut" back to England; (4) travels through British Guiana (Guayana) and Brazil; and (5) a return to Abyssinia in 1935 as a "war correspondent' in response to the war with Mussolini's Italy. (His misadventures as a correspondent also formed the basis for his comic 1938 satiric novel Scoop.
Having read (several times) Brideshead, as well as several of his satirical novels -- as well as interviews with him in his later years -- I had a fairly consistent image of Mr. Waugh. Somewhere between "Bridey" in Brideshead Revisited and Mr. Toad in Wind in the Willows. A rather stuffy, pompous man, immaculately dressed, and casting a sour eye on whichever of several eras he was living through at the time. A man who was once asked how a Catholic convert could be so unpleasant toward other people, and who responded, "You have no idea how much nastier I would be if I was not a Catholic.
In Going Was Good, Waugh certainly displays his wicked sense of humor at the expense of others, and shares his compatriots' condescension toward the backwardness of "the natives" -- as well as his own interest in the cluelessness of the British Empire's bureaucrats. But what surprised me was his eager seeking after physical adventures, enduring great hardships out of curiosity about the exotic places he visited, and displaying a willingness (not always without complaint) not only to get his hands dirty, but to live for weeks in conditions of total filth and deprivation. He actually sounded (in his youth) like someone whose company I would have enjoyed (in my youth).
Some of his passages tend to focus on trivia of the sort that he was attempting to edit out, but more often his accounts are fascinating. Subjectively, I liked best his Chapter Three, "Globe-Trotting in 1930-31," extracted from a book entitled Remote People (1931), (published in the U.S. as They Were Still Dancing). On his way to the "glamour and rich beauty" he hoped to find on Zanzibar, he ended up -- without explanation in his edited account -- spending some time at the British crown colony and refueling port of Aden (now part of Yemen).
Waugh enjoyed Aden, to his surprise, far more than he enjoyed Zanzibar. He accepted the hospitality of many people -- both colonial authorities and local sultans. He notes the initiative taken to organize the local children in a rational, English way -- by forming a scout troop. He observed boys being tested for their Tenderfoot badge:
As he does in discussing local politics.
By this time, Waugh was eager to return to England. Rather than sail again back through the Suez Canal, he thought it might be faster to cross the Belgian Congo to the Atlantic coast. He had been assured by a Belgian Congo agent in Tanganyika, while en route to Kenya, that an air service flew from Albertville (now Kalemie) on Lake Tanganyika's west coast to Boma on the Atlantic: "The fare was negligible, the convenience extreme." Waugh therefore crossed by rail into Uganda and took a rickety steamer, through a frightening overnight storm, to Albertville. He quickly learned that the alleged air service had never existed. He was enticed into taking a train westward to Kabalo, then a tiny village on the upper Congo, where he was assured that air service did exist. Arriving in Kabalo, everyone "giggled" when he asked when the next flight would be leaving.
He again was persuaded to plunge deeper into the jungle, sailing up the Congo for four days to Bukama, where a train purportedly would take him to the coast. "I thought I had touched bottom at Kabalo, but Bukama has it heavily beaten." Waugh doesn't mention having read Conrad's Heart of Darkness. If he had never read it, perhaps it was just as well.
The rail from Bukama to the coast was "out of service." From Bukama, Waugh took a long train ride to Elizabethville (now Lubumbashi), on the border of what is now Zambia. From there, he took a number of trains to Cape Town, South Africa, and thence -- finally -- home. Quite a short cut.
The day after arriving back in London, Waugh was taken to the "in" nightclub of the moment. He found himself in a "rowdy cellar, hotter than Zanzibar, noisier than the market at Harar, more reckless of the decencies of hospitality than the taverns of Kabalo or Tabora." He marveled that the colonists back in Africa would have envied his ability to "enjoy" the experience of London civilization.
As always, Waugh never seemed quite comfortable -- whether at home or abroad.
Such, of course, is the title of a well-known 1946 travel book by Evelyn Waugh. Waugh is best known today as the author of Brideshead Revisited, a novel that had been published a year earlier, in 1945. Both Brideshead Revisited and When the Going Was Good are, in a sense, studies in nostalgia for pre-war life -- for the culture of the British class system in Brideshead, and for the freedom to travel the world in When the Going Was Good.
Early in his career, Waugh wrote often of his travel experiences. Between 1928 and 1937, he published four books that were already out of print by 1946. In his Preface to When the Going Was Good, Waugh finds these early books to have been, for the most part, "pedestrian" and boring, filled with "commonplace commentary" and "callow comments." He notes with satisfaction that they were out of print, and that they would remains so.
Each did contain certain passages that he found worth preserving, however, and -- in the awful post-war world of 1946, when tourism seemed dead for the near future -- serving as a nostalgic reminder of what travel was like "when the going was good." He therefore collected his edited travel writings from the four books under that title.
Going Was Good contains five chapters, in chronological order -- (1) travels by sea throughout the eastern Mediterranean; (2) a humorous and condescending account of an impulsive visit to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) to witness the coronation of the new emperor, Haile Selassie; (3) travels in Aden and East Africa, concluding with a frustrating crossing of the Belgian Congo as a "shortcut" back to England; (4) travels through British Guiana (Guayana) and Brazil; and (5) a return to Abyssinia in 1935 as a "war correspondent' in response to the war with Mussolini's Italy. (His misadventures as a correspondent also formed the basis for his comic 1938 satiric novel Scoop.
Having read (several times) Brideshead, as well as several of his satirical novels -- as well as interviews with him in his later years -- I had a fairly consistent image of Mr. Waugh. Somewhere between "Bridey" in Brideshead Revisited and Mr. Toad in Wind in the Willows. A rather stuffy, pompous man, immaculately dressed, and casting a sour eye on whichever of several eras he was living through at the time. A man who was once asked how a Catholic convert could be so unpleasant toward other people, and who responded, "You have no idea how much nastier I would be if I was not a Catholic.
In Going Was Good, Waugh certainly displays his wicked sense of humor at the expense of others, and shares his compatriots' condescension toward the backwardness of "the natives" -- as well as his own interest in the cluelessness of the British Empire's bureaucrats. But what surprised me was his eager seeking after physical adventures, enduring great hardships out of curiosity about the exotic places he visited, and displaying a willingness (not always without complaint) not only to get his hands dirty, but to live for weeks in conditions of total filth and deprivation. He actually sounded (in his youth) like someone whose company I would have enjoyed (in my youth).
Some of his passages tend to focus on trivia of the sort that he was attempting to edit out, but more often his accounts are fascinating. Subjectively, I liked best his Chapter Three, "Globe-Trotting in 1930-31," extracted from a book entitled Remote People (1931), (published in the U.S. as They Were Still Dancing). On his way to the "glamour and rich beauty" he hoped to find on Zanzibar, he ended up -- without explanation in his edited account -- spending some time at the British crown colony and refueling port of Aden (now part of Yemen).
Waugh enjoyed Aden, to his surprise, far more than he enjoyed Zanzibar. He accepted the hospitality of many people -- both colonial authorities and local sultans. He notes the initiative taken to organize the local children in a rational, English way -- by forming a scout troop. He observed boys being tested for their Tenderfoot badge:
"What does "clean" mean?"This bit of reporting is typical of Waugh. He doesn't point out a moral for the benefit of his readers. He reports what he saw, and lets us draw our own conclusions. Or, more accurately, he lets us think we're drawing our own conclusions.
"Clin min?"
"You said just now a scout is clean in thought, word, and deed."
"Yis, scoot iss clin."
"Well, what do you mean by that?"
"I min tought worden deed."
"Yes, well, what do you mean by clean."
Both parties in this dialogue seemed to be losing confidence in the other's intelligence.
"I min the tenth scoot law."
...
"All right, Abdul. That'll do."
"Pass, sahib?"
"Yes, yes."
An enormous smile broke across his small face ....
"Of course, it isn't quite like dealing with English boys," said the scoutmaster again.
As he does in discussing local politics.
The Haushabi Sultan was an important young man, finely dressed, and very far from sane. He sat in a corner giggling with embarrassment, and furtively popping little twigs of khat into his mouth.After Aden, Waugh eventually shipped out to Zanzibar, whose heat he found intolerable and to which he gave short shift. He sailed on to Kenya, where he took the train from Mombasa, on the coast, inland to the higher and much more salubrious climate of Nairobi. He seems to have enjoyed colonial life in Kenya -- often seen at the time as a Little England in the tropics.
By this time, Waugh was eager to return to England. Rather than sail again back through the Suez Canal, he thought it might be faster to cross the Belgian Congo to the Atlantic coast. He had been assured by a Belgian Congo agent in Tanganyika, while en route to Kenya, that an air service flew from Albertville (now Kalemie) on Lake Tanganyika's west coast to Boma on the Atlantic: "The fare was negligible, the convenience extreme." Waugh therefore crossed by rail into Uganda and took a rickety steamer, through a frightening overnight storm, to Albertville. He quickly learned that the alleged air service had never existed. He was enticed into taking a train westward to Kabalo, then a tiny village on the upper Congo, where he was assured that air service did exist. Arriving in Kabalo, everyone "giggled" when he asked when the next flight would be leaving.
He again was persuaded to plunge deeper into the jungle, sailing up the Congo for four days to Bukama, where a train purportedly would take him to the coast. "I thought I had touched bottom at Kabalo, but Bukama has it heavily beaten." Waugh doesn't mention having read Conrad's Heart of Darkness. If he had never read it, perhaps it was just as well.
The rail from Bukama to the coast was "out of service." From Bukama, Waugh took a long train ride to Elizabethville (now Lubumbashi), on the border of what is now Zambia. From there, he took a number of trains to Cape Town, South Africa, and thence -- finally -- home. Quite a short cut.
The day after arriving back in London, Waugh was taken to the "in" nightclub of the moment. He found himself in a "rowdy cellar, hotter than Zanzibar, noisier than the market at Harar, more reckless of the decencies of hospitality than the taverns of Kabalo or Tabora." He marveled that the colonists back in Africa would have envied his ability to "enjoy" the experience of London civilization.
As always, Waugh never seemed quite comfortable -- whether at home or abroad.
January 21, 2008
Holy cow. One of the most racist, pompous, colonial pieces of crap I've ever read. And for that, it is well worth the read. Its worth having insight into the world views and values of an overbearing, high class British punk at the height of Empire.
Educational. If you can stand it.
Educational. If you can stand it.
August 30, 2018
Waugh's accounts of his travels between 1929 and 1935 include cruises, excursions to Brazil and a coronation in Ethiopia. Great stuff. Interesting the way in which he can be objective about the hardships. This was not five star travel as we know it. Great descriptions and character studies.
April 24, 2014
Boring.
May 29, 2020
Could not get into this book. It's a travel book without soul. Just snippets of places and people without context or story or much description.
January 24, 2021
I learned to love travel from watching Anthony Bourdain: whenever he went somewhere new, he would often find things to praise about where he was at. But he would sometimes do a misanthropic hour of television, decrying the ways in which wherever he was didn't exactly make for a great place to visit. Tony was, and remains, the best host to ever do a travel show (though that's no knock against the others like Rick Steves, Andrew Zimmern, or...can't believe I'm saying this...Guy Fieri). Bourdain was always going to tell you the truth about wherever he was, no matter what.
In that sense, I can appreciate Evelyn Waugh's "When The Going Was Good," from which he culls five long excerpts from travel books that he wrote in the early Thirties (mostly for need of the money that each paid, I think). Waugh is perhaps best described as more in the misanthropic vibe of traveler: one who comes to a place and almost immediately sees its flaws and inconveniences. That's perfectly fine, and indeed I enjoyed some of his more acid-tongued barbs at local customs and cultures. But I think it's fair to say that Waugh viewed his travels through the lens of an Englishman, that is, a person from the Empire that dominated the globe during his lifetime (though it of course ceased to be so dominate in 1945, when Waugh was in his early forties, because America and Russia were in ascendance). Parts of this book do not read well in light of our sense that ours is a more progressive time (that of course is an illusion, as racist portrayals of those we don't know often creep up in polite discussions). So not to belabor the point but be advised: you'll find parts of this hard to stomach (Waugh is more of an unconscious bigot, I think it's fair to suggest; he's bigoted but polite about it). Of course, a *lot* of writing from the past is guilty of obvious or latent racial biases, so it's not surprising, I guess. I'm just saying this to perhaps set up the rest of the review and say that, bigoted descriptions aside, I think the book was enjoyable.
In no small part, that's due to Waugh's own sense of discomfort. Much like Graham Greene's book about travelling in Mexico ("The Lawless Roads"), Waugh is at the mercy of local customs that he doesn't understand, and he often looks the fool for it. Waugh presents himself, at least, as a more open-minded tourist than the kind who come just to see the famous landmarks of a given land. But he's still often the victim of perceptions not matching reality and various other "injuries" to his ego. It's very entertaining, because you get a sense as a reader that he might be asking for this sort of comeuppance in the way he handles himself. Plus, cranky writing is sometimes the most entertaining, especially when you're not really sympathetic to the complainer in the first place. Maybe it's the painting of an arrogant, almost spectral presence on the cover (a portrait of Waugh himself) that sets the tone for my lack of sympathy, I don't know. But at any rate, Waugh is sometimes at his best when he's being treated the worst.
This isn't entirely a "look at Evelyn Waugh get shit on" read; the guy has some insights into the other European travelers he meets that resonate because it turns out they're more clueless than he, and racism aside he seems to have some sympathy for the people of Ethiopia when their country is on the brink of being overrun by Mussolini's invasion force. He is a product of his time, but he's not exactly comfortable with it, I guess. At any rate, I can safely consign this to the books that I'd like to donate to any used book store or thrift shop (I found it at a local Goodwill), being able to say now that I've read an Evelyn Waugh book. Pretty sure I won't bother with any of his others.
In that sense, I can appreciate Evelyn Waugh's "When The Going Was Good," from which he culls five long excerpts from travel books that he wrote in the early Thirties (mostly for need of the money that each paid, I think). Waugh is perhaps best described as more in the misanthropic vibe of traveler: one who comes to a place and almost immediately sees its flaws and inconveniences. That's perfectly fine, and indeed I enjoyed some of his more acid-tongued barbs at local customs and cultures. But I think it's fair to say that Waugh viewed his travels through the lens of an Englishman, that is, a person from the Empire that dominated the globe during his lifetime (though it of course ceased to be so dominate in 1945, when Waugh was in his early forties, because America and Russia were in ascendance). Parts of this book do not read well in light of our sense that ours is a more progressive time (that of course is an illusion, as racist portrayals of those we don't know often creep up in polite discussions). So not to belabor the point but be advised: you'll find parts of this hard to stomach (Waugh is more of an unconscious bigot, I think it's fair to suggest; he's bigoted but polite about it). Of course, a *lot* of writing from the past is guilty of obvious or latent racial biases, so it's not surprising, I guess. I'm just saying this to perhaps set up the rest of the review and say that, bigoted descriptions aside, I think the book was enjoyable.
In no small part, that's due to Waugh's own sense of discomfort. Much like Graham Greene's book about travelling in Mexico ("The Lawless Roads"), Waugh is at the mercy of local customs that he doesn't understand, and he often looks the fool for it. Waugh presents himself, at least, as a more open-minded tourist than the kind who come just to see the famous landmarks of a given land. But he's still often the victim of perceptions not matching reality and various other "injuries" to his ego. It's very entertaining, because you get a sense as a reader that he might be asking for this sort of comeuppance in the way he handles himself. Plus, cranky writing is sometimes the most entertaining, especially when you're not really sympathetic to the complainer in the first place. Maybe it's the painting of an arrogant, almost spectral presence on the cover (a portrait of Waugh himself) that sets the tone for my lack of sympathy, I don't know. But at any rate, Waugh is sometimes at his best when he's being treated the worst.
This isn't entirely a "look at Evelyn Waugh get shit on" read; the guy has some insights into the other European travelers he meets that resonate because it turns out they're more clueless than he, and racism aside he seems to have some sympathy for the people of Ethiopia when their country is on the brink of being overrun by Mussolini's invasion force. He is a product of his time, but he's not exactly comfortable with it, I guess. At any rate, I can safely consign this to the books that I'd like to donate to any used book store or thrift shop (I found it at a local Goodwill), being able to say now that I've read an Evelyn Waugh book. Pretty sure I won't bother with any of his others.
April 6, 2021
About two thirds of this book are about Waugh's experiences in Ethiopia which is what I was interested in. I didn't read the other third.
First of all the author comes across as an unsufferable, racist arse in this. He has little love, unstanding or respect for his host country or its people and he actually was on the side of the Fascist Italians when the war started in 1935 (although that is less obvious from this book than I expected). I know from other sources that his dislike was pretty well known in Ethiopia at the time and it may have played a role in that as a journalist he was given access to no information of importance. Instead he writes about the very few things he did do while there, most of which amount to very little.
Personally for me I still managed to glean insights into 30s Abyssinia thanks to this but I think the casual reader should be warned anyway. I guess only hardcore Waugh fans or people like me interested in a particular time of Ethopian history will ever pick this up.
First of all the author comes across as an unsufferable, racist arse in this. He has little love, unstanding or respect for his host country or its people and he actually was on the side of the Fascist Italians when the war started in 1935 (although that is less obvious from this book than I expected). I know from other sources that his dislike was pretty well known in Ethiopia at the time and it may have played a role in that as a journalist he was given access to no information of importance. Instead he writes about the very few things he did do while there, most of which amount to very little.
Personally for me I still managed to glean insights into 30s Abyssinia thanks to this but I think the casual reader should be warned anyway. I guess only hardcore Waugh fans or people like me interested in a particular time of Ethopian history will ever pick this up.
August 15, 2020
Purchase When the Going Was Good here for just $10!
Ever wanted to travel with one of history’s sharpest writers? Now you can. This collection of travelogues through pre-WWII Africa and South America are charming without being nostalgic, peppered with Waugh’s trademark wit and quick observations. Comprising nuggets chosen by the author himself from four separate travel journals; this will sate your wanderlust and your need for laughter all at once.
Steph, The Book Grocer
Ever wanted to travel with one of history’s sharpest writers? Now you can. This collection of travelogues through pre-WWII Africa and South America are charming without being nostalgic, peppered with Waugh’s trademark wit and quick observations. Comprising nuggets chosen by the author himself from four separate travel journals; this will sate your wanderlust and your need for laughter all at once.
Steph, The Book Grocer
March 11, 2024
There is so much that is wrong with these stories - racism, elitism, snobbery, colonialism, the unspoken assumption that English white men were the apex of evolution. And yet, and yet . . .
Waugh wrote with affection and sympathy about the people and places he went. His assumption of racial superiority didn't mean that he was rude or insulting to 'lesser' people; in fact he was invariably polite and treated everybody with the respect that they deserved.
The stories he tells are generally light and entertaining, tinged with a wry humour, describing a vanished world that is so unlike our own that it could have been a fantasy invented by (his near contemporary) Tolkien.
Waugh wrote with affection and sympathy about the people and places he went. His assumption of racial superiority didn't mean that he was rude or insulting to 'lesser' people; in fact he was invariably polite and treated everybody with the respect that they deserved.
The stories he tells are generally light and entertaining, tinged with a wry humour, describing a vanished world that is so unlike our own that it could have been a fantasy invented by (his near contemporary) Tolkien.
September 7, 2021
3.4 out of 5. I wasn’t blown away by this, to be honest. It comprises five excerpts from Waugh’s travel writing. I suppose most long journeys can be a bit tedious at times, and the writing captures much of that boredom and waiting around. The last excerpt concerns the war in Abyssinia, and I had hopes that would be more energetic, but it’s more of Waugh lolling around waiting for the war to start and being casually racist about the natives.
It has some interest as a description of the era between the wars and the colonial life-style and minds-set, but I was expecting more of the writing.
It has some interest as a description of the era between the wars and the colonial life-style and minds-set, but I was expecting more of the writing.
February 14, 2024
The essence of understated British wit, circa 1929-1935. Waugh is a dispassionate observer, able to sketch any person with a few lines of dialog. It's enlightening to read through the lens of the colonial and class assumptions of the day. A bit cringey in places, but surprisingly astute in others - for example, when describing African officials plying their own prejudices of Europeans to play them against each other. Successfully, most of the time. The chief pleasure here is Waugh's eye for people's ability everywhere to be simultaneously fascinating and ridiculous.
August 15, 2022
Quando viaggiare era un piacere, ma non lo è stato affatto leggere questo libro.
L’ho trovato a malapena una lenta cronaca di viaggi incredibili dove solo occasionalmente Evelyn Waugh offre spunti per riflettere o davvero condivide le sue emozioni.
Dire che desideravo tanto leggerlo ed era in lista forse da più di un anno!
Che delusione e per non abbandonarlo ho impiegato 4 mesi per leggerlo!
L’ho trovato a malapena una lenta cronaca di viaggi incredibili dove solo occasionalmente Evelyn Waugh offre spunti per riflettere o davvero condivide le sue emozioni.
Dire che desideravo tanto leggerlo ed era in lista forse da più di un anno!
Che delusione e per non abbandonarlo ho impiegato 4 mesi per leggerlo!
August 26, 2023
"When The Going Was Good" comprises five travel stories by Waugh, drawn from earlier books. These stories encompass journeys such as his travels in Africa during 1930-31, his trip to Guyana and Brazil in 1932, and his observations on Abyssinia in 1935. Nice insight into how travelling has changed so much over time.
November 4, 2023
3.75 There's such extraordinary detail in Waugh's telling of his colourful, brave travel exploits into often dangerous, far-flung places - especially for the 20's/30's. His acerbic wit shines through however on every page.
There are variable moments but the piece about his time in Brazil is a glittering masterpiece and easily my favourite of the quintet he selected for this compilation volume.
There are variable moments but the piece about his time in Brazil is a glittering masterpiece and easily my favourite of the quintet he selected for this compilation volume.
October 11, 2025
Set aside any preconceptions about the male white gaze abroad and read this book for the great writing style, clarity of reporting (without the need to heighten situations for the sake of scoring points at the expense of the locals) and reflect on the lost worlds that Waugh had the opportunity to experience.
February 11, 2019
I reallly enjoyed this book. Although it was travel writing from a completely different era, there were some sections that sitll felt contemporary and fitting with travellers and tourists these days.
August 12, 2021
A friend recommended Waugh's travel books but I was unable to find any of them. Turns out they are no longer in print at his request. This book of 5 excerpts from them is an excellent taste of his travel writing.
March 27, 2019
3.5 stars, very well written and often quite funny, but it does drag on at times (although this can be expected with travel books). Overall a very enjoyable read.
August 30, 2019
As noted, a Waugh edited compilation from his earlier travel books. Thoroughly enjoyable and definitely pushes me to find the original books from which these snippets were taken.
September 25, 2019
Read this to tick it off my list really. Probably more of historical interest rather than for sheer entertainment but flashes of the wit of Evelyn Waugh made it a worthwhile read.
July 1, 2020
Really informative, I enjoyed the descriptions not foreign lands that will never be glimpsed again
December 16, 2022
Excellent travel writing from a master of his craft.
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