Hellfire: Evelyn Waugh and the Hypocrites Club

by David Fleming

Late one evening in March 1924, a tipsy young nun was seen trying to slip into Balliol, an all-male Oxford college, just as the gates were about to close for the night.

The nun – subsequently unmasked as the son of the college bursar – was returning after a fancy-dress party at a notorious Oxford social club, one known to the university proctors for its hedonistic ways, heavy drinking and wayward behaviour. This was the final straw; the club was shut down.

Described by one habitué as ‘a kind of early twentieth-century Hell Fire Club’, the Hypocrites Club counted some of the brightest of the future ‘Bright Young People’ among its members. The one-time secretary was Evelyn Waugh, who used ten of his fellow Hypocrites as inspiration for his fictional characters – seven of them in Brideshead Revisited alone.

The Hypocrites didn’t just lend themselves to Waugh’s fiction. Many went on to prominence themselves, including Anthony Powell, Robert Byron, Henry Green, Claud Cockburn and Tom Driberg.

Hellfire is the first full-length portrait of this scandalous club and its famous members, who continued to be thorns in the Establishment’s side – throughout war and austerity – for the next five decades.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

402 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 13, 2022

Reviews

[Susan]

Evelyn Waugh is one of my favourite authors and I have a fascination with his life, so this was a must-read for me. This is a group biography, based around members of the Hypocrites Club in Oxford, which begun in 1921 and was closed down in 1924, when a member was caught creeping into Balliol dressed as a nun after a fancy dress party. Based above a bicycle shop, this was a drinking club, begun mainly as Oxford undergraduates were forbidden to visit pubs.

Members included writers Evelyn Waugh, Anthony Powell, Henry Green, travel writer Robert Byron, journalist Claud Cockburn, those who Waugh based fictional characters on, such as Harold Acton and Brian Howard, as well as future MP's and professors. As young men, many were notorious and disinterested in their studies. However, they were also intelligent, well-connected, often ambitious and born within a period of history which meant they lived through two world wars. They may have been too young to fight in WWI, but they certainly, like their entire generation, saw the aftermath and most participated in WWII. As they aged, the members became a mutual aid club, often bickering and disliking each other, but publicly usually supportive of each others work.

This was a very enjoyable read, looking at the members of this club. Of early promise, which sometimes turned into success and sometimes failure. It is also the history of a time and a place. Of a period when the aristocracy had their last hurrah, before time and taxes reduced many to a far lesser standard of living. Of political extremes between the wars, of the rise of fascism, the flirtation with communism, of a group of young men trying to find their place in the world and of their influence and the work many left behind.

[Anthony Cantu]

Finally, a book that explains where Waugh got all those glorious characters! I've been a Brideshead fan for years, and knowing that SEVEN of its characters were based on real Hypocrites Club members made me see the novel completely differently. Fleming's writing is so vivid that I felt like I was there in those rickety rooms near Folly Bridge, watching the chaos unfold. The nun incident that got the club shut down? Absolute gold. If you love literary history that reads like a novel, pick this up immediately.

[Sharon Ragsdale]

As someone who's always been fascinated by the Bright Young Things, this book was a total treat. Fleming doesn't just give us Waugh, he gives us the whole glorious, messy, brilliant cast of characters. Robert Byron, Anthony Powell, Henry Green... they all come alive here. The way Fleming traces their lives from those wild Oxford days through war and austerity is masterful. I couldn't put it down. It's like being invited to the most scandalous party of the century and watching it all unfold from the corner.

[Ferguson Amos]

I've read Waugh's novels for years but never really understood the real people behind them. This book changed everything. The Hypocrites Club sounds like something out of a fever dream, tipsy nuns sneaking into men's colleges, fancy dress parties that got everyone into trouble, drinking that would make today's students blush. But Fleming gives it all such depth. The section on Harold Acton and the aesthetic circles at Oxford was particularly fascinating. If you're a Waugh obsessive like me, you need this on your shelf.

[Wayne Haymos]

The story of Hugh Lygon broke my heart a little. Fleming paints such a tender portrait of him, that "lost boy" quality, carrying his teddy bear around Oxford, his drinking and self-destruction. Knowing he inspired characters in Waugh's work made me want to go back and re-read everything with fresh eyes. But what I really loved was how Fleming doesn't just focus on the Oxford years. The post-war lives of all these characters are just as compelling. This isn't just a nostalgia trip, it's real history told brilliantly.

[Jane Gill]

What a blast! I picked this up thinking it would be a dry academic history, but it's absolutely not. Fleming writes with such energy and pace. The whole thing reads like a novel by Powel, unexpected meetings, reversals, dramatic moments. The section on Brian Howard alone is worth the price of admission, he was clearly one of those people who was either the most brilliant person in the room or the most insufferable, sometimes both at once. The book's got everything: scandal, tragedy, and unforgettable characters.

[Rebecca Hume]

I've been recommending this to everyone I know who loves literary history or just enjoys a good story about eccentric people doing ridiculous things. The Hypocrites Club sounds absolutely wild, fancy dress parties, heavy drinking, behavior that scandalized even the fairly lax standards of 1920s Oxford. But Fleming never lets the gossip overwhelm the real substance. He shows us how these friendships shaped British culture for decades. The chapter on Claud Cockburn and his political adventures was especially eye-opening.

[Abigail Kleeman]

I bought this because I'm writing a paper on the Bright Young People and their influence on 20th-century culture, and wow, did it deliver. Fleming's research is incredible, he's obviously dug through archives, letters, memoirs, everything. But he wears it so lightly. The book never feels academic or stuffy. It's just story after story about these brilliant, flawed, chaotic people and the crazy club that brought them together. The section on Henry Green was particularly good, I'd never realized he was part of this world.

[Mary Glen]

The Hypocrites Club is exactly the kind of institution you'd think only exists in fiction, a secret society of Oxford's brightest and most unconventional, given to drunken parties and fancy dress, eventually shut down for scandalous behavior. But it was real! And Fleming has given it the full treatment it deserves. What I appreciated most was how he balanced the sheer fun of it all with genuine biographical depth. These weren't just characters in a story, they were real people who went on to do extraordinary and sometimes terrible things.

[Cilla Gomez]

The reviews weren't lying, this really does read like a novel. Fleming has a novelist's instinct for character and scene. The story of how Waugh became secretary of the club and then mined it for material in his novels is just one thread in this rich tapestry. The real joy is meeting all the other Hypocrites: Robert Byron, who became one of the greatest travel writers; Henry Green, whose novels are criminally underread; Claud Cockburn, who had a career as a journalist almost as wild as his Oxford days. A complete delight.

[Hayden Band]

If you're interested in 20th-century British culture, this is essential reading. The Hypocrites Club might have only lasted a short time, but its influence lasted decades. Fleming traces the connections between these Oxford friendships and everything that came after, the novels of Waugh and Powell, the travel writing of Byron, the journalism of Cockburn and Driberg, the politics of appeasement and the war, the whole strange world of the interwar British elite. It's a big ambitious book about a small club, and it works perfectly.

[Brenda Southwood]

What a book! I've recommended it to my entire book club and now they're all obsessed with Waugh and the Hypocrites Club. Fleming's writing is so engaging, it's clearly deeply researched, but it never feels academic. The scene of the club's final scandal, with the bursar's son dressed as a nun trying to sneak back into Balliol, is worth the price of admission alone. But there's so much more: the friendships, the rivalries, the brilliant careers that followed, the lives that didn't work out the way anyone expected. Just wonderful.

[Douglas Jackson]

This book confirmed my suspicion that the Oxford of the 1920s was one of the most interesting times and places in British history. So many brilliant people, all bouncing off each other, all headed for such different futures. Fleming's portrait of the Hypocrites Club as a "kind of early twentieth-century Hell Fire Club" is spot on. But he never lets the scandal overwhelm the substance. These people were genuinely talented and important, and Fleming does justice to both their youthful excess and their later achievements.

[Caroline Jones]

The Hypocrites Club sounds like it was an absolute disaster of an institution, and Fleming celebrates that disaster with perfect balance, he clearly loves his subjects, but he's not blind to their flaws. The portrait of Brian Howard, with his wit and cruelty and talent and self-destruction, is worth reading the book for alone. But all the others are equally well-drawn: Waugh himself, Powell, Byron, Green, Cockburn, Driberg... they're all here, all fascinating, all part of a story that's both entertaining and genuinely moving.

[Frances Lamb]

I've been telling everyone I know about this book. It's just so readable, Fleming has a real novelist's touch. The stories are incredible: the nun, the fancy dress parties, the drinking, the absolute chaos of Oxford life in the 1920s. But beneath all the entertainment, there's real substance. Fleming cares about these people, understands them, and makes us understand them too. The Hypocrites Club might have been a mess, but it produced some of the greatest writers of the century. This book explains why.

[Phinander Amos]

Robert Byron fans, this is the book you've been waiting for! I've always been obsessed with The Road to Oxiana, but I never knew much about his Oxford days or how he connected to the Hypocrites crew. Fleming gives us such a clear picture of Byron's world, his wit, his daring, his complicated friendships. The chapters about his travels and his eventual fate during the war were devastating and beautifully handled. This book made me feel like I'd actually met these people.

[James Ohagan]

The Anthony Powell material in this book is fantastic. I've always wondered how much of A Dance to the Music of Time came from real life, and Fleming traces it all back to those Oxford days. The friendships, the rivalries, the sudden reversals, it's all there. And the way Fleming connects Powell's later writing to his experiences in the Hypocrites Club is so satisfying. This is exactly the kind of literary detective work I love. Essential reading for any Powell enthusiast.

[James Scott]

What struck me most about this book is how it follows these characters through their entire lives. The Oxford years are hilarious and scandalous, but the later parts, the war, the austerity years, the way their friendships evolved or fell apart, that's where the real emotional weight is. Fleming doesn't let us just laugh at their youthful excesses. He makes us care about them, even when they're being absolutely awful. That's the mark of a really good biography.

[Aaron Kinchela]

I'm normally not a non-fiction reader, but this book grabbed me from the first page. That opening scene, a tipsy nun trying to sneak into an all-male college, only to be revealed as the bursar's son in costume, is just perfect. And it only gets better from there. Fleming has an eye for the most cinematic details. The Spreadeagle at Thame where Waugh and Lygon used to meet? The bicycle shop near Folly Bridge that housed the club? I could picture all of it. So atmospheric.

[Eugene Fitzergald]

I'm obsessed with the Bright Young People period, and this book satisfied that obsession completely. But what I didn't expect was how moving the later chapters would be. Seeing these brilliant young men navigate the war, the Depression, the decline of the empire they'd grown up in... it gave the whole book a weight I wasn't expecting. Fleming doesn't sentimentalize them, but he clearly loves them. That combination of critical distance and genuine affection is just right.

[Dagrisson Amos]

The story of how Waugh used his fellow Hypocrites as inspiration for Brideshead Revisited is fascinating, and Fleming explores it brilliantly. But what I loved most were the people who weren't Waugh. Harold Acton, Brian Howard, Hugh Lygon, they're all vividly drawn, each with their own strengths and flaws. Fleming has clearly done massive amounts of research, but the book never feels weighed down by it. It's light on its feet, funny, sad, and incredibly readable.

[Declan Aspinall]

I bought this because I'm a lifelong Waugh fan, but I ended up loving it for all the non-Waugh characters. The whole cast of the Hypocrites Club is so fascinating, and Fleming brings each of them to life with such skill. The chapter on the Oxford aesthetic movement, with its "Hearts" and its astonishing rudeness, made me laugh out loud. The later material about the war and its aftermath made me genuinely emotional. This is the kind of book that stays with you.

[Thomas Monroe]

I came to this book knowing almost nothing about the Hypocrites Club and left it desperate to read everything by every single member. Fleming has that gift, he makes you care about his subjects, want to know more about their lives and work. The chapters on the war years were especially powerful, showing how these brilliant young men who'd spent their Oxford years partying and writing came to terms with the real world. It's funny, sad, and absolutely gripping.

[Cedric Ellis]

If you're interested in the real people behind Brideshead Revisited, this is the book you need. Fleming traces all the connections, shows us who became whom in Waugh's fiction, and tells us what happened to them afterwards. But it's not just a trivia book, it's a real historical work that illuminates a whole period of British life. The Hypocrites Club was only one small part of it, but Fleming shows how it was connected to everything that came after. Highly recommended.

[David McIntyre]

I've always loved Waugh's work, but I'd never really thought about where those characters came from. Fleming opens up that world completely, the drunken parties, the passionate friendships, the literary ambitions, the scandals. The story of how the club was shut down is just the start. What follows is a portrait of a generation: brilliant, flawed, sometimes awful, sometimes inspiring. The book is beautifully written and compulsively readable. One of my favorites of the year.

[Deborah Holmes]

Fleming has written exactly the book I didn't know I needed. I've been reading about the Bright Young People for years, but I'd never realized how central the Hypocrites Club was to all their lives. This book traces those connections so carefully and so compellingly. It's like having someone explain the secret backstory to all your favorite novels and memoirs. And it's so well-written that I could barely put it down. Highly recommend to anyone interested in 20th-century British life.

[Joseph Kirkwood]

The way Fleming handles the later lives of these characters is masterful. The Oxford years are fun and scandalous, but the book really comes alive in its final sections, as we see these people facing war, loss, and all the complications of adult life. The friendships that started in that little club near Folly Bridge lasted decades, and Fleming traces them beautifully. This is the kind of history that makes you feel like you've actually lived through the times it describes.

[Beatrice Williams]

The Anthony Powell connection was what drew me to this book, and it didn't disappoint. Fleming traces Powell's Oxford friendships so carefully, showing how they shaped his fiction and his life. But what I really loved was how he connected all the threads, Waugh here, Powell there, Byron over here, Cockburn in the middle. It's a big book about a small group, and Fleming makes every person and every connection count. A wonderful achievement.

[Dutton Lisa]

I didn't expect a book about a 1920s Oxford drinking club to be so moving, but this one really is. The last chapters, covering the war and its aftermath, had me in tears. Fleming has made these long-dead people feel so alive, so real, that I felt genuinely invested in their fates. The book is funny and scandalous and full of brilliant details, but it's also deeply humane. I can't recommend it highly enough.

[Cynthia Salter]

This is history as it should be written: vivid, personal, and absolutely gripping. Fleming brings the Hypocrites Club and its members to life so completely that I felt I was there, in those dusty rooms near the river, listening to them argue about art and drink too much and plan their brilliant futures. And then he follows them through those futures, showing us what happened to all that promise. It's a wonderful book, and I'll be pressing it on everyone I know.