Rick Brookhiser, Terry Teachout, and now Derb—all lined up against me? I’d cover my retreat by asserting de gustibus non est disputandem, but I was the one who started the dispute in the first place.

I don’t know. Brideshead’s Charles Ryder strikes me as one of the really indelible character/narrators, right up there with Gatsby’s Nick Carroway. And the book is simply filled with characters who are, literally, unforgettable—it’s been years since I reread Brideshead, but they all come right to mind: Charles, Sebastian, Bridey, Marchmain, Julia, Cordelia, Mr. Samgrass. (By contrast, I’m unable to recall the name of a single character in the Sword of Honour trilogy.)

Oh, well. I now lay down Brideshead Revisited, and walk softly away, backwards, hoping no one will notice.

P.S. for Derb: Yes indeed, Waugh’s letters and diaries are superb—vivid, cutting, thoroughly alive. While studying in England a couple of decades ago, I happened to pay a call on Malcolm Muggeridge the very week (as I recall) when Waugh’s diaries were published. Muggeridge was thrilled with them. Why? As Muggeridge himself delightedly explained, “Waugh called me a prize s**t.”