Decline and fall

Published in 1928, 'Decline and Fall' is Evelyn Waugh's first novel and a brilliant satire of English school life in the 1920s.

The story follows Paul Pennyfeather, a theology student who is expelled from Oxford after a drunken incident involving the Bollinger Club.

He then takes a job as a schoolmaster at a private school in Wales, where he encounters a cast of eccentric and misfit characters.

The novel lampoons various aspects of British society, including public schools, the aristocracy, and the penal system, using Waugh's characteristic black humor and satire.

Paul's misadventures include his involvement with the wealthy and unscrupulous Margot Beste-Chetwynde and his eventual imprisonment for his unwitting role in her prostitution business.