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Decline and Fall
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Plot Summary of Decline and Fall
"While studying at Oxford University, Paul Pennyfeather is set on by members of the Bollinger Club, who set on him, remove his clothes and force him to run naked around the university campus. Expelled for indecent behaviour, he looks for a job as a schoolmaster and finds one at Llanabba Castle School, Wales, where he is one of a bunch of misfits who probably drifted into teaching by accident just as he did. The students are irritating, and some of the staff are very odd. Among them are the usually drunk, accident-prone Captain Grimes, and the likeable yet ever-dithering Prendergast, who once made the mistake of removing his wig in full view of the boys on his first day at the place.

Very soon Sports Day arrives, and with it Margot Beste-Chetwynde, the mother of one of his pupils. Prendergast accidentally shoots one budding young athlete, Lord Tangent, in the leg with a starting pistol. His mother, Lady Circumference, only seems mildly annoyed. Later Captain Grimes mysteriously disappears, and Paul becomes engaged to Mrs B-C. On the morning of the wedding he is arrested on a charge of trafficking in the white slave trade and sent to prison. While behind bars his fiancée comes to visit him, and tells him she is getting married to someone else."

John Van der Kiste, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Decline and Fall
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - humorous
Time/era of story - 1900-1920's
Life of a profession: - teacher
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Job/Profession/Status story Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - teacher
Age: - 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental Yes
Eccentric: - eccentric
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - homemaker
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 ()
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Misc setting - fancy mansion

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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Evelyn Waugh Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
John Van der Kiste  

SCHOLARS:


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