A Handful of Dust

A Handful of Dust is a novel by the English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1934. It is usually grouped with the satirical comic novels he wrote before the Second World War, though some readers treat it as a transitional work because of what lies beneath the comedy.

The story concerns Tony Last, a contented and rather shallow English country squire. He is betrayed by his wife, and his illusions are shattered one by one, until he seeks solace by joining an expedition into the Brazilian jungle, where he finds himself trapped in a remote outpost as the prisoner and plaything of a settler who has lost his mind.

Waugh incorporated several autobiographical elements into the book, most notably his own recent desertion by his young wife. In 1933 and 1934 he travelled into the South American interior, and a number of incidents and personalities from that journey went into the novel.

Tony's fate in the jungle had first been used as the subject of an independent short story, published in 1933 under the title The Man Who Liked Dickens. The book's initial critical reception was modest, but it was popular with readers, has never been out of print, and its reputation has grown since.