As a young man, he acquired many fashionable and aristocratic friends and developed a taste for country house society. He worked briefly as a schoolmaster before he became a full-time writer. Waugh (1903-1966), the son of a publisher, was educated at Lancing College and Hertford College, Oxford. Waugh converted to Catholicism in 1930 after his first marriage failed.” The Catholic parish of St Paul and St Timothy serves the area of West Derby in Liverpool. I wonder if the reference to ‘St Timothy’s Day, Derby,’ relates to a visit to Liverpool. “I can only assume Ignatuis Magee is a friend. Sniffer dog, always checking for inscriptions, and lo and behold – there It could create a bidding war and really surprise us, Iĭiscovered it within a small collection of books, I try to be a bit of a Yes it’s a sixth edition, but it’s still an incredible thing – you Waugh, but never a presentation copy of Brideshead Revisited bearing a personalĭedication. Jim Spencer, books expert at Hansons, said: “Some signed copies of Brideshead Revisited first editions are known but the fact that he’s written a personal message to a friend, not just his signature, makes this special.

Thanks to the message, which turns the edition into a presentation copy, it’s set to go into Hansons Auctioneers’ Library sale on July 31 with an estimate of £200-£300. It reads: ‘For Ignatuis Magee, with kindest regards, from Evelyn Waugh, St Timothy’s Day 1952, Derby’. The sixth edition copy of the most famous of Waugh’s works would have been of nominal value but for the inscription inside its cover. A Brideshead Revisited book signed with a personal message by author Evelyn Waugh has been discovered in Derbyshire.

Brideshead revisited first edition