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Today in History: Evelyn Waugh publishes autobiographical novel The Ordeal

7/19/2026

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Summary

Story summary

On 19 July 1957, Evelyn Waugh released *The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold*, his penultimate full-length novel and self-described “mad book.” The work fictionalises Waugh’s 1954 bromide-induced hallucinations through the narrator Gilbert Pinfold, blending autobiography with satire and cementing his reputation as a leading 20th-century prose stylist.

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Story summary

On 19 July 1957, Evelyn Waugh released *The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold*, his penultimate full-length novel and self-described “mad book.” The work fictionalises Waugh’s 1954 bromide-induced hallucinations through the narrator Gilbert Pinfold, blending autobiography with satire and cementing his reputation as a leading 20th-century prose stylist.