What's Become of Waring
Encyclopedia
What’s Become of Waring is the fifth novel by the English writer Anthony Powell
. It is his final novel of the 1930s, and the only one not published by Powell’s first employer and publisher, Duckworth. Published in 1939, Powell’s book was overshadowed by international events, limiting sales. Nonetheless, it marks a significant step in Powell’s development, anticipating his masterpiece, A Dance to the Music of Time
, via the introduction of the self-effacing first-person narrator. The title of the book is also the title of a poem by Robert Browning
.
s abound, featuring unusual and uncomfortable mixtures of guests. Coincidence, often noted as a significant feature of Dance, here plays a larger role than in any of Powell’s other early fiction. The novel shows clearly the relative thinness of the curtain of civility with which society wraps itself and how easily that fabric frays.
and violence. At a seance, an apparent warning is received that something is wrong with bestselling travel writer, T.T. Waring. Waring, anticipating Thomas Pynchon
in his insistence on privacy and anonymity, is soon confirmed dead. Through various efforts to bring out an official life of Waring, many secrets are slowly revealed, especially concerning Waring’s identity and the sources of his travel literature.
The inner workings and tensions of the publishing business (in which Powell was himself employed for about a decade) and the assortment of individuals brought together through a shared interest in spiritualism provide many opportunities for developing conflicting personal desires amongst the various characters. The novel ends with a series of comic reversals, not untinged with melancholy, and the narrator’s realization that most of life involves the pursuit of power.
Anthony Powell
Anthony Dymoke Powell CH, CBE was an English novelist best known for his twelve-volume work A Dance to the Music of Time, published between 1951 and 1975....
. It is his final novel of the 1930s, and the only one not published by Powell’s first employer and publisher, Duckworth. Published in 1939, Powell’s book was overshadowed by international events, limiting sales. Nonetheless, it marks a significant step in Powell’s development, anticipating his masterpiece, A Dance to the Music of Time
A Dance to the Music of Time
A Dance to the Music of Time is a twelve-volume cycle of novels by Anthony Powell, inspired by the painting of the same name by Nicolas Poussin. One of the longest works of fiction in literature, it was published between 1951 and 1975 to critical acclaim...
, via the introduction of the self-effacing first-person narrator. The title of the book is also the title of a poem by Robert Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
.
Plot introduction
What’s Become of Waring is set in large part in the publishing firm of Judkins and Judkins, and informed by Powell’s experiences with both Duckworth and Warner Brothers. Dinner parties and seanceSéance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
s abound, featuring unusual and uncomfortable mixtures of guests. Coincidence, often noted as a significant feature of Dance, here plays a larger role than in any of Powell’s other early fiction. The novel shows clearly the relative thinness of the curtain of civility with which society wraps itself and how easily that fabric frays.
Plot summary
The novel is narrated by an anonymous publishing firm employee, who is himself working on a book about StendhalStendhal
Marie-Henri Beyle , better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme...
and violence. At a seance, an apparent warning is received that something is wrong with bestselling travel writer, T.T. Waring. Waring, anticipating Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
in his insistence on privacy and anonymity, is soon confirmed dead. Through various efforts to bring out an official life of Waring, many secrets are slowly revealed, especially concerning Waring’s identity and the sources of his travel literature.
The inner workings and tensions of the publishing business (in which Powell was himself employed for about a decade) and the assortment of individuals brought together through a shared interest in spiritualism provide many opportunities for developing conflicting personal desires amongst the various characters. The novel ends with a series of comic reversals, not untinged with melancholy, and the narrator’s realization that most of life involves the pursuit of power.
External links
- Anthony Powell Society website This article has been vetted by members of the Anthony Powell Society.