Decline and Fall. Evelyn Waugh.

Decline and Fall
Evelyn Waugh
New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1928 (1959)

Paul Pennyfeather kicked out of divinity school for "disgraceful behavior"--attacked by roisterers returning from a drunken celebration who removed his clothes--becomes a member of a dysfunctional faculty in a public school (in England). Becomes engaged to be married to the mother of one of his students. She runs a white slavery ring in South America and has become very wealthy doing it. He gets busted for running the white slavery ring and covers for her.

Two prisons. Send-up of prison life. She decides not to wait to marry him but arranges his escape and his pretended death. He returns to divinity school.

Characters: Philbrick, a butler, lies about his family and career. Captain Grimes, with a stump for a leg, is addicted to bigamy--and keeps disappearing as dead and then reappearing alive. In fact, all of this faculty keep turning up in Paul's life, including in prison.

Some interesting quotes:
"For anyone who has been to an English public school will always feel comparatively at home in prison."

"If you have been at all observant of the people you have met and the accidents which have happened to you, you cannot help being struck with an amazing cohesiveness of events."

"I know no more utterly boring and futile occupation than generalizing about life."

"People should not be divided into sexes. They should be divided into those who are dynamic and static."

What's the point of this novel? The amusing characters and circumstances that make Paul the complete fall-guy. Charlie Brown is a fall guy. So is Paul Pennyfeather. We can recognize Paul Pennyfeather in all of us. The scenes of English public schools and English prisons.