Russell Kane on Evelyn Waugh

Great Lives - A podcast by BBC Radio 4

Comedian Russell Kane nominates the novelist Evelyn Waugh, with help from literary critic Ann Pasternak Slater. Chaired by Matthew Parris. One of the greatest prose stylists of 20th century literature, not to mention one of the funniest, novelist Evelyn Waugh also has a reputation for being a snob, a bully, and a dyed in the wool reactionary. How much of this was a self-parodying pose, and how much the underlying truth? Russell and Ann are unabashed Waugh fans - Russell calls him "a ninja master of banter" - but Matthew Parris says he can't stand him. Producer: Jolyon Jenkins