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Scoop

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Scoop

By: Evelyn Waugh
Narrated by: Simon Cadell
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About this listen

Lord Copper, newspaper magnate and proprietor of the Daily Beast, has always prided himself on his intuitive flair for spotting ace reporters. That is not to say he has not made the odd blunder, however, and may in a moment of weakness make another.

Acting on a dinner party tip from Mrs. Algernon Stitch, Lord Copper feels convinced that he has hit on just the chap to cover a promising war in the African Republic of Ishmaelia.

So begins Scoop, Waugh's exuberant comedy of mistaken identity and brilliantly irreverent satire of the hectic pursuit of hot news. Evelyn Waugh's tale of an innocent abroad is a hilarious satire on journalism set amidst the powerful currents of the 1930s and contains a memorable collection of comic creations.

©1938 Evelyn Waugh (P)2015 Hachette Audio Classics Funny Witty Comedy War Africa
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Most relevant
However amusing and downright funny, this novel is best taken as a product very much of its time and with care and judgement needed as to the narrative as it unfolds and some of the unacceptable language used in our days. The satire of the workings of the press needs no qualification, however, and as much holds true today as it did then. If not more so. This is consistently funny. Even though the novel is written with a colonial take on things, we can now see that there is the clear fact that the treatment of developing countries by those that would exploit them is evidenced in this novel and is not rejected. Waugh’s characters often amuse and this will please all listeners/readers. The novel has the daftness of P G Wodehouse in quantity. I enjoyed the opening and closing sections of the novel by far. Waugh was clearly stimulated in writing by his friend that transforms into Julie Stich and her sections are irresistibly funny regardless of her assumptions about the rightness of her behaviour. The Audible performance by the late Simon Cadell is pitch-perfect and a true joy to listen to. My ratings on this novel reflect the body of this personal review. Overall it is 4 stars afforded by the humour, not the story.

Days of the Past?

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Very old-fashioned attitudes to race, but bewildered nature writer sent to report on a civil war in an East African country is superb. The description of The Beast and its offices reflect the tabloids of the period.

Very Funny

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Evelyn Waugh may be shocking to some modern readers in his choice of targets, but with the author's scrupulous evenhandedness no one escapes his rapier. Also of interest is the similarity between the mass media of the 1930s with that of today. And what a great loss was Simon Cadell, whose performance here is faultless.

Satire at its best

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All I can say is ....wonderfully read, and charmingly written.
WHY is E W soo given to taking the p..s out of the English knobs?? Where would we be without then? They/ we discovered the world.
loved it....

Back when we ruled the world....😊😊😊

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I haven’t read (or listened to) Evelyn Waugh in decades. Scoop was new to me. Beautifully written, very funny and superbly recounted by Simon Cadell. If it is possible to improve on Waugh, Mr Cadell has succeeded.

Superb

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