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Most characters are too rigid and single-minded to feel fully realized, but this is balanced by the gossipy tone of the novel which allows each character to comment on the rest.

She rents a flat in London and has an affair with John Beaver, a poor and petty young man, who uses her to secure his social footing. Brenda is tired of their large estate, Hetton Abbey, which occupies her husband’s time and energy. Set in 1930s Victorian England, the action centers around the stale marriage of Tony and Brenda Last. I never know what to term ‘character development’ in such books because they’re less about creating real people than lampooning a certain class. As satire, it’s biting, hilarious, and sad. As a straightforward story, Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust is bizarre and implausible.