Put Out More Flags

By: Evelyn Waugh

Narrated by: Michael Maloney

Upper-class scoundrel Basil Seal, mad, bad, and dangerous to know, creates havoc wherever he goes, much to the despair of the three women in his life-his sister, his mother, and his mistress. When Neville Chamberlain declares war on Germany, it seems the perfect opportunity for more action and adventure. So Basil follows the call to arms and sets forth to enjoy his finest hour-as a war hero. Basil's instincts for self-preservation come to the fore as he insinuates himself into the Ministry of Information and a little-known section of Military Security. With Europe frozen in the "phoney war," when will Basil's big chance to fight finally arrive?

Critic reviews

"Waugh's particular genius at its best....His most important book....He constructs not only the funniest but also the most cruelly searching image to date of England in her last fateful moment of history."—TIME

"Extremely amusing....It starts out as a wicked satire in the well-known Waugh manner and ends up as a morality play."—John Chamberlain, New York Times

"Very witty....An exceptional novel."—Boston Globe

"Triumphant....The greatest of Evelyn Waugh's great novels. As such it deserves to be revived and reread as long as we read English."—E. Sissman, Atlantic Monthly

Disappointing

I’ve heard several Waugh books on Audible by now and liked them a good bit.

This one, too, looked promising. And the reviews were positive.

But I never got into the story, and the characters didn’t stick in the slightest.

I understood where satire was to come into play. And all the other literary techniques to play against the realism of the war at the time.

Maybe it was something that worked well at the time. Or maybe I just missed it.

But, overall, it was all a drag to me.

Brilliant

Hilarious and best narrator on earth. Favorite Waugh. I want more basil and Conneallys! And Lady Seale. And Col. plum. So funny

Wickedly Funny

I’ve read several books by Waugh and this one was among my favorites. It drips with satire and sarcasm. It isn’t a book that leaves you feeling happy , but it does make you laugh at the irony in life. Excellent narration, too!

Basil Seal: Bad, Mad and Dangerous to Know

Waugh created one hero, or anti-hero, the unscrupulous but so attractive f Basil Seal. (His other protagonists are ciphers to whom outrageous things happen). in Black Mischief we first meet him as he steals his mother's emeralds to finance a trip to Azania, where a civil war is taking place. it's Waughs best novel but dark indeed as well as so, so politically incorrect. Here, in my favorite Waugh, Basil is looking for a way to turn the new, Second World War to his advantage. He first invents an extortion scheme using three awful children, billeting them on hapless country people. Then he heads to the War Office and a silly girl--his favorite type--leads him to an anti-spy operation where he does the dirty on an old friend in order to advance his war career. The setting is the "phony war " before the fighting got serious. Brilliant depiction of the Ministry of Information. Brilliantly funny.

Waugh is lovely

Always spectacular prose even in a short work such as this. Clears the palate from the constant butchery of the English language.