Will This Do?

Racist, sadistic, sexist snob? Or gentle, benevolent, tolerant bon viveur? Auberon Waugh's tendency to say the things that people least want to hear and his mastery of the art of vituperation, combined with his use of irony and fantasy, have made him a celebrated columnist. Here he describes his difficult relationship with his distinguished father (the novelist Evelyn Waugh), National Service, his inglorious exit from Oxford, and his 30-year career in journalism, including work on "Private Eye" and "The Spectator".