Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold

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In 1954 the novelist Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966) set off from England on a cruise ship bound for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). A week later, for reasons only apparent to himself, he disembarked at Port Said, on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, and travelled overland to Cairo before flying to Colombo. The reasons behind this capriciousness are outlined in his 1957 quasi-autobiographical novel The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold. read more...