He left Oxford University (Hertford College) in 1924 with a third-class degree. He taught at a private school in Wales and in 1925 attempted suicide by swimming out to sea, but was unsuccessful, turning back after being stung by a jellyfish.
His subsequent career as a journalist was truncated as a direct result of his literary success with his first novel, Decline and Fall. Although his racy novels of the "bright young things" in 1920s England made his reputation, he was a profoundly conservative writer who also had great success with more somber works like Brideshead Revisited.
In 2001, three of his books were named as part of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by the editorial board of the American Modern Library.
He was the father of Auberon Waugh[?] and brother of Alec Waugh.
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump