Among the Brutes

In Fathers and Sons, Alexander Waugh tosses out the old maxim, “Know thyself!” and replaces it with “Know thy roots!” Grandson of novelist Evelyn, son of novelist Auberon, nephew of novelist Alec, Waugh tells the tale of his celebrated family’s generations with unabashed focus on the male side. As his title implies, he is open about his obsession with his male progenitors, regarding them with a paradoxical bemused respect, at once...

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