Myself When Young: Confessions offers a reflective exploration of youth, capturing the author's experience navigating the intricacies of adulthood, creativity, and societal expectations in early 20th-century London. Through introspection and personal narrative, the memoir touches on the complexity of friendships, the transient nature of social life, and the challenges faced by a young man in the literary world. The author recalls moments of self-reflection, such as deciding whether to leave a party or continue socializing, highlighting the inner conflict between societal expectations and personal desires. His early literary ambitions are intertwined with his understanding of the publishing world, revealing the struggle to secure validation in an uncertain and fickle industry. As he reflects on connections, disconnections, and the passage of time, the book captures the emotional undercurrent of youth and the yearning for both creative and personal fulfillment. Waugh’s recollections invite readers to contemplate the dynamics of growing up, identity, and the search for purpose in a rapidly changing world.
Alec Waugh was a British novelist, the elder brother of the more famous Evelyn Waugh, the uncle of Auberon Waugh, and the son of Arthur Waugh, an author, literary critic, and publisher. His first marriage was Barbara Jacobs (daughter of author William Wymark Jacobs), his second wife was Joan Chirnside, and his third wife was Virginia Sorenson, author of the Newbery Medal-winning Miracles on Maple Hill. Waugh was born in London to Arthur Waugh and Catherine Charlotte Raban, the great-granddaughter of Lord Cockburn (1779-1854), and attended Sherborne School, a public school in Dorset. As a result of his experiences, he wrote his first semi-autobiographical novel, The Loom of Youth (1917), which dramatized his school days. Waugh served in the British army in France during World War I, being commissioned in the Dorset Regiment in May 1917 and saw duty at Passchendaele. Captured by the Germans at Arras in March 1918, he spent the rest of the war in POW camps in Karlsruhe and the Mainz Citadel. Waugh married his first wife, Barbara Annis Jacobs (1900–1996), in 1919. He later became a successful author, albeit not as successful or original as his younger brother.
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