Alexander Raban Waugh was born at 11 Hillfield Road in Hampstead, North London, the son of Arthur and Catherine Waugh and the elder brother of Evelyn. Like his father, he was educated at Sherborne School in Dorset, but was "asked to leave"after a homosexual scandal. He wrote a fictionalized account of this in his first book "The Loom of Youth" (1917) which caused such a stir that the school refused to allow Evelyn to study there, and the younger sibling was, instead, sent to Lancing. The book does not seem very shocking in today's climate, or even that of seventy years ago. It is reported that, many years after its publication, Alec lent the book to a friend to read. When the friend was asked how he was enjoying it, he replied that he was waiting for "the scene", only to be told that he had passed it, several chapters ago. During the First World War, Alec Waugh served in the Dorset Regiment and the British Expeditionary Force ; he was captured and became a Prisoner of War. In 1939, he rejoined the Dorsets, and retired in 1945 having reached the rank of Major. In addition to "The Loom of Youth", he wrote some fifty books, of which the best-known are "Jill Somerset" (1936) and "Island in the Sun" which was filmed with James Mason, Joan Fontaine and Harry Belafonte. He was married three times : firstly to Barbara, the daughter of W.W. Jacobs, author of "The Monkey's Paw" ; secondly to an Australian lady ; and, in 1969, to Virginia Sorensen of Utah. From 1966 to 1967, he served as Writer in Residence at Central State College in Edmond, Oklahoma. He spent his last years in Tampa, Florida, where he wrote his final book, an autobiography entitled "The Best Wine Last", but his ashes were brought back to Hampstead to be placed in the grave of his parents.
Alexander Raban Waugh was born at 11 Hillfield Road in Hampstead, North London, the son of Arthur and Catherine Waugh and the elder brother of Evelyn. Like his father, he was educated at Sherborne School in Dorset, but was "asked to leave"after a homosexual scandal. He wrote a fictionalized account of this in his first book "The Loom of Youth" (1917) which caused such a stir that the school refused to allow Evelyn to study there, and the younger sibling was, instead, sent to Lancing. The book does not seem very shocking in today's climate, or even that of seventy years ago. It is reported that, many years after its publication, Alec lent the book to a friend to read. When the friend was asked how he was enjoying it, he replied that he was waiting for "the scene", only to be told that he had passed it, several chapters ago. During the First World War, Alec Waugh served in the Dorset Regiment and the British Expeditionary Force ; he was captured and became a Prisoner of War. In 1939, he rejoined the Dorsets, and retired in 1945 having reached the rank of Major. In addition to "The Loom of Youth", he wrote some fifty books, of which the best-known are "Jill Somerset" (1936) and "Island in the Sun" which was filmed with James Mason, Joan Fontaine and Harry Belafonte. He was married three times : firstly to Barbara, the daughter of W.W. Jacobs, author of "The Monkey's Paw" ; secondly to an Australian lady ; and, in 1969, to Virginia Sorensen of Utah. From 1966 to 1967, he served as Writer in Residence at Central State College in Edmond, Oklahoma. He spent his last years in Tampa, Florida, where he wrote his final book, an autobiography entitled "The Best Wine Last", but his ashes were brought back to Hampstead to be placed in the grave of his parents.
Bio by: Iain MacFarlaine
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