EVELYN! by Duncan McLaren is published next week by Harbour Books. The novel is a most personal and surprising biography of Evelyn Waugh which, for the very first time, also examines in full the love triangle between Waugh, Evelyn Gardner and John Heygate. Adopting the same disruptive and inquisitive approach as his previous works, McLaren manages to produce an entirely new portrait of Evelyn Waugh to those painted by more traditional recent biographies.

Duncan McLaren is the author of LOOKING FOR ENID: The Mysterious and Inventive Life of Enid Blyton (World rights: Portobello, 2007). Now writing ZIMMERSONG, a memoir about his parents, based on his moving Saga blog 'Visiting Mabel' about visiting his mother in her care home. His blog was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Blogs 2011.

Alexander Waugh writes:

'I think it is absolutely brilliant, breezy, very funny, original, erudite, beautifully written, fascinating in every detail, moving, generous, charming and thoroughly deserving of a good publisher... It is written with magnificent zest and is, among so much else, a wonderful advertisement for Waugh.'

Alexander Waugh's endorsement of the manuscript is not just fabulous in itself, but led to previously unpublished photographs being made available for inclusion in EVELYN!, photographs that get right to the heart of Evelyn Waugh's life and McLaren’s book.