- Helena (1950 novel)
"Helena", published
1950 , is the solehistorical novel ofEvelyn Waugh .It follows the quest of Helena to find the relics of the cross on which
Christ was crucified. Helena, a Christian, was the mother of the Roman emperorConstantine I .The book has been described as lacking the characteristic biting
satire for which Waugh is best known. However the figure ofConstantius Chlorus , Constantine's father, was interpreted by friends of the novelist as a caricature ofField-Marshal Bernard Montgomery , a man Waugh mocked as a vainglorious social climber. More generally the corruption and instability of the Roman society Waugh describes is reminiscent of the malaise and pragmatism that prevails over tradition and chivalric ethics at the end of theSword of Honour trilogy. Helena's saintliness does not allow her to save her son from an imperial destiny she fears and disapproves of (at one point she fantasises about him becoming a provincial colonel); nor is she able to save her innocent grandsonCrispus from being murdered on Constantine's orders in a palace struggle.Waugh always described
Helena as his best work, though this can probably be attributed as much toRoman Catholic apologetics and humorous perversity as serious intent. Since his death it has received little critical attention, is rarely read and usually regarded even by admirers as a minor work.The novel includes the unlikely tradition from
Geoffrey of Monmouth that Helena was a British princess, daughter ofKing Coel .References
*Drijvers, Jan Willem. " [http://www.classicsireland.com/2000/drijvers.html Evelyn Waugh, Helena and the True Cross] ." "Classics Ireland" 7 (2000).
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