A Hanful of Dust Author:Evelyn Waugh A Handful of Dust satirizes a certain stratum of English life where all the characters have money, but lack practically every other credential. Murderously urbane, it depicts the breakup of a marriage in the London gentry, where the errant wife suffers from terminal boredom and becomes enamored of a social parasite and professional lunch-goer. T... more »he complete depravity and refined savagery of these characters offer Waugh an opportunity to brandish his rapier wit and subtly to "show you fear in a handful of dust."« less