Brideshead RevisitedBrideshead Revisited
Score Classic
What it's about
During the Second World War, an army captain named Charles Ryder finds his unit billeted at Brideshead, a great English country house he knew well. He remembers Oxford in the 1920s, where he befriended the charming, teddy bear-carrying Sebastian Flyte, and his years of entanglement with Sebastian's grand Catholic family, especially Sebastian's sister Julia.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the TIME and Modern Library lists of the best novels and was voted onto the BBC's Big Read. It's a gorgeous, melancholy elegy for a vanished world of privilege, and a serious novel about faith.
You'll love it if you liked
The Great Gatsby
Atonement
The Remains of the DayGood to know
The first part is lush and nostalgic; the second turns darker, with Sebastian's alcoholism and the family's religion at its center. The 1981 TV series is a classic.
By the numbers
- Readers45 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics83 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller40 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Evelyn Waugh
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Quick answers
Is Brideshead Revisited worth reading?
Yes. It's on the TIME and Modern Library lists of the best novels and was voted onto the BBC's Big Read. It ranks #648 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 76.5 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Brideshead Revisited about?
During the Second World War, an army captain named Charles Ryder finds his unit billeted at Brideshead, a great English country house he knew well. He remembers Oxford in the 1920s, where he befriended the charming, teddy bear-carrying Sebastian Flyte, and his years of entanglement with Sebastian's grand Catholic family, especially Sebastian's sister Julia.
How long does it take to read Brideshead Revisited?
About 9 hours (368 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Brideshead Revisited?
If you liked it, try The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Atonement by Ian McEwan or The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.