"The Curmudgeon's Conversion" essay, 2000

The Arthur Jones collection of Evelyn Waugh materials, 1998-2003, consists of correspondence, research materials, and manuscript drafts related to a biography Jones planned to write about Waugh. The correspondence includes copies of emails Jones sent and received from libraries and archives in the United States and England. The research materials consist of newspaper clippings and letters from academic institutions, photographs, Jones' written notes, and a copy of Dr. Nicholas Varga's essay, "Evelyn Waugh in Baltimore: 1948-1949." In addition, there are excerpts of books about Waugh and copies of correspondence between Waugh and Vincent Whelan from the Harvey Ransom Center of Humanities at the University of Texas, Austin. Jones' correspondence alludes to growing difficulty writing a Waugh biography. The manuscripts and drafts reflect this difficulty through title changes, heavy editing, and the transition from a book to an essay.