Black Mischief

novel by Waugh

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Article History

Black Mischief, satiric novel by Evelyn Waugh, published in 1932. The book skewers attempts to impose European customs and beliefs upon so-called primitive peoples.

The story is set in the fictional empire of Azania, an island off the coast of Africa. Upon the death of the emperor of Azania, rule is assumed by his grandson Seth, a recent graduate of Oxford who is eager to modernize his country. Seth’s ideas are a muddle of fashionable notions and philosophies, and each of his new programs fails. Ultimately the country relapses into barbarism and cannibalism.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.