Manuscript of Evelyn Waugh's "The Rough Life," 1934

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This week’s #VQRVault is the manuscript of Evelyn Waugh’s essay “The Rough Life.” After traveling in South America for most of 1933, Waugh wrote an essay playfully exposing the myths of travel—that food tastes sweeter after hiking through the jungle, that true freedom is only found in the wild, and that the best sleep can only be had when the body is tired from a hard day’s labor. The essay was initially submitted to VQR in August 1933 under the title “Debunking the Bush.” VQR editor Stringfellow Barr accepted the piece on the condition it be retitled. Waugh agreed to the change, and the essay was published in the Winter 1934 issue. The original title can be seen on the manuscript, crossed out along with its subtitle: “some popular fallacies about the rough life exposed.” While there is no official record of it, the original subtitle presumably inspired the piece’s new title.