[Music] a handful of dust is a novel by Evelyn W published in 1934 a handful of dust is from the third person omniscient narrator and is a tragedy novel wrapped in satire and dark comedy of manners depicting the domestic drama of Rich characters living in 20th century England before we begin do like and subscribe John Beaver is a 25-year-old living with his mother in London where she rents out Apartments after gradu uating from Oxford John worked at an advertising agency until the economic crisis hit leaving him unemployed he spends his days waking up late and waiting by the phone hoping for dinner invitations which often come at the last minute this weekend he plans to visit Tony last a new acquaintance at hetton Abbey the last family's ancestral estate in the English Countryside Tony receives a telegram from Beaver and wanting a quiet holiday with his wife Brenda and son John Andrew isn't thrilled about the visit he leaves Brenda to entertain the guest Tony dreams of restoring the old estate to its former glory despite the last family's reduced wealth compared to hatton's Peak Tony does not notice his wife's boredom her hatred of the estate or his son's growing waywardness Brenda finds Beaver charming and starts to like him she wants to find an apartment in London and beaver's mother helps her Brenda soon realizes she is attracted to John beaver when Brenda goes to London with her sister Marjorie they visit a restaurant owned by a mutual friend where they meet Mrs beaver and Lady cockp purse lady cockp Pur invites them to a party in a few days when Brenda asks Beaver to accompany her to the party he makes an awkward excuse to avoid the expense which upsets Brenda the following day Beaver sends a telegram saying he's free to go to the party delighting Brenda despite beaver's protests Brenda pays for lunch at a restaurant on the way to the party she kisses beaver in the backseat of a taxi the following day all of London is a buzz with the news that Brenda and beaver are having an affair for 3 Days Brenda returns to Hatton but using the excuse of needing to deal with apartment issues she heads back to London she calls Tony in the morning in evening but spends a lot of her time with Beaver under the guise of wanting to take women's economics courses at the University Brenda stays more in London one day Tony unexpectedly visits London unhappy with his surprise visit Brenda claims to be too busy to see him Tony goes to his club and along with his friend jock Grant men gets quite drunk spending the evening repeatedly calling Brenda which angers her back at Hatton Tony argues with his son John Andrews missing his mother bombards his exhausted father with questions Brenda brings friends to Hatton for two weekends subsequently feeling guilty she hopes Tony will develop an interest in her new friend Jenny Abdul abbar a free-spirited but Pleasant woman who was once married to a black man however Tony finds her tiresome one day while Brenda is away typically a hunting event is organized in the Hatton Forest John Andrew knowing how to ride a pony is allowed to attend after the hunt starts he is sent home under Ben's Care on the way back Miss ribbon's unruly horse gets scared rears up and Strikes Jon with its hoof the boy falls into a ditch and dies jock Grant menes who witnessed the hunting accident travels to London to inform Brenda about her son's death Brenda attending a party at the time is devastated by the news after the funeral she quickly leaves Hatton and writes Tony a letter from London declaring that she won't return that she loves beaver and that she wants a divorce to protect Brenda's reputation he negotiates The Divorce by pretending he was unfaithful and agreeing to pay her a yearly stipend Tony needs witnesses to his supposed Affair so he hires Millie a bar girl and goes with her to Brighton followed by detectives Millie brings her daughter who constantly annoys him back in London Tony has a tense conversation with Brenda's brother Reggie who demands alimony twice what Tony can afford and for which Tony would have to sell hton complicating matters the detective's testimony is worthless since Millie's daughter was present in Tony's room invalidating the affair Tony tells Brenda he will finalize the divorce upon his return from his travels but clarifies that he will not provide her with any Financial allowance Tony decides to escape and joins an expedition to Brazil in search of A Lost Civilization on his journey Tony is accompanied by Dr messenger a young researcher during their Voyage to South America Tony meets Teresa d vitri a girl returning to Trinidad after studying in Paris for 2 years they have a brief affair but Teresa loses interest upon discovering Tony is married after landing in Brazil Tony and Dr messenger intera with local Indians enduring swarms of insects while hoping for guidance to the Lost shining City the Indians build boats for them but abandon them after delivering them to the edge of the pwe tribes territory Tony and Dr messenger continue Downstream alone Tony Falls ill with a high fever and becomes unconscious for many days the inept doctor messenger Ventures alone to seek help but drowns in a waterfall Tony makes it to an Indian village where he meets Mr Todd an old Englishman who loves hearing books read aloud Mr Todd claims to be ill literate but owns a Charles Dickens collection left by his missionary father he leads a small indigenous tribe in the Amazon Mr Todd nurses Tony back to health but forces him to stay and read aloud the books constantly Tony has lived in Todd's Hut for nearly a year one day Mr Todd drugs Tony and upon waking informs him that he told some European Searchers that Tony had died giving them Tony's watch as proof trapped Tony realizes he will spend the rest of his life in the village in England news of Tony's official death results in heton Abby passing to his cousins meanwhile Brenda is abandoned by beaver when he realizes Tony wouldn't provide a financial settlement in the divorce Brenda believing herself a widow marries jock Grant meny while Tony will leave hon Abby to his relatives the remaining members of the last family gather at Hatton where they have built a memorial for Tony on the estate Teddy one of the relatives looks over his family with pride and affection hoping to one day restore Hatton to the glory it had during Tony's time let's analyze a handful of dust a handful of dust explores the parallel decline of a marriage and a fragment of English society highlighting post World War I changes in England Tony clings to his ancestral estate while Brenda is drawn to the modern Allure of London Tony's complacency and his outdated lifestyle leaves him unprepared for his son's death and his wife's betrayal in an attempt to reinvent himself as a daring Adventurer Tony loses control of both his estate and his freedom Brenda's pursuit of sexual Liberation proves unsustainable as she struggles with the burden of self-support after leaving her marriage through concise dialogue and sharp descriptions W depicts a world lacking Duty and commitment where life and death barely disturb the docel surface of a complacent Society affluent londoners sympathize with the manipulative Brenda and blame the hurt Tony for their troubles Tony Tony's helplessness and passive complicity contribute to his own downfall Brenda ruthlessly pursues her own goals of wealth and pleasure indifferent to her son's death and her husband's heartbreak conceited and Petty she prioritizes her own happiness Above All Else John Andrew her son and even Beaver her lover are quickly forgotten as she dreams of a new life one she couldn't have with Tony Brenda's infatuation with London's superficial glamour is obvious in her affair with John beaver her shallowness is clear when she barely Mourns her son's death and quickly leaves Tony for her lover when Tony is presumed dead Brenda finds herself neither divorced nor widowed with John Beaver more interested in her money than in her Tony representing a civilized Englishman is contrasted with the Primal self-indulgence of Brenda and the crass Aristocrat lady cockp purse who enjoy hedonistic indulgences without accepting the responsibilities of their privileged status Tony lasts treasured ancestral home hon Abbey is an outdated car bungle from a dim era in British history rebuilt in 1864 in the gothic style the county guide book now dismisses it as devoid of interest each bedroom has a brass bedstead and a mural of Gothic text with names taken from Sir Thomas mallerie's Lort de Arthur Tony has slept in the Morgan Lefay room since he left the nursery while his wife Brenda occupies the gwi room heton Abby exemplifies the futility of modernizing a historical Relic to meet contemporary yard sticks which it cannot uphold Tony who is never happy away from hetton is like a jailbird in his own home his love for it is so intense that Brenda mocks him as madly feudal ridiculing both him and his beloved house Tony's attempts to modernized haton are as useless as previous efforts to change it from a medieval Catholic Abbey to a Victorian Gothic Revival leaving it and Tony himself devoid of any authentic individuality both relics out of time Tony last was excessively attached to the Past he felt pretty bored at hetton but knew he couldn't find Joy elsewhere he had developed a habit of loving and trusting Brenda and of staying at hon rarely leaving even for brief visits to Old Friends while Tony clung to the past with the King Arthur themed rooms Brenda wanted to modernize them with a trendier style Tony's desperate hold on the past ultimately led to his destruction him and he only came to Value his freedom after he had lost it Tony last embodies the Lost religious faith of English society Tony loves churchgoing and adheres to religious practices as part of the venerable heton tradition a refuge from the modern world his faith though sincere is more about tradition than true Christian belief the landed gentry including Tony exemplify the upper class's holliness and pretense they attend church but ignore sermons recycled from the ministers colonial days for them liturgy is just part of their gential lifestyle as Tony goes through the motions of worship his thoughts drift often to practical concerns like adding more bathrooms to Hatton Brenda's immorality and indifference to her son's death along with her affair with Beaver reflect W's disillusionment with modern sensibilities that discard Traditional Values and are devoid of faith when Brenda doesn't get the divorce settlement she expected her lover leaves to find purpose Tony Journeys to the Amazon the jungle he becomes lost and symbolizes the meaninglessness of a life without God he falls into Oblivion unmissed and unremembered by those from his former life hope you comment share and subscribe for more videos