Waugh, Alec (Alexander Raban) (1898–1981)

English novelist, the brother of Evelyn Waugh. His first novel, The Loom of Youth (1917), was a realistic story of school life containing controversial references to homosexuality.

Waugh travelled widely, and from his experiences of the West Indies came his best-selling novel of sexual passion, Island in the Sun (1956).

Waugh was born in London, educated at Sherborne public school and Sandhurst military academy, and took part in both world wars. The Early Years of Alec Waugh (1962), My Brother Evelyn and Other Profiles (1967), and The Best Wine Last (1978) are autobiographical. Other later works are A Spy in the Family: An Erotic Comedy (1970) and A Year to Remember: A Reminiscence of 1931 (1975).