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"Decline and Fall" is a novel by Evelyn Waugh, which made him get rid of the misnomer of "Miss Evelyn Waugh" and became a household name in the UK. Paul, a seminary student, was expelled from school for "indecent" behavior and was forced to work as a teacher at the public school Helanleba Castle. At a school sports meeting, Paul met Mrs. Bicester-Chitting, a beautiful, wealthy and widowed student parent, and soon fell in love and became engaged to her. However, he was imprisoned on suspicion of trafficking in white slaves. Just when we thought Paul was going to spend his whole life in prison, something unexpected happened and Paul turned out to be his distant cousin. More than any other novel of its time, "Decline and Fall" embodies the return of the comic-like novel form in 1920s literature, providing the most ideal way to deal with the collapse of values ​​and disorder in the postwar world. What we see in it is the victory of barbarism and the superficiality, hypocrisy and decline of order.

The book was inspired by Evelyn Waugh's experience as a war correspondent in Albania. The male protagonist of the novel, William Butt, is a columnist for "The Daily Beast". He lives in seclusion in the countryside far away from London, and lives a peaceful life without fighting against the world. Lord Copper, the owner of the newspaper, mistook William Butt for John Butt, a popular novelist who was eager to escape life in London. William was sent to the fictional East African country of Ishmaelia by mistake, as a war correspondent to report on the raging civil war there. Although William Butt knew nothing about journalism, he was lucky enough to always get blessings in disguise. His simple personality and wise and foolish way of doing things allowed him to deal with fellow reporters, first love girlfriend, consulates of various countries, President Ishmaelia, the Information Bureau, local celebrities and other forces with ease, and skillfully obtained "exclusive news" at the first time. William, who finally completed the mission successfully, transferred all the credit to his uncle Theodore and returned to his pastoral life.