"It is the peculiar temper of Firbank's humour which divides him from the nineties. His raw material, allowing for the inevitable changes of fashion, is almost identical with Oscar Wilde's β the lives of rich, slightly decadent people seen against a background of traditional culture, grand opera, the picture galleries and the Court; but Wilde's was at heart radically sentimental. His wit is ornamental; Firbank's is structural. Wilde is rococo; Firbank is baroque."
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Evelyn Waugh, 'Ronald Firbank', Life and Letters (March 1929), quoted in The Essays, Articles and Reviews of Evelyn Waugh, ed. Donat Gallagher (1983), pp. 56-57
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ronald_Firbank
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Ronald Firbank
Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank (17 January 1886 β 21 May 1926) was an English novelist and playwright. His works have long enjoyed a cult success, and were a formative influence on the styles of Evelyn Waugh and Anthony Powell.
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