Mrs. Stitch
Encyclopedia
Mrs. Algernon Stitch, more familiarly known as Julia Stitch, is a character created by Evelyn Waugh
, best known for her role in the novel Scoop
. The character was inspired by Waugh's friendship with the well-connected socialite, Lady Diana Cooper
.
Mrs. Stitch appears as a "fixer", a well-connected member of British, and especially London society, who can make things happen for people. This activity is known to all as "The Stitch Service". In Scoop, she is asked to find employment for a novelist by the name of Boot, and arranges for him to be sent as a journalist to cover a revolution in Africa. Due to a mixup, the unrelated, and quite hapless William Boot
is sent instead. When he returns triumphant, the accolades go instead to the first Boot, who did nothing to deserve them, allowing William to return to his peaceful life writing articles about the British countryside.
In the Sword of Honour
trilogy, Mrs. Stitch appears briefly helping Guy Crouchback recover from his ordeal in Africa.
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
, best known for her role in the novel Scoop
Scoop (novel)
Scoop is a 1938 novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, a satire of sensationalist journalism and foreign correspondence.-Plot:William Boot, a young man who lives in genteel poverty far from the iniquities of London, is contributor of nature notes to Lord Copper's Beast, a national newspaper...
. The character was inspired by Waugh's friendship with the well-connected socialite, Lady Diana Cooper
Lady Diana Cooper
Lady Diana Cooper, Viscountess Norwich was an English socialite and actress.-Birth and youth:Born Lady Diana Olivia Winifred Maud Manners, she was officially the youngest daughter of the 8th Duke of Rutland and his wife, the former Violet Lindsay, but Lady Diana's real father was widely supposed...
.
Mrs. Stitch appears as a "fixer", a well-connected member of British, and especially London society, who can make things happen for people. This activity is known to all as "The Stitch Service". In Scoop, she is asked to find employment for a novelist by the name of Boot, and arranges for him to be sent as a journalist to cover a revolution in Africa. Due to a mixup, the unrelated, and quite hapless William Boot
William Boot
William Boot is a fictional journalist who is the protagonist in the 1938 Evelyn Waugh comic novel Scoop.-Character:Boot is the young author of a regular column on country life for a London newspaper named the Daily Beast; his affected style is typified in the notorious sentence "Feather-footed...
is sent instead. When he returns triumphant, the accolades go instead to the first Boot, who did nothing to deserve them, allowing William to return to his peaceful life writing articles about the British countryside.
In the Sword of Honour
Sword of Honour
The Sword of Honour trilogy by Evelyn Waugh is his look at the Second World War. It consists of three novels, Men at Arms , Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender , which loosely parallel his wartime experiences...
trilogy, Mrs. Stitch appears briefly helping Guy Crouchback recover from his ordeal in Africa.