Paula Byrne was born in Birkenhead and has a PhD from the University of Liverpool, where she is a Research Fellow in English Literature. Her first book, ‘Jane Austen and the Theatre’, was shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize. Her second book, ‘Perdita’, was a Richard and Judy bookclub pick. A regular contributor to the ‘Times Literary Supplement’, she lives in Warwickshire with her two young children and her husband, the critic and biographer Jonathan Bate.

'Byrne's gift as a writer is her ability to combine scholarship with turbo-driven narrative power. "Mad World" is vibrant, absorbing, stranger than fiction' Sunday Times 'Paula Byrne has written a highly accomplished book about the family that came to inspire the Flytes of Brideshead ... a marvellous book, warm, witty, and enormously readable' Daily Telegraph 'Paula Byrne is the latest to explore the people and the story that inspired the book, and she does so with acuity and panache ... a lively introduction to Waugh and to Brideshead' Observer '"Mad World" is full of fascinating anecdotes ... Paula Byrne has produced a strong and romantic book that is at once a touching story of deep friendships, an astute piece of literary criticism and an important contribution to the canon of Waugh biography" Alexander Waugh, Literary Review '[A] gripping account of Evelyn Waugh's life' Philip Hoare 'vibrant, absorbing and stranger than fiction' 'Byrne's gift as a writer is her ability to combine scholarship with turbo-driven narrative power. "Mad World" is vibrant, absorbing, stranger than fiction' Sunday Times 'Paula Byrne has written a highly accomplished book about the family that came to inspire the Flytes of Brideshead ... a marvellous book, warm, witty, and enormously readable' Daily Telegraph 'Paula Byrne is the latest to explore the people and the story that inspired the book, and she does so with acuity and panache ... a lively introduction to Waugh and to Brideshead' Observer '"Mad World" is full of fascinating anecdotes ... Paula Byrne has produced a strong and romantic book that is at once a touching story of deep friendships, an astute piece of literary criticism and an important contribution to the canon of Waugh biography" Alexander Waugh, Literary Review '[A] gripping account of Evelyn Waugh's life' Philip Hoare 'vibrant, absorbing and stranger than fiction' The Sunday Times

Paula Byrne was born in Birkenhead and has a PhD from the University of Liverpool, where she is a Research Fellow in English Literature. Her first book, ‘Jane Austen and the Theatre’, was shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize. Her second book, ‘Perdita’, was a Richard and Judy bookclub pick. A regular contributor to the ‘Times Literary Supplement’, she lives in Warwickshire with her two young children and her husband, the critic and biographer Jonathan Bate.

'Byrne's gift as a writer is her ability to combine scholarship with turbo-driven narrative power. "Mad World" is vibrant, absorbing, stranger than fiction' Sunday Times 'Paula Byrne has written a highly accomplished book about the family that came to inspire the Flytes of Brideshead ... a marvellous book, warm, witty, and enormously readable' Daily Telegraph 'Paula Byrne is the latest to explore the people and the story that inspired the book, and she does so with acuity and panache ... a lively introduction to Waugh and to Brideshead' Observer '"Mad World" is full of fascinating anecdotes ... Paula Byrne has produced a strong and romantic book that is at once a touching story of deep friendships, an astute piece of literary criticism and an important contribution to the canon of Waugh biography" Alexander Waugh, Literary Review '[A] gripping account of Evelyn Waugh's life' Philip Hoare 'vibrant, absorbing and stranger than fiction' 'Byrne's gift as a writer is her ability to combine scholarship with turbo-driven narrative power. "Mad World" is vibrant, absorbing, stranger than fiction' Sunday Times 'Paula Byrne has written a highly accomplished book about the family that came to inspire the Flytes of Brideshead ... a marvellous book, warm, witty, and enormously readable' Daily Telegraph 'Paula Byrne is the latest to explore the people and the story that inspired the book, and she does so with acuity and panache ... a lively introduction to Waugh and to Brideshead' Observer '"Mad World" is full of fascinating anecdotes ... Paula Byrne has produced a strong and romantic book that is at once a touching story of deep friendships, an astute piece of literary criticism and an important contribution to the canon of Waugh biography" Alexander Waugh, Literary Review '[A] gripping account of Evelyn Waugh's life' Philip Hoare 'vibrant, absorbing and stranger than fiction' The Sunday Times