Nanny tells them that Sebastian’s sister, Julia, will be home for tea, but Sebastian insists that he and Charles must leave and they hurry away before Julia arrives. Charles thinks the house is beautiful and is curious about Sebastian’s family. Soon after, Sebastian takes Charles on his first visit to Brideshead to meet his nanny, Nanny Hawkins, who still lives in the house and who is like a mother to Sebastian. At this lunch, Charles also meets Anthony Blanche, a friend of Sebastian’s, who is infamous on campus for his unconventional behavior and his theatrical personality. The next day, Sebastian invites Charles for lunch to apologize, and the two become close friends and fall in love. Charles meets Sebastian one night when Sebastian gets drunk and is sick in Charles’s room. The Marchmain family is Catholic, and Sebastian’s mother, Lady Marchmain, is known to be especially devout. There, he meets Sebastian Flyte, the son of the wealthy English lord, Lord Marchmain, the owner of Brideshead. As Charles wanders around the property, he is overcome with memories from his past.Ĭharles first comes to Brideshead as a first-year student at Oxford University.

It has been converted into an army barracks and much of its décor has been destroyed. It is a beautiful country house called Brideshead, and he has been there many times before.

When they arrive, Charles recognizes the house. Charles is bored and disillusioned with war when he hears that the company must move again, to another location in England. They have seen little action and have spent most of their time in army camps, which are set up in abandoned country houses in the English countryside. His company has not been deployed overseas, and they wait in England for news of their destination. In 1943, Charles Ryder is a Commander in the British Army during World War II.

Brideshead revisited chapters