A Family Affair: `We see the outside world as the enemy'

Interviews by Sophie Black

Alexander Waugh, 38, and his sister Daisy Waugh, 36, are both journalists and authors who have recently published works of non- fiction and fiction respectively. Their grandfather was the novelist Evelyn Waugh; their father, the political columnist and critic Auberon Waugh, died a year ago. Alexander lives in Somerset with his wife and three children. Daisy lives in London with her husband and two children

Alexander

There are four children in our family and we are all very close. Daisy and I became really close in our teens - when we stopped playing games and had conversations instead. I suppose I made Daisy laugh when she was feeling down. She's bloody good at making me laugh, too. She's the most cheerful person; when she's in a funny mood, she can radiate that sunlight to all around her.

When I'm in London, I tend to use her wonderful spare bedroom. I suppose we see the outside world as the enemy, rather than each other. More than protective, it's supportive. Daisy, Sophie and I have similar careers in that we all write. We're all good at supporting each other when we're down, and not gloating too much when things are going well.

There's no competitiveness between us. I loved Daisy's book, but I would never have written it. Similarly, Daisy would never have written a biography of God. So there's no rivalry. There is a gloating element among the media. Like with my father, in the way they suggested that he was just a pale imitation of his father; it has continued over the generations. The show isn't over just because Papa died. In a way, we joined forces because of it. It's all rather odd and slightly emotional. We adored our father. He was very warm and friendly and a good, proud father.

I did almost everything I could not to become a writer. I read music at Manchester, was a record producer, and tried my hand at cartooning and illustrating among other things. In the end, though, whenever I wrote anything, people liked it. I was sucked back into writing. Daisy wanted to write from the start and was keen on journalism. She did things prodigiously young, book reviews when she was 12 and 13.

It's not that Daisy resents the Waugh connection, it's that she gets frustrated when all anyone can ask her about is what it's like to come from this famous family. It gives the false impression that we sit around boasting about our illustrious ancestors. It's quite the opposite; we're dying to talk about anything different. In many ways writing is a lonely profession; then you put it out and the lions come to feed on it.

We do read each other's work. People don't read mine so much because it's about Time and God and things like that. I don't take any offence. They certainly read parts and are very nice about it. Daisy's book takes in everything, really - life, humour, fighting, loving - everything except God, which I've dealt with in my book. Take them both together and you've got the secrets of the universe.

There is an area in which we're furiously competitive, and that's on the tennis court. We're pretty damned equal and have these silent, sweaty games where we can't look one another in the eye. We're very competitive at tennis, but it doesn't spill over in to writing at all: I don't see myself in competition with either my sister or my ancestors. But when it comes to tennis, I want to smash them all to smithereens.

Daisy

Alexander was quite naughty when we were growing up and it was exciting when I was allowed to join in his adventures. I would say that we are real allies. Any enemy of his is an enemy of mine. We annoy people, I think. We make enemies sometimes, which I makes us more protective of each other. It's partly because of the family name, but also because we've got quite big mouths.

Alexander did try to avoid writing at first. I've always loved writing; I've never, ever wanted to do anything else. It's quite claustrophobic working in a field where there is such a well- travelled past, but in the end, the cons are outweighed by how much I love it.

I remember our family shouting a lot. Not in a bad way, more just to get a word in. Everyone wanted to be heard. There was a lot of teasing if people started being pretentious. I think I get rattier than the others about the whole Waugh legacy in the media. We're just fighting our own past, like everyone else. We do what we do in the best way we can. I hate people thinking they know more about my family than I do. I'm just an irritable person, I guess.

Our books are so completely different, it would be interesting to sit in a bookshop and see if anyone would buy both of them at the same time. I'm delighted for Alexander when I read good reviews. He has read my book, but I haven't got around to reading his yet. It was lovely to have a joint book launch. Writers can be quite a competitive bunch, so it was nice to know there was one genuine ally there.

My relationship with Alexander is quite equal. Of course, there are areas in which we agree not to try to understand each other. For instance, he just doesn't understand me going to the gym. His old- fashionedness and my slightly glib modernity don't quite work together, either. But other than that, we're really very similar. We're quite combative, quite ambitious and we like to laugh about it all. We've had a lot of good times together.

Alexander is one of my best friends and advisers. We ring each other a lot about plots, and who to count as new enemies. And yes, I won the last tennis match. Don't believe him if he tells you otherwise. It's always close, but I came out on top.

`God', by Alexander Waugh, is published by Headline, pounds 18.99

`The New You Survival Kit', by Daisy Waugh, is published by HarperCollins, pounds 5.99

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