Hardcover. London, Chapman & Hall, 1st, 1938, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, publisher's red and black marble-patterned cloth, lettered in gilt to spine. Scoop is a humorous novel in which Waugh satirizes foreign correspondence and sensational journalism. Specifically, it tells the story of William Boot, an inexperienced journalist and author of a nature column for The Beast. This real life reporter was identified as Lord Deeds. Boot is mistakenly identified as his novelist cousin and sent to the fictional East African country of Ishmaelia to cover its socialist insurrection. Ironically, Boot's naivete allows him to get the real "scoop" not reported by more experienced journalists. Notably, Scoop is based on Waugh's own experiences working as a journalist for the British Daily Mail during Mussolini's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia. Clean, square copy.