Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews June 9, 2023 June 2, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
Charles’s second year at Oxford begins somberly, without the sense of adventure of his first. A number of deans lecture Sebastian, warning him that he’ll be expelled if he doesn’t improve. He begins leaving Aloysius in his room. Sebastian and Charles spend all their time together, dropping their other friends. Meanwhile, Charles begins studying art.
Lady Marchmain comes to Oxford to meet with Mr. Samgrass, a history don, whom she has asked to help her create a memorial book of her brother. She invites Charles to visit Brideshead around Christmas. A week later, Julia visits with a man named Rex Mottram, a young Canadian with a burgeoning political career. He asks Charles, Sebastian, and Mulcaster to a party of Julia’s. The three go to the Marchmain House in London to prepare. The party gets off to a dull start, and Mulcaster wants to go to a nightclub instead. Charles and Sebastian leave with Mulcaster, who insists on taking a car.
At the nightclub, a pair of women invite the men to their place. Despite being drunk, Sebastian insists on driving and nearly collides with another car, attracting police attention. The police arrest Mulcaster, Sebastian, and Charles. Sebastian suggests they call Rex, who works to mitigate their sentences. Rex advises Charles and Mulcaster to plead guilty and beg the judge not to ruin their careers over a youthful mistake. Mottram’s advice serves Charles and Mulcaster well, and they get off with a fine. Sebastian has a more difficult case because of his drunk driving. He wants to run away because of the fuss but also gets off on a fine. At Oxford, Mr. Samgrass negotiates with the deans so that the boys only face being confined to their college grounds at night.
Over Christmas break, Lady Marchmain attempts to bring Charles into her confidence, but Charles doesn’t wish to become closer to her because he worries about Sebastian. Since the Marchmains have accepted Charles, Charles has become part of what Sebastian wishes to escape. After two weeks, Sebastian wants to leave Brideshead. They go to Charles’s father’s house in London, which Sebastian enjoys.
Back at Oxford, Sebastian’s behavior worsens. He’s only happy when drunk. Charles realizes that while his own drunkenness just serves as pleasurable excess, Sebastian uses drinking to escape.
Charles goes to Brideshead for Easter. Sebastian fakes being sick while secretly drinking in his room. Charles checks on Sebastian before dinner and puts him to bed. Sebastian pulls out some whiskey and gets furious at Charles when he tries to stop him from drinking. Charles promises to lie for him. Lady Marchmain wants to check on Sebastian, but Cordelia goes instead. She reveals that Sebastian’s drunk.
Please wait while we process your payment