Enemies of Promise

Enemies of Promise is a critical and autobiographical work by English writer Cyril Connolly published in 1938, later enlarged when it was first reprinted in 1948. Together with The Unquiet Grave (1944), it is one of the two books for which the author is mainly remembered.

It comprises three parts, the first dedicated to Connolly's observations about English literature and the English literary world of his time, the second a list of adverse elements that affect the ability to be a good writer and the last an account of Connolly's early life. The overarching theme of the book is the search for understanding why Connolly, though he was widely recognised as a leading man of letters and a highly distinguished critic, failed to produce a major work of literature.