As a part of my cunning plan to remain thoroughly up-to-date and modern, I have plunged into the works of P.G. Wodehouse, starting with a series concerning the butler Jeeves and idly rich air-head, Bertie Wooster. Wodehouse, a prolific writer, is not only a master of the comic short story plot, he has a particular gift for dialogue and an aptness of phrase that becomes immediately memorable.

There is nothing daunting or serious about this kind of writing, except that it is very clever and also very funny. It is also a little window into Edwardian and Georgian London, the rigid class structure and the conceits of those who possess more money than moral sense. The latter abound with comic regularity and are, often as not, bailed out by their social inferiors. The butler saves the day.

Wodehouse was interned during World War 2 (wrong place, wrong time) and faced a good deal of opprobrium when he broadcast a series of 'life in internment' pieces from Germany. Intended as light entertainment, he was shocked to find himself labelled a traitor, oblivious to the idea that the Nazi's would use his work as propaganda. But he was rehabilitated later in life and is highly regarded as a satirical writer.