Famous works - in a nutshell!

An irreverent look at some of the world's most famous literary titles. To skip the list and read the background, Click HERE.

The Arts & Books section of the Daily Telegraph once ran a weekly competition to see who could come up with the wittiest or most unusual synopsis of a well-known literary title.

Each week, readers were given a theme or author from which to make their own choice. The only rule was to keep within 100 words.

OK, so it's a big ego trip, but I soon became hooked on this weekly diversion. One entry is Thackeray's  Vanity Fair, so you'll see where my  motivation comes from. Even so, I do believe the discipline of condensing any subject into just 100 words is something all aspiring writers should be able to meet.

My thanks to editor David Johnson for supplying me with the occasional bottle of Dom Perignon 85 (a classic in its own right) to encourage my efforts.

Below is the list of entries, presented alphabetically though the nutshells themselves are in weekly order of submission. Most, not all, are classics. One or two are complete crap.

Some contain topical references that may now be lost (Who remembers Nancy Kerrigan and Tonia Harding? or John Major for that matter?). Still, I hope you gain as much enjoyment from reading these as I had from writing them.

Feel free to click through to AMAZON with an order. Most links will take you to a UK paperback version but for North American readers there's often a link to recommended hardback versions from Amazon.com.