A Strong Man Needed

The first novel by this English journalist and short-story writer, a rather self-consciously "madcap" satire: the jacket blurb promises "amazing swoops of cuckoo fun and general insanities, and at the same time grand satire and a healthy if absurd romance." The wackiness centers around the Cadwallows, who in addition to being "one of the noblest and nuttiest families in England" also happen to be teetering on the brink of impoverishment. Potential salvation from their financial plight arrives in...