Briefs Encountered is quite as hilarious, clever, stylish, charming and wickedly witty as Noel Coward... It would easier to stab a puppy or slap a baby than to dislike such an utterly lovable book.'

Julian Clary is a smart and as funny as ever...a delicious airy treat

So clever, so funny, so romantic, and scary too. I don't know how she does it!

So funny ... Clary switches effortlessly between eras and demonstrates an inspired eye for comic detail.

Clary has produced a surprisingly complex, artfully constructed and mostly very convincing novel, which isn’t bogged down by its intelligence or his obvious research. Indeed, it’s all dressed up in delightfully accessible, sharp prose that’s full of gags.

He handles words like a great poet

He comes near to defying all criticism

A creature of pure light and joy

A comic genius recognised in his lifetime as a classic and an old master of farce

The funniest writer ever to put words to paper