She rhymes with Topeka .....

When I get to bogged down with heavy classical reading, it seems some Muse, perhaps Clio or Melponeme, gives me guerdon by letting me discover a delightful novel as a respite from the heavier classical reading. This has happened over the years as I discovered novels like The Prisoner of Zenda, Scaramouch, Mysterious Island, A Tramp Abroad, and Camille. Now I have discovered a delightful book yclept Zuleika Dobson, or an Oxford Romance, the essayist and caracturist Max Beerbohm's only novel. It is original and delightful. I won't tell you anything about it because I don't want to spoil a single sentence for you. I'll just say it's a book everyone should read because of its uniqueness. A love story, yet a satire. Those who have read it, please post without giving away any secrets. Those who haven't, rush to your library or Amazon.com, get it, and read it.

I've heard mention of this novel before but never got round to reading it. You've persuaded me. It'll be next on my reading list. Thanks.

You'll love Zuleika. Since Beerbohm went to Oxford, he was able to write a satire which is some of the funniest stuff I've ever read. Graduating from Oxford just made it all the better.

Zuleika is a one-off - I read it years ago and was disappointed to find Beerbohm didn't write another in the same vein, it was such a rich source of wicked humour.