"The sight of duty does make one shiver," said Miss Herrick. "The actual doing of it would kill one, I think."

Ever anxious to keep up appearances, self-avowed intellectual and scholar Nicholas Herrick knows that to involve himself in the running of his own school would be a condescension too far. Assembling around himself a cast of fittingly fawning friends and aides, he sets about unveiling his final masterpiece. Described in contemporary reviews as "a work of genius," Pastors and Masters inaugurated the writing career of an author gifted with a rare skill for characterization and for wry portrayals of domestic scenes.

Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884-1969) was a celebrated English novelist noted for her wit and sardonic style, and a recipient of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Her other titles include A House and Its Head and Manservant and Maidservant. Sue Townsend is a novelist and playwright best known for the hugely popular Adrian Mole series.