1935- . British novelist, short-story writer,
playwright, and critic. Much of his fiction
concerns the role of Catholicism in mid-20th-
century England, exploring the situation both
through broad comedy and parody, as in The
British Museum is Falling Down 1967, and
realistically, as in How Far Can You Go?
1980. His other works include Changing Places
1975 and its sequel Small World 1984, both
satirical `campus' novels; Nice Work 1988,
which was short-listed for the Booker prize;
and the play, The Writing Game 1990.