JAMES  DELINGPOLE'S THIRD novel is about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. But for all the modernity of its subject matter, its format is rather tradtional: it is a comedy of manners, and a sharp, honest and extremely finny one at that.

Josh Devereux has arrived at Christ Church, Oxford, with a tweed suit and a multitude of insecurities. He feels the burden of Brideshead more than most, drinking the same cocktails as Anthony Blanche and aspiring so persistently to join the Old Etonian set that, when he returns home, he can't