"I opened my mouth to launch into a defence of the study of literature," he begins, then realises it is a hopeless task. "I was not eager to return to the university because I thought my research would be of any use, to myself, or to others. All human activity was useless, but some kinds were more pleasant than others. The Army had taught me that much philosophy. There was no such thing as communication operating over the whole of society. In fact, there was no such thing as society: just a collection of little self-contained boxes, roped untidily together and set adrift to float aimlessly on the waters of time, the occupants of each box convinced that theirs was the most important box, heedless of the claims of the rest."

It is a bleaker vision than Lady Thatcher's but not so very different: Lodge saw us as autonomous individuals, Lady Thatcher worried about us depending on the State to provide for our every need. There is a clear connection between her vision and David Cameron's idea of the Big Society, which has not perhaps been sufficiently appreciated. But if the Prime Minister can find the time to read Lodge's witty and still fresh novel, it might cure him of the notion of introducing some form of non-military National Service, as he promised before the election. He has been curiously reticent about it ever since.