‘ Why should I not publish my diary? I have often seen reminiscences of people I have never even heard of and I fail to see-because I do not happen to be a “Somebody” -why my diary should not be interesting. ’The spoof diary of a lower-middle-class London clerk, The Diary of a Nobody was first serialized in the legendary magazine of humour and satire, Punch, in 1888-89. It was published as a book in 1892 and has never been out of print since. This comic masterpiece-which details the doings of the ridiculously pompous and accident-prone Charles Pooter, his wife Carrie and their troublesome son Lupin-has been a source of delight to generations of readers and inspired many celebrated writers, from J.B. Priestley and Evelyn Waugh to Helen Fielding and Sue Townsend.