‘What I meant was, what does the company do? What is British Albion in aid of?’

It was a very good question. For sure, British Albion was a comfortable billet for Clement Bryce, but before long he realises there is something very odd afoot. Why do the telephones never ring, and why are there so many forms circulating from one department to the next?

Bryce has been a clerk all his life, and has no ambition at all. But even he begins to feel that the complete lack of anything approaching real work at his new company is quite peculiar. And soon he finds that some of his colleagues share his curiosity about the true purpose of the company that employs them.

Originally published in 1978, Office Life is both a hilarious satire on corporate culture and an intriguing mystery set in the nine-to-five world. Before the 80s Greed is Good culture kicked in, this was work as it was known in the UK. Keith Waterhouse was a foremost satirist of the late 20th Century, and in this novel he skewers the monotony and tedium, the backstabbing and flirting of office culture with customary brilliance.

Praise for Office Life:

‘A fine book, from an author full of wit and good nature’ – Melvyn Bragg, Punch

‘Keith Waterhouse is one of the few great writers of our time…he is not only among the funniest, he is also among the wittiest and most observant’ – Auberon Waugh

Keith Waterhouse was one of the most successful writers of mid-century Britain. Born in Leeds in 1929, the son of a costermonger, he worked first at the Yorkshire Post before moving to London, where he began a long career at the Daily Mirror. He published a number of titles, including Billy Liar and the hilarious Theory and Practice of Lunch. He wrote the script for hit play Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell and for many films, including Whistle Down the Wind. During his time at the Mirror he campaigned against the colour bar in Britain as well as other liberal causes. He died in 2009 at his home in London.