John Crace is the Guardian's parliamentary sketch writer and author of the ‘Digested Read’ columns. He is the author of I Never Promised you a Rose Garden: A short guide to modern politics, the coalition and the general election and also Baby Alarm: A Neurotic’s Guide to Fatherhood, Vertigo: One Football Fan's Fear of Success , Harry's Games: Inside the Mind of Harry Redknapp, Brideshead Abbreviated: the Digested Read of the Twentieth Century and The Digested Twenty-first Century. He lives in London.

"A swift kick up the backside to some of modern literature's most iconic works. Accurate, merciless and very, very funny" -- Sarah Waters "I've read all these books at least twice - and now I've read John Crace's digested versions I wonder why I bothered" -- Will Self "A genius and a madman. The meanest, funniest parodist alive" -- Joanna Briscoe "For the last 10 years [Crace's] 'Digested Reads' have been reason enough to buy the Guardian. Taking a well-known novel, he gives a brief distillation of the plot while capturing - often perfectly - the tone of its author. At the same time, he jabs a sharpened elbow into their pomposities and limitations" Spectator "Beautifully observed and poisonously cruel ... laugh-out-loud funny" The Lady

John Crace is the Guardian's parliamentary sketch writer and author of the ‘Digested Read’ columns. He is the author of I Never Promised you a Rose Garden: A short guide to modern politics, the coalition and the general election and also Baby Alarm: A Neurotic’s Guide to Fatherhood, Vertigo: One Football Fan's Fear of Success , Harry's Games: Inside the Mind of Harry Redknapp, Brideshead Abbreviated: the Digested Read of the Twentieth Century and The Digested Twenty-first Century. He lives in London.

"A swift kick up the backside to some of modern literature's most iconic works. Accurate, merciless and very, very funny" -- Sarah Waters "I've read all these books at least twice - and now I've read John Crace's digested versions I wonder why I bothered" -- Will Self "A genius and a madman. The meanest, funniest parodist alive" -- Joanna Briscoe "For the last 10 years [Crace's] 'Digested Reads' have been reason enough to buy the Guardian. Taking a well-known novel, he gives a brief distillation of the plot while capturing - often perfectly - the tone of its author. At the same time, he jabs a sharpened elbow into their pomposities and limitations" Spectator "Beautifully observed and poisonously cruel ... laugh-out-loud funny" The Lady