Why Not Catch 21? is an expansion on Gary Dexter's long-running Sunday Telegraph column. Each of its fifty chapters focuses on the origins of one of the great titles of world literature, presenting a bite-sized piece of literary history, with fascinating details of the work's genesis and composition. The emphasis is on titles that are literally inexplicable without this background knowledge. Do you know: What was Wordsworth's Prelude a prelude to? Who was the original Jeeves? Why A Clockwork Orange and not A Robot Banana ? These questions and more are explored in Why Not Catch 21? It's a book that any lover of literature will enjoy and a perfect companion to A Book Addict's Treasury published by Frances Lincoln (ISBN: 0711226857, $16.95).