INTRODUCED BY MAVIS CHEEK''I''m a huge fan of Barbara Pym'' Richard Osman''She is the rarest of treasures; she reminds us of the heartbreaking silliness of everyday life'' Anne TylerTogether yet alone, the Misses Bede occupy the central crossroads of parish life. Harriet, plump, elegant and jolly, likes nothing better than to make a fuss of new curates, secure in the knowledge that Count Ricardo Bianco will propose to her yet again this year. Belinda, meanwhile, has harboured sober feelings of devotion towards Archdeacon Hoccleve for thirty years. Then into their quiet, comfortable lives comes a famous librarian, Nathaniel Mold, and a bishop from Africa, Theodore Grote - who each takes to calling on the sisters for rather more unsettling reasons. ''Some Tame Gazelle is my personal favourite for its sparkling high comedy and its treasury of characters ... [Pym] makes me smile, laugh out loud, consider my own foibles and fantasies, and, above all, suffer real regret when I reach the final page. Of how many authors can you honestly say that?'' MAVIS CHEEK