''Number Nine: Or, The Mindsweepers'' is a 1951

comedy novel A comic novel is a Novel, novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's liter ...

by the British writer

A.P. Herbert Sir Alan Patrick Herbert CH (known as A. P. Herbert; 24 September 1890 – 11 November 1971), was an English humorist, novelist, playwright, law reformist, and, from 1935 to 1950, an independent Member of Parliament for Oxford University. Bo ...

. It was written as a parody of the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

selection board and portrays several recruits attending a course at an

assessment centre An assessment centre is a process where candidates are examined to determine their suitability for specific types of employment, especially management or military command. The candidates' personality and aptitudes are determined by techniques in ...

.Raban p.20 They gather at the

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

of an

aristocratic Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

, much to his dismay.

References

Bibliography

* Raban, Sandra. ''Examining the World: A History of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate''. Cambridge University Press, 2008. 1951 British novels British comedy novels Novels by A. P. Herbert Methuen Publishing books {{1950s-comedy-novel-stub