20 JANUARY 1996, page 30

Absolutely Spot On

Mirabel Cecil DEAR DODIE by Valerie Grove Chatto, £20, pp. 340 I CAPTURE THE CASTLE by Dodie Smith Virago, £6.99, pp. 342 W hen Dodie Smith's 'canine classic', The Hundred and......

Too True To Be Good

Nick Dent PANAMA by Eric Zencey Sceptre, £9.99, pp. 375 W hen Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal, turned his attention to building a canal across Panama the out-......