For too long DIY books have suffered the neglect of the literary Establishment. Finally, here are the essential DIY tips of the world's greatest writers. Dostoyevsky tells of a man employed by an elderly lady to retile her bathroom, Caesar puts up a shelf for his rebellious tribe of adolescenti, the existentialist hero of the Sartre pastiche is disgusted and nauseated to discover in a blocked sink the revelation of his own condition. Other handy hints include how to remedy a squeaking floor board, remove a carpet stain and bleed a radiator, by writers including Bronte, Shakespeare, Beckett and Hemmingway.