Book excerpt: Volume 3 contains novels seven to nine of the Dance To The Music Of Time sequence. Anthony Powell's brilliant twelve-novel sequence chronicles the lives of over three hundred characters, and is a unique evocation of life in twentieth-century England. It is unrivalled for its scope, its humour and the enormous pleasure it has given to generations. In this volume, containing books seven to nine of the sequence, Powell follows Nicholas Jenkins and a host of familar and newer characters through the strains, absurdities and preoccupations of England at war.