At the heart of Michael Leunig's work lies the idea of the holy fool - a character who does not conform to social norms of behaviour because of mental disability or as a deliberate choice, but is regarded as having a compensating divine blessing or inspiration. The holy fool is the protagonist in most of Michael's paintings and cartoons. He is, in short, that strange person with the big nose, Mr Curly, and Vasco Pyjama.

In Holy Fool over 240 of Michael Leunig's artworks are collected together for the first time in a book - ranging from paintings to sculpture, from prints to drawings. As wonderful as his cartoons are, in Holy Fool we see so much more of the artistic expression of Michael Leunig. Filled with his trademark, lunacy, poignancy and arrow to the heart wisdom Holy Fool will be a must have volume for the legion of Leunig fans.