To Say Nothing of the Dog

Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog:

This is a light novel that sends its hero time travelling to search for clues as to the whereabouts of the "Bishop's bird stump" for a reconstructed Coventry cathedral.  The protagonists are historians and know the world through literature, which is convenient as the real world ends up performing much like a comedy of manners.  There are a ton of self-aware references, from PG Wodehouse, to Arthur Conan Doyle's gullibility about spiritualism, to upper class idiocy, Lord Peter Whimsey, and eccentric Oxford dons.  Add in some 'time lag' as an excuse for broader slapstick and it's a bit like a shotgun blast, but manages to keep a consistent tone.  The resolution seems like a bit of a cop-out but that's not really the point.  Very entertaining.