Never mind Northern Rock: the commotion this week in literary London has been over the series of resignations of agents at PFD, one of the UK's most prestigious literary agencies, and the appointment of Caroline Michel as its chief executive - without reference to its board - by its parent company, the entertainment group CSS Stellar.

It is important to remember this order of events. The idea that the departures were triggered by resentment over Ms Michel's arrival is unfounded - a number of the agents, including 11 directors, resigned more than a month ago - although it is true that more have since handed in their resignations. When Ms Michel arrived in the office on Monday, her first meeting was apparently attended by a mere handful of the staff.