C. Northcote Parkinson and journalist Ann Fry (1921–1983), with whom he had two sons and a daughter. In 1958, while still in Singapore, he published his most famous work, "Parkinson's Law", which expanded upon a humorous article that he had published in the "Economist" magazine in November 1955, satirising government bureaucracies. The 120-page book of short studies, published in the United States and then in Britain, was illustrated by Osbert Lancaster and became an instant best seller. It explained the inevitability of bureaucratic expansion, arguing that 'work expands to fill the time available for its completion'. Typical of his satire and cynical humour,
It is time to work for the Lord uprooted than that the whole of the Torah be forgotten." ("Gittin" 60a-b, Elon "Jewish Law" 5:1, Louis Jacobs, p. 133 trans.) In the modern period, the dramatic character of the verse again enters the stage. The verse is among those utilized to justify rabbinic innovations in halakhah (Elon "Jewish Law" 14:3, 14:5). In Enlightenment period Germany, both the Reform rabbis and their Orthodox opponents cite the verse to justify the urgent nature of their actions ("It is time to act for the Lord"). The two conflicting positions see quite different referents for the verse's "they have voided the law"—the Reformers