Long before there were Jeeves and Gally, P.G. Wodehouse was writing excellent comic novels about the foibles of the English upper classes. A number of these novels were built around the humorous character of Ukridge, a sort of beautiful dreamer who wanders about above the fray of dealing with reality. I recently read a fine companion book about Mr. Wodehouses novels and realized that I had missed some fine early examples. Love Among the Chickens beckoned to me and Im glad it did. <p> It...
A Damsel in Distress is a splendid example of early Wodehouse. As with many Wodehouse classics, this one includes a collection of colorful characters, a complex love story involving many characters, and of course the happy ending where everything works out. <p> It is the story of an American Composer, George Bevan, who falls in love with Maud (The Earl of Marshmoretons daughter). Maud is already in love with another American, Geoffrey Raymond, who she met in Wales the previous year. Her...
Jeeves, the resourceful Butler, saves Master Bertie Wooster from the perils of everyday life in most amusing ways. <p> Wodehouse introduces us once again to the wonder butler – Jeeves, who, as usual is able to solve any and all of the Bertie Woosters endless problems with ease and finesse. <p> This is a high quality book of the original classic edition. <p> This is a freshly published edition of this culturally important work, which is now, at last, again available to...
This is a very unusual collection for Wodehouse. The stories in The Man With Two Left Feet are very unlike his usual style. Most take place in New York, one is told from the first person perspective of a woman, and one is even told from the point of view of a dog. However, every one has the classic humor and expectedly unexpected happy ending that Wodehouse is known for, and each is a delightful read. As usual, Wodehouse will keeo you smiling throughout ~ even with only a brief visit from our...
If you pick up Mike and Psmith and expect it to be like the wacky comedies that Wodehouse composed in the 20s and 30s, you might be slighted disappointed. This is early Wodehouse, a Wodehouse concerned with school masters, ragging (an expression for creating mischief) and especially cricket. It is also a more grounded Wodehouse, a novel where the comedy is more subtle, a novel where the characters are not quite so flighty. This is also Wodehouse at his least complex. This is not the novel that...
Psmith in the City marks something of a transition piece for Wodehouse. Here, two of his principle School characters are taken away from the school environment and put into the real world. Psmith is elevated to the principle character quite clearly – a trend which continues in Psmith, journalist, and of course is entirely dominant in the concluding Leave it to Psmith, where Mike is relegated to the background. <p> There is also an element of the autobiographical in this work, for...
A highly comic romp with the English gentry, you know, those fellows of Eton, living in Manors (and having impeccable ones,I am told), with little to do but receive social approval for whatever they do; all with the quietly dignified, prescient aid of their butler. Pleasant enough, but P.G. Wodehouse masterfully parodies the upper crust and their sometimes foolish pretences as he skewers one Bertram Bertie Wooster (A lesser man, caught in this awful snare, would no doubt have ceased to struggle;...
Death At The Excelsior is a highly recommended introduction into the world of Wodehouse; a first-time reader may, like most of us, become quickly addicted to Wodehouse and further explore the richly humorous world of this marvelous author. Longtime admirers will, of course, return frequently to these miniature gems. <p> This fabulous Collection Of Early Wodehouse Writings is a must have. Contents: Death At The Excelsior [1914], Misunderstood [1910], The Best Sauce [1911], Jeeves And The...