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41st out of 139 books
—
47 voters
Blandings Castle (Blandings Castle #3)
Fans of P. G. Wodehouse's comic genius are legion, and their devotion to his masterful command of hilarity borders on obsession. Overlook happily feeds the obsession with four more antic selections from the master.
"Blandings Castle" is a collection of tales concerning Lord Emsworth and the Threepwood clan, while "Jeeves in the Offing" finds Bertie Wooster in yet another...more
"Blandings Castle" is a collection of tales concerning Lord Emsworth and the Threepwood clan, while "Jeeves in the Offing" finds Bertie Wooster in yet another...more
Hardcover, 301 pages
Published
October 23rd 2002
by Overlook Hardcover
(first published 1935)
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The Custody of the Pumpkin: It seems Lord Emsworth was a pumpkin enthusiast before he acquired his pig fixation. He fires the groundskeeper because Freddie Threepwood's in love with a cousin of his. Soon Emsworth fears for his pumpkin's health and goes to London to re-hire McAllister. Hilarity ensues. The Earl is in all his absent-minded glory in this one. "Have that cats gotten at it?"
Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best: Freddie and his wife have a spat and Freddie ends up back in London. The ninth...more
Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best: Freddie and his wife have a spat and Freddie ends up back in London. The ninth...more
I don't know why I decided I needed to read this, but it was just one of those nagging things-- I've seen clips of Jeeves and Wooster on youtube and felt like I sort of knew the idea behind the stories. But I was bored and felt like I hadn't read any canonical British stuff in a while, and this is what I fell on.
I liked the Blandings stuff well enough, though it took a couple for me to get into it and see that it was, as promised, pretty funny. But the stories were also pretty repetitive: two of...more
I liked the Blandings stuff well enough, though it took a couple for me to get into it and see that it was, as promised, pretty funny. But the stories were also pretty repetitive: two of...more
Wodehouse at his best, first in the settings of Blandings Castle and then across the pond in the USA, where undoubtedly he weaves some of his own experiences of the Golden Age of Hollywood into a couple of the stories.
The prize pig the Empress of Blandings features when she is entered for the Shropshire Agricultural Show, a pumpkin is nearly strangled at birth when the only man who can tend it successfully, gardener Angus McAllister, resigns and Lord Emsworth, ubiquitous with his presence throug...more
The prize pig the Empress of Blandings features when she is entered for the Shropshire Agricultural Show, a pumpkin is nearly strangled at birth when the only man who can tend it successfully, gardener Angus McAllister, resigns and Lord Emsworth, ubiquitous with his presence throug...more
I *love* P.G. Wodehouse's stories. They're like watching a British comedy show, in book form. They're clean and very funny. Light reading, but still with an intellectual flavor to it, and very entertaining. Most of his stories poke subtle fun at the upper crust in 1920s England.
Non-Jeeves and Bertie Wooster Wodehouse fun - this stuff is priceless. The edition I *read* was in audio form with a terrific narrator and also included a variety of other non-Blandings Castle stories, none of them as good as the stories of B.C. As with all things Wodehouse, the writing is clever and hilarious - and these words do not do justice to just how clever and how hilarious - and feature those from the (as portrayed) rather dim and too educated for their intelligence upper British classe...more
My favorite here is probably Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best because it's the wackiest of the lot. I mean, the part when Freddie tries to pass himself off as Lord Emsworth by 'dressing up' as him is just insane. "Strange as it seemed that a person of such appearance should not have been shot on sight early in his career, he had obviously reached an extremely advanced age. He was either a man of about a hundred and fifty who was rather young for his years or a man of about a hundred and ten who h...more
Aug 09, 2007
Mary Tuley
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everybody who wishes that the world were civilized.
If it happened at Blandings Castle, it's priceless.
This book contains six stories about Blandings Castle and its inhabitants, one story set in Skeldings Hall, and five stories about Hollywood. I quite enjoyed the Blandings stories, but Wodehouse writing about Hollywood in the Prohibition era doesn't seem to hit the spot for me.
While all the stories in the book are of course dated, the Blandings stories seem agreeably dated, whereas the Hollywood stories seem to me less agreeably dated. I wonder whether American readers would experience a mirror...more
While all the stories in the book are of course dated, the Blandings stories seem agreeably dated, whereas the Hollywood stories seem to me less agreeably dated. I wonder whether American readers would experience a mirror...more
Dec 29, 2007
Ian Wood
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those familiar with the landscape of Blandings Castle
Shelves:
p-g-wodehouse
‘Blandings Castle’ or ‘Blandings Castle and Elsewhere’ to give it its full title is a collection of short stories set, surprising enough, in Blandings Castle and elsewhere. It is really a book of two halves with the first half chronicling the Threepwood family of Blandings, the second half concerning Mr Mulliners tall tales and a brief interlude of a story about Bobbie Wickham, a thoroughly modern girl.
The Blandings short stories allow the Threepwoods and particularly Lord Emsworth to come out o...more
The Blandings short stories allow the Threepwoods and particularly Lord Emsworth to come out o...more
Our family listened to the unabridged audio version of this while traveling on our recent vacation. A collection of short stories, the first half of the book involves the tales and adventures of Lord Emsworth at Blanding Castle. Those "Emsworth" stories and his famous pumpkin and pigs were a real "hoot," but I found the stories of Mr. Mulliner and his Hollywood exploits in the last half of the book to be, well...a little "bland." Hence the title.
The stories in Blandings Castle are delightful but are not cohesive. The title would suggest that the entire book focuses on the characters previously introduced as habiting Blandings Castle in other Wodehouse collections such as Summer Lightening and Heavy Weather. However half of the book is also devoted to entirely different characters, of whom I have read nothing before, in Hollywood. While each story was a wonderful read, I prefer my Wodehouse stories as separate complete sets.
Wodehouse is indeed a fabulous comic writer. I laughed out loud several times while reading this collection of short stories. My absolute favorite was "Company for Gertrude." It starts off rather dull, or at least it seems to, because it involves two very dull people, but it had me in stitches before the end. Simply fabulous light-reading. I can't wait to read more of Blandings' intrigues.
I really enjoyed the stories involving the Blandings Castle characters--they were as entertaining and humorous as all the other PG Wodehouse stories I've read. I thought the stories involving the Mulliners in Hollywood were just okay. They didn't seem as tightly written, and the elements of each story didn't tie in together as neatly at the end. I did enjoy how those stories presented the absurdities of the moviemaking industry.
We listened to the audio version of Blandings Castle on a road trip and enjoyed it. One caveat -- we especially liked the Blandings stories. Much as we love Wodehouse, we're not big fans of the Mulliner stories, especially those set in Hollywood. One or two are OK, but there are several at the end of this book, and that was a little wearing after a while.
Rejoice as the friendship of a young girl gives the Earl of Emsworth the strength to stand up not only to his abominable sister, but also to his formidable head gardener! Marvel as master manipulatrix Bobbie Wickham clears her home of unwanted guests! Wonder as assorted Mulliner nephews find love in Hollywood!
Una raccolta di racconti in cui troviamo alcuni dei protagonisti del ciclo di Blandings (manca Galahad). Lord Emsworth si trova alle prese con i guai del figlio minore Freddie, con la rigida sorella Constance, con il rivale Gregory Parsloe, con dei bambini scatenati.
Mi è piaciuto scoprire il personaggio di Freddie, di cui al momento non avevo ancora letto nulla. Il figlio combinaguai che il padre deve spesso togliere dai guai, è un personaggio molto simpatico.
Anche in questo caso, non mancano al...more
Mi è piaciuto scoprire il personaggio di Freddie, di cui al momento non avevo ancora letto nulla. Il figlio combinaguai che il padre deve spesso togliere dai guai, è un personaggio molto simpatico.
Anche in questo caso, non mancano al...more
Yes, more Wodehouse! This is a collection of short stories. Several are about the Blandings characters, but there is also one Roberta Wickham story (very funny) and Mulliner stories too (also very comical). I read Wodehouse while doing my daily walks, as it helps me anticipate that otherwise not so fun task.
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A humorous anthology of stories. The first half are set at Blandings Castle in the company of the distrait Earl of Emsworth, his prize-worthy pumpkin, his prize-winning pig, and his less than commendable son, the Hon. Freddie. This is followed by a Bobby Wickham story, in which the eponymous young heroine ingeniously sets an unwanted suitor against an anxious publisher. The rest are anecdotes about the Mulliners of Hollywood. The highlights are 'Monkey Business' in which Montrose Mulliner discov...more
Hit-or-miss Wodehouse short stories. The Blandings stories were big hits (“Lord Emsworth and the Girlfriend” was so positively and sweetly touching that it made me cry!) ; the Mulliner stories were cute, but not up to the (very high) standard of Plum’s best works.
Dec 02, 2010
Lana.
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those who love old world England with all it's quirks
Shelves:
funny-ha-ha,
fiction
This collection of P.G. Wodehouses’s short stories feature not only Blandings Castle, but also stories from Hollywood. As usual, each story brings a good laugh and a little twist including obsessions over pigs and pumpkins, and hijinks between love and gorillas. My favourite of the collection, “The Juice of an Orange”, will ring true with anyone who’s been on a diet.
And in case one does not know how to pronounce "Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey" (I didn’t) - James Saxon’s audio book version gives us a hilariou...more
And in case one does not know how to pronounce "Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey" (I didn’t) - James Saxon’s audio book version gives us a hilariou...more
A collection of short stories from the pen of Wodehouse, most of which concern the Earl of Emsworth and the denizens of Blandings Castle. The stories are all fun, and who doesn't love the fluffy mind of the Earl? Most of his problems tend to stem from the fact that his mind wanders, and then things go all kaflooey. It's a joy to...where was I? Oh, yes. I was going out to check on the garden. Carry on.
" Good one for the newcomers to the world of blandings. You enter with little hesitation and awkwardness but receive a warm welcome there,soon fall in love with its marvellous characters, its surroundings, its plot- which always gradually thickens! With humour sprinkled all over it- you enjoy it so much,just wont feel like leaving that fantasy world ever...
Just love everything by Wodehouse for its 'striking subtlety',which lingers for a long time!"
Just love everything by Wodehouse for its 'striking subtlety',which lingers for a long time!"
simply playful. actually a collection of short stories that intertwine. the characters unfold in lively ways. i often felt as if i was on a wonderful spontaneous travel adventure with great friends that resemble the characters and game of clue. many laugh out loud moments. perfect for those wanting something light that still has substance.
I was all set to give this book of short stories 4 rather than the 5 Wodehouse stars when I saw that only half of the tales featured my favourite Blandings characters. But I have to say that the other stories are also vintage PG and thusly it's top marks again.
Containing six stories about Lord Elmsworth and his woes, a story with Bobbie Wickham ("Mr. Potter Takes a Rest Cure") and five tales of what really goes on in Hollywood, as told by a Mr. Mulliner to people he knows only by what they drink. The reading matter was very much Wodehouse, and made me laugh aloud several times, although somehow he never quite reaches the brilliance of the Bertie & Jeeves material when he writes about other characters. Tangled plots, young couples that are forbidde...more
I continue to indulge myself by the occasional purchase of a nice Collector's Wodehouse hardcover. This one is a collection of stories: six about Lord Emsworth and the Blandings Castle crowd, one about Bobbie Wickham (whom I'd only previously encountered in Jeeves and Wooster stories), and five Mulliner stories of Hollywood. I think that Wodehouse's talent for twisted, clever plots is best displayed in his novels, but I enjoyed the Emsworth stories (which are somewhat interrelated) quite a bit a...more
I adore Wodehouse. How does he come up with these things? Most of these short stories are about the group at Blandings Castle but some are about life in Hollywood. Just typical Wodehouse.
Collection of short stories that includes six set at Blandings Castle (all of which were hilarious), one featuring Bobbie Wickham, and five about the Mulliners of Hollywood (funny enough but a bit too repetitive).
I really loved the first five stories in this book that dealt with the characters from Blandings Castle. The last half of the book was not as good. Wodehouse includes several stories dealing with Hollywood at the end of this volume, and I felt like they were a little flat.
Typical light Wodehouse short stories centering around an elderly, hen-pecked Lord (owner of the titular castle), his lazy son and gardener. Each story involves a "major disaster" for the Lord, involving much mirth and a final solution which leaves everybody happy. A very cheerful light read, if you are prepared to ignore the snobbery and inherent world-view of Wodehouse.
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Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE, was a comic writer who enjoyed enormous popular success during a career of more than seventy years and continues to be widely read over 30 years after his death. Despite the political and social upheavals that occurred during his life, much of which was spent in France and the United States, Wodehouse's main canvas remained that of prewar English upper-class so...more
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“Filled with a coward rage that dares to burn but does not dare to blaze, Lord Emsworth coughed a cough that was undisguisedly a bronchial white flag.”
—
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