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Monty Bodkin #2
The Luck of the Bodkins
Monty Bodkin's wooing of Gertrude Butterwick on the R.M.S. Atlantic is not progressing as it should. And the cause of all the trouble is Miss Lotus Blossum, the brightest star in Hollywood's firmament. The easy camaraderie of Miss Blossom, coupled with the idea that Monty is the only person who can send the errant Ambrose back to her welcoming arms, is causing Mr Bodkin moments of acute distress.
358 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1935
52 people are currently reading
2344 people want to read
About the author
P.G. Wodehouse
1,708 books6,981 followersSir 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 40 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 society, reflecting his birth, education, and youthful writing career.
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 233 reviews
October 11, 2024
A French farce with English reserve , ( best describes this saga ) well not too much... after all it was written by the great P.G. Wodehouse... Mr. Montague "Monty" Bodkin a wealthy but idle British bachelor with a romantic problem, it seems Gertrude Butterwick...love these peculiar names...the gentleman's lady friend has a strange daddy , who insists that rich Monty gets a job or no marriage to his pretty daughter , and the really strange part is she will obey his ultimatum , this transpires in 1935...things have changed a little. Troubles send our fragile hero to the Riviera, in Cannes, to calm his nerves in a resort hotel , even during the Depression the affluent need to relax. The adoring Bodkin is writing to his love a letter of his passion for her, but he is not the brightest bulb in the neighborhood, and tries to ask a fat man at a nearby table to help him with a spelling problem, turns out this is a Hollywood Mogul fighting with his pesky sister-in-law Mabel Spence, she has a ghastly message from scary Grayce...pardon me the rotund gentleman is called Ivor "Ikey" Llewellyn, a most unpleasant person to be around and the interruption causes a stormy reaction, to put it mildly...This episode permits the paranoid, Movie studio boss to have bad thoughts a plot by his young, former actress wife, Grayce , safely in Paris, to smuggle her pearl necklace by customs in New York without paying taxes... he is petrified, fears jail , could this moron be a spy for them? Bodkin did get a job as a detective, a telegram, ( don't know what that is) arrives and the recipient Monty is crushed, his girlfriend has called off the engagement. Nevertheless this man is a Bodkin, stout heart noblemen , not officially but they should be, he will fellow his dear on an ocean liner, the R.M.S. Atlantic to America. NOW THE FUN BEGINS...Three couples on board, they can't leave...fighting , loving (mostly hating each other, temporarily of course) the combatants are Monty and Gertrude, you have already met...Reggie Tennyson a charming Englishman without a penny in love , her name is Mabel, yes that one and last but very far from least his big brother Ambrose, a novelist who's books are sadly not read ...yet Lotus Blossom a big movie star, in Mr. Llewellyn 's studio, is enchanted with him. This mob is always in and out of their staterooms, things are said and taken back, love follows hate and returns to hate, with a few tears , in -between and many laughs, a family feud begins, Reggie and Ambrose are Gertrude's cousins ... a continuous struggle for the happy ending.. does it exist... The stressed out Llewellyn offers everyone a contract... The nosy room steward, Mr. Albert Peasemarch dominates the story, he stirs and the damage is inflicted, he means well though but is clueless, like a man walking in a dense fog, this will keep the narrative very interesting, if not boiling and we should not forget grumpy Wilfred...who is Wilfred ..the pet alligator of Miss Blossom, every movie star has their eccentricities...........
IF YOU LIKE TO LAUGH THIS IS FOR YOU.
IF YOU LIKE TO LAUGH THIS IS FOR YOU.
December 23, 2024
The Love Boat.
Ish?
A series of misunderstandings, mishaps, mistakes, and a healthy dose of misinformation help to move this humorous story forward.
Monty Bodkins and a group of beleaguered men chase love in all its forms while on a ship heading to New York.
Meanwhile, motion picture mogul Ivor Llewellyn's wife (a force of nature) has ordered him to sneak a pearl necklace through US customs to avoid paying the fee and has sent her sister to make sure he doesn't chicken out.
Llewellyn, convinced that customs agents are lurking in the potted ferns listening to his conversations, thinks Monty is working undercover to keep tabs on him.
The truth is that Monty is simply trying to figure out why his ex-fiancée, Gertrude Butterwick, gave him the raspberry without any explanation. While on board he runs into Ambrose & Reggie Tennyson (no relation to that other Tennyson) who have problems of their own with the women in their lives.
The whole thing is classic Wodehouse.
If you're already a fan, you'll enjoy Monty's connection to Lord Emsworth. And if this is your first time with these characters, you'll still have a good time.
Jonathan Cecil is the perfect narrator for these novels. <--if you get a chance to listen to him, don't miss out!
Recommended.
Ish?
A series of misunderstandings, mishaps, mistakes, and a healthy dose of misinformation help to move this humorous story forward.
Monty Bodkins and a group of beleaguered men chase love in all its forms while on a ship heading to New York.
Meanwhile, motion picture mogul Ivor Llewellyn's wife (a force of nature) has ordered him to sneak a pearl necklace through US customs to avoid paying the fee and has sent her sister to make sure he doesn't chicken out.
Llewellyn, convinced that customs agents are lurking in the potted ferns listening to his conversations, thinks Monty is working undercover to keep tabs on him.
The truth is that Monty is simply trying to figure out why his ex-fiancée, Gertrude Butterwick, gave him the raspberry without any explanation. While on board he runs into Ambrose & Reggie Tennyson (no relation to that other Tennyson) who have problems of their own with the women in their lives.
The whole thing is classic Wodehouse.
If you're already a fan, you'll enjoy Monty's connection to Lord Emsworth. And if this is your first time with these characters, you'll still have a good time.
Jonathan Cecil is the perfect narrator for these novels. <--if you get a chance to listen to him, don't miss out!
Recommended.
April 16, 2021
So this was another lunchtime audio listen - P G Wodehouse, chicken sandwich, bag of crisps and a cup of Yorkshire Tea, and what an enjoyable "listen" it was.
Monty Bodkin, a wealthy gentleman is in love with Gertrude Butterwick (Buttersplosh) a hockey player, however to move their relationship forward, he needs to hold down a job. Gertrude's two cousins, Reggie and Ambrose, both friends of Monty are bound for America for various reasons, with Ambrose about to work for a large American Moving Picture Company. Add into the mix Ambrose's girlfriend, Lotus (Lottie) Blossom (a glamorous film star), Ivor Llewellyn, head and owner of the studio, his Sister in Law Mabel, who falls in love with Reggie and Albert Peasmarsh, who is their steward throughout the voyage to New York, and farce is just around the corner , Wodehouse style.
A series of catastrophes on board the ocean liner to America leaves everyone either nervous, angry, sad, alone, afraid or just plain frustrated. Llewellyn wants to smuggle some pearls home for his wife, but thinks Monty is a customs agent , he also thinks Ambrose wrote "The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck", so hires him as a studio writer.
As with any Wodehouse, this story has farce following catastrophe, following unbelievable coincidence, add to that Jonathon Cecil's fabulous narration (his Lottie Blossom is excellent) and you have a wonderfully enjoyable lunchtime listen.
Monty Bodkin, a wealthy gentleman is in love with Gertrude Butterwick (Buttersplosh) a hockey player, however to move their relationship forward, he needs to hold down a job. Gertrude's two cousins, Reggie and Ambrose, both friends of Monty are bound for America for various reasons, with Ambrose about to work for a large American Moving Picture Company. Add into the mix Ambrose's girlfriend, Lotus (Lottie) Blossom (a glamorous film star), Ivor Llewellyn, head and owner of the studio, his Sister in Law Mabel, who falls in love with Reggie and Albert Peasmarsh, who is their steward throughout the voyage to New York, and farce is just around the corner , Wodehouse style.
A series of catastrophes on board the ocean liner to America leaves everyone either nervous, angry, sad, alone, afraid or just plain frustrated. Llewellyn wants to smuggle some pearls home for his wife, but thinks Monty is a customs agent , he also thinks Ambrose wrote "The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck", so hires him as a studio writer.
As with any Wodehouse, this story has farce following catastrophe, following unbelievable coincidence, add to that Jonathon Cecil's fabulous narration (his Lottie Blossom is excellent) and you have a wonderfully enjoyable lunchtime listen.
March 15, 2021
I've read so many books by the wonderful P.G. Wodehouse that I am not always sure, until I get started, whether I have read the book in my hand before. To my great delight I soon realised I had never read The Luck of the Bodkins (1935).
I had however read Heavy Weather (1933), which precedes it, and Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin (1972) which belatedly (in terms of publishing date) picks up the story again.
The Luck of the Bodkins continues the story of the complicated love life of amiable young Monty Bodkin, the nephew of Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe. When Monty last appeared in Heavy Weather he was the latest in the long line of Lord Emsworth's secretaries. He is still hoping to marry his fiancée Gertrude Butterwick but, as usual, the course of true love does not run smoothly.
PGW hits us with a zinger on the first page...
"Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty, hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French."
The Luck of the Bodkins is another Wodehousian wonder. A delight from start to finish. What it lacks in tears rolling down the cheeks total hilarity it makes up for with inventiveness and splendid characters. Most of the action takes place on an ocean liner, the RMS Atlantic, en route to New York from England which provides the perfect context for the usual misunderstandings which thwart the path of true love.
Needless to say it's another Wodehouse winner.
4/5
I had however read Heavy Weather (1933), which precedes it, and Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin (1972) which belatedly (in terms of publishing date) picks up the story again.
The Luck of the Bodkins continues the story of the complicated love life of amiable young Monty Bodkin, the nephew of Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe. When Monty last appeared in Heavy Weather he was the latest in the long line of Lord Emsworth's secretaries. He is still hoping to marry his fiancée Gertrude Butterwick but, as usual, the course of true love does not run smoothly.
PGW hits us with a zinger on the first page...
"Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty, hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French."
The Luck of the Bodkins is another Wodehousian wonder. A delight from start to finish. What it lacks in tears rolling down the cheeks total hilarity it makes up for with inventiveness and splendid characters. Most of the action takes place on an ocean liner, the RMS Atlantic, en route to New York from England which provides the perfect context for the usual misunderstandings which thwart the path of true love.
Needless to say it's another Wodehouse winner.
4/5
April 1, 2020
Somebody borrowed my copy,he said he would return it next week.He never did,he liked Wodehouse too much.
Most of the story takes place aboard the RMS Atlantic.Monty Bodkin is travelling to win back his fiancee,Gertrude Butterwick who has ended their engagement.
Comic misunderstandings and complications inevitably result.Such a good book,made me laugh again and again.
Much much better than the sequel,Pearls Girls and Monty Bodkin.
Most of the story takes place aboard the RMS Atlantic.Monty Bodkin is travelling to win back his fiancee,Gertrude Butterwick who has ended their engagement.
Comic misunderstandings and complications inevitably result.Such a good book,made me laugh again and again.
Much much better than the sequel,Pearls Girls and Monty Bodkin.
October 14, 2016
“Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to speak French.”
It is such sentences that make me an ardent fan of Wodehouse. He was a master of the English language.
BTW, I get this look whenever I am about to speak Hindi!
May 11, 2022
I don’t write reviews.
But I do find writers and writing terribly interesting. Enter PG Wodehouse. Master of snappy dialogue, creator of the most charming of characters and the madman behind the wacky situations (“wheels within wheels”). He was aware that he wrote so many stories that he’d inevitably repeat jokes or create quite similar scenarios. This book is notable for the repeat character who actually doesn’t seem to be a reappearing character: Albert Peasemarch, the 1st class steward/avid singer. A man by this name also appeared as a butler in an Uncle Fred story, Cocktail Time, and his personality and history were dissimilar to the steward’s. That’s the first time I’ve noticed such a thing in Wodehouse: usually it is the same character just dropping by to say hello.
This was a tight little story. Fun and light and wrapped up with a bow on top.
But I do find writers and writing terribly interesting. Enter PG Wodehouse. Master of snappy dialogue, creator of the most charming of characters and the madman behind the wacky situations (“wheels within wheels”). He was aware that he wrote so many stories that he’d inevitably repeat jokes or create quite similar scenarios. This book is notable for the repeat character who actually doesn’t seem to be a reappearing character: Albert Peasemarch, the 1st class steward/avid singer. A man by this name also appeared as a butler in an Uncle Fred story, Cocktail Time, and his personality and history were dissimilar to the steward’s. That’s the first time I’ve noticed such a thing in Wodehouse: usually it is the same character just dropping by to say hello.
This was a tight little story. Fun and light and wrapped up with a bow on top.
August 5, 2016
4.5
Well, I was always a little apprehensive at the prospect of reading Wodehouse. Not sure why. Perhaps I felt I wouldn’t get the humour… Whatever the reason, I really shouldn’t have worried!
"Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty, hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French."
From the very beginning, I was completely taken in by Monty Bodkins, his hilarious manners and incapability to spell, as well as by the colourful cast, which includes an actress with a pet alligator, a Hollywood film magnate, a hockey-playing sportswoman and a loquacious ship's porter to name a few.
This is a 1930s comedy weaving numerous convoluted plot strands revolving around the smuggling of a necklace, but really what shines through are its well-drawn characters and witty dialogue. Most of the action takes place on a ship crossing the Atlantic from Southampton to New York, which adds a little flavour of the stage. Imagine rip-roaring scenes full of misunderstandings as well as a good dose of film-making in-jokes.
I did enjoy this enormously, surprisingly, giggling throughout the entirety of the novel, and even bursting into laughter a couple of times (I shall never look at the word ‘inexplicable’ in the same light). If like me you were unsure about Wodehouse, do try this novel. I recommend the audiobook to get the full effect. There are two other stories with Monty, one prior to this one (Heavy Weather) and a sequel (Pearls, Girls And Monty Bodkin), which I shall be trying :O)
Well, I was always a little apprehensive at the prospect of reading Wodehouse. Not sure why. Perhaps I felt I wouldn’t get the humour… Whatever the reason, I really shouldn’t have worried!
"Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty, hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French."
From the very beginning, I was completely taken in by Monty Bodkins, his hilarious manners and incapability to spell, as well as by the colourful cast, which includes an actress with a pet alligator, a Hollywood film magnate, a hockey-playing sportswoman and a loquacious ship's porter to name a few.
This is a 1930s comedy weaving numerous convoluted plot strands revolving around the smuggling of a necklace, but really what shines through are its well-drawn characters and witty dialogue. Most of the action takes place on a ship crossing the Atlantic from Southampton to New York, which adds a little flavour of the stage. Imagine rip-roaring scenes full of misunderstandings as well as a good dose of film-making in-jokes.
I did enjoy this enormously, surprisingly, giggling throughout the entirety of the novel, and even bursting into laughter a couple of times (I shall never look at the word ‘inexplicable’ in the same light). If like me you were unsure about Wodehouse, do try this novel. I recommend the audiobook to get the full effect. There are two other stories with Monty, one prior to this one (Heavy Weather) and a sequel (Pearls, Girls And Monty Bodkin), which I shall be trying :O)
January 31, 2021
This is a top-notch Wodehouse. Oh, sure, it doesn't have Jeeves and Wooster or Lord Emsworth and the Empress or even Psmith, but who cares? It does have Monty Bodkin (whom I encountered in Heavy Weather as one of Lord Emsworth's endless string of secretaries) and an extra complicated, extra delightful plot, which takes place mostly on a ship from England to America.
Wodehouse is at the top of his form with his marvelous idiom, beginning with the very first, irresistible sentence: "Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty, hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French." It's sheer hilarity from cover to cover, and wonderfully, it's even a little longer than most Wodehouse novels, a lovely bonus.
Wodehouse is at the top of his form with his marvelous idiom, beginning with the very first, irresistible sentence: "Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty, hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French." It's sheer hilarity from cover to cover, and wonderfully, it's even a little longer than most Wodehouse novels, a lovely bonus.
July 2, 2024
Much is made of the porcelain cow creamer in The Code of the Woosters. But really, we should talk more about the brown plush Mickey Mouse in The Luck of the Bodkins. "The head screws off, you see, and you can fill it with candy!" "Gosh! Capital!"
February 16, 2026
'Oh, Reggie, you know there's almost nothing in this world I wouldn't do for you, my pet. I've always felt towards you like a mother with an idiot child.'If this had been one of the first Wodehouse novels I'd read, I certainly would have given it a 5-star rating. But... by now I'm rather an old-hand Wodehousian so I see it differently.
Of course, it's still a top-notch read, getting so many things right, as expected. But it's also, weirdly, too much of a good but untamed thing... in the sense that the reins could have been pulled in. As well, it falls into a few traps that cause needless repetition, like a dog chasing its tail. It's among Wodehouse's longest novels. A number of chapters before it was actually over, I was sort of wanting it to be over. Not so much because I was tiring of Wodehouse; I was just tiring a bit of this particular story.
The big plus for the plot is that it's set on a luxury liner. Elsewhere, Wodehouse may have had certain scenes of novels on ships but, here, it's pretty much for the duration. That's more a curse than a blessing since it limits where the author can physically go for the narrative and, after awhile, it's clear he can't go far.
The location not only affects the complications but it results in a weariness with the same kinds of complications. A feeling of déjà vu dominates consistently.
And then there's the cast of characters. Much like Agatha Christie's novels, Wodehouse's work is stronger when the particular combination of people he has assembled is an inspired one. The group here certainly benefits from Wodehouse's way with words. But at the same time, I found some of them a bit more tiresome than was maybe necessary - esp. a major character like the protagonist Monty Bodkin's love interest Gertrude, along with a few others.
What largely saves the day is the language - the lovely language! - whether it's uniquely playful -
'She isn't a friend. Just an acquaintance - if that.'or delightfully winding its way to a punch finish -
'Well, that's the way I want her to stay,' said Gertrude. 'The if-thatter the better.'
'... Why not take a chance? You would like Hollywood, you know. Everybody does. Girdled by the everlasting hills, bathed in eternal sunshine. Honest, it kind of gets you. What I mean, there's something going on there all the time. Malibu. Catalina. Aqua Caliente. And if you aren't getting divorced yourself, there's always one of your friends who is, and that gives you something to chat about in the long evenings. And it isn't half such a crazy place as they make out. I know two-three people in Hollywood that are part sane.'In short, not among my favorites (of which there are many) but still rather a jolly read, what?
April 15, 2011
If you're a fan of early cinema this book--originally published in 1935--is for you. There's plenty of in-jokes geared towards producers, nepotism, and actors. At one moment in the book I had to pause because Monty Bodkin (the Lucky Bodkin of the title) was compared to Leslie Howard and Clark Gable, both of whom were to star in Gone With the Wind four years after Wodehouse mentions them. Shall we give P.G. a pat on the back for smushing such stellar talent together before Selznick?
I know what you're thinking and, no, you don't have to be a fan of movie history to enjoy this story. It just helps.
There's plenty of rip-roaring trouble. Monty Bodkin wants to marry Gertrude Butterwick, who misunderstands a tattoo of his and breaks their engagement. As he tries to win her back over the course of a six day crossing-of-the-Atlantic he has to thwart movie starlets (and boy, does Wodehouse nail the speaking patterns of the early mega-watt actresses like Katherine Hepburn/Bette Davis in Miss Lotus Blossom) novelists, movie producers, and the good intentions of his best friend Reggie. Mickey Mouse plays a part, as does Wilfred the Alligator.
The most enjoyable part of this book is spending time with the characters. Each one is so well-drawn that you don't lose your place, which is tricky with a "cast" of this size. Gertrude is a hockey-playing sportswoman who can handle herself. Lotus "Lottie" Blossom is star of stage and state-rooms. Ambrose Tennyson is "not the right Tennyson". Ivor Llewllyn is a three-chinned, Customs-fearing movie producer. Peasemarch is the feudal serf who can't keep his nose out of anyone's business. And Reggie is the intelligent blighter who somehow manages to pull everyone together.
If you're looking for something to make you smile, this one'll do it. Part of it is inexplicable.
No, literally. Part of it is the word "inexplicable."
Jenny
Place For The Stolen
Under Ground Writing Project
I know what you're thinking and, no, you don't have to be a fan of movie history to enjoy this story. It just helps.
There's plenty of rip-roaring trouble. Monty Bodkin wants to marry Gertrude Butterwick, who misunderstands a tattoo of his and breaks their engagement. As he tries to win her back over the course of a six day crossing-of-the-Atlantic he has to thwart movie starlets (and boy, does Wodehouse nail the speaking patterns of the early mega-watt actresses like Katherine Hepburn/Bette Davis in Miss Lotus Blossom) novelists, movie producers, and the good intentions of his best friend Reggie. Mickey Mouse plays a part, as does Wilfred the Alligator.
The most enjoyable part of this book is spending time with the characters. Each one is so well-drawn that you don't lose your place, which is tricky with a "cast" of this size. Gertrude is a hockey-playing sportswoman who can handle herself. Lotus "Lottie" Blossom is star of stage and state-rooms. Ambrose Tennyson is "not the right Tennyson". Ivor Llewllyn is a three-chinned, Customs-fearing movie producer. Peasemarch is the feudal serf who can't keep his nose out of anyone's business. And Reggie is the intelligent blighter who somehow manages to pull everyone together.
If you're looking for something to make you smile, this one'll do it. Part of it is inexplicable.
No, literally. Part of it is the word "inexplicable."
Jenny
Place For The Stolen
Under Ground Writing Project
August 31, 2025
Imagine a richer, dumber, head-over-heels-in-love Bertie Wooster without Jeeves to protect and rescue him. P.G. Wodehouse did and came up with Monty Bodkin. Monty wasn’t worried about earning money because, as he said himself, “I’ve such a frightfully lot of my own already.” But he wanted the one thing money couldn’t buy: Gertrude Butterwick’s eternal love. Problem was: Gertrude's fathther wouldn’t even consider allowing her to marry anyone who didn’t have a job, money in the bank be damned. Unfortunately, working and Monty didn’t really mix; they’d never even been in the same neighborhood. That’s why he didn’t apply for jobs, he paid people to hire him. And even that was not enough.
We first met Monty in Heavy Weather when one of his short, ill-fated jobs was as Lord Emsworth’s personal assistant, which technically, I guess, makes The Luck of the Bodkins a story on the very fringes of the Blandings universe, which begins with Monty getting a break-up letter from Gertrude. She wrote it as she was about to set sail on a tour of America as a member of the All-England Field Hockey team. Monty leaves London for Southampton to book passage on the same ship in hope of winning her back. Although he’s unaware of everything at the time—a normal state of affairs—he doesn’t yet know what kind of people await him. They include his friend Reggie Tennyson, Gertrude’s cousin who loves Mabel Spence. Reggie is on his way to Montreal for a job he doesn’t want. He’d rather be going to Hollywood with Mabel, but he doesn’t have penny, hence the awaiting job a country away from her.
Mabel is the sister-in-law of American film tycoon Ivor Llewellyn, who’s returning from England after a scouting tip of sorts with strict directions from his wife Grayce to avoid customs and smuggle back an expensive necklace. Earlier he signed Reggie’s brother, Ambrose, to an exclusive writing contract, so he was pleased with himself. Unfortunately for him, as we learn later, Llewellyn is somehow under the impression that this Tennyson is THE famous Tennyson of English literature lore. That would impress people! Llewellyn may have been a movie mogul with power, in reality he seemingly had slightly more wattage in his bulb than Monty. But he had something Monty never would: bluster posing as confidence. In private, he’s a henpecked husband. So, it’s understandable when his forceful sister-in-law Mabel Spence gets him to act against what little judgment he has. He pledges to commit tax duty evasion.
As Llewellyn and Mabel discuss the necklace scheme on the docks before the ship departs, he is convinced they are overheard by Monty. Of course, Monty, as usual, doesn’t have the foggiest about much of anything besides Gertrude. When Llewellyn decides it would be best to keep Monty quiet by buying him off with a bribe of a lucrative acting contract, Monty doesn’t have the slightest interest. Gertrude has seen him together with Llewellyn’s American starlet, Lotus “Lottie” Blossom – who keeps a baby alligator in her wicker purse for p.r. purposes – and is convinced Monty is not being true. Of course, Lottie is in love with Ambrose. When he’s found to be the wrong Tennyson by Llewellyn, the job offer is gone, and Lottie has to scheme, because despite having more than enough money to live happily ever after with Ambrose – her Ammie – he will have none of it. A man must earn his keep.
And then there’s the hapless ship steward Albert Peasemarch, who meddles everywhere and never seems to realize all the problems he causes. Hilarity ensues to keep the reader snickering and guffawing along the way until all ends well in its own way. In other words, another pre-WWII Wodehouse classic. We learn throughout, as Monty reminds us over and over again, “there are wheels within wheels.” What wonderful wheels they are!
We first met Monty in Heavy Weather when one of his short, ill-fated jobs was as Lord Emsworth’s personal assistant, which technically, I guess, makes The Luck of the Bodkins a story on the very fringes of the Blandings universe, which begins with Monty getting a break-up letter from Gertrude. She wrote it as she was about to set sail on a tour of America as a member of the All-England Field Hockey team. Monty leaves London for Southampton to book passage on the same ship in hope of winning her back. Although he’s unaware of everything at the time—a normal state of affairs—he doesn’t yet know what kind of people await him. They include his friend Reggie Tennyson, Gertrude’s cousin who loves Mabel Spence. Reggie is on his way to Montreal for a job he doesn’t want. He’d rather be going to Hollywood with Mabel, but he doesn’t have penny, hence the awaiting job a country away from her.
Mabel is the sister-in-law of American film tycoon Ivor Llewellyn, who’s returning from England after a scouting tip of sorts with strict directions from his wife Grayce to avoid customs and smuggle back an expensive necklace. Earlier he signed Reggie’s brother, Ambrose, to an exclusive writing contract, so he was pleased with himself. Unfortunately for him, as we learn later, Llewellyn is somehow under the impression that this Tennyson is THE famous Tennyson of English literature lore. That would impress people! Llewellyn may have been a movie mogul with power, in reality he seemingly had slightly more wattage in his bulb than Monty. But he had something Monty never would: bluster posing as confidence. In private, he’s a henpecked husband. So, it’s understandable when his forceful sister-in-law Mabel Spence gets him to act against what little judgment he has. He pledges to commit tax duty evasion.
As Llewellyn and Mabel discuss the necklace scheme on the docks before the ship departs, he is convinced they are overheard by Monty. Of course, Monty, as usual, doesn’t have the foggiest about much of anything besides Gertrude. When Llewellyn decides it would be best to keep Monty quiet by buying him off with a bribe of a lucrative acting contract, Monty doesn’t have the slightest interest. Gertrude has seen him together with Llewellyn’s American starlet, Lotus “Lottie” Blossom – who keeps a baby alligator in her wicker purse for p.r. purposes – and is convinced Monty is not being true. Of course, Lottie is in love with Ambrose. When he’s found to be the wrong Tennyson by Llewellyn, the job offer is gone, and Lottie has to scheme, because despite having more than enough money to live happily ever after with Ambrose – her Ammie – he will have none of it. A man must earn his keep.
And then there’s the hapless ship steward Albert Peasemarch, who meddles everywhere and never seems to realize all the problems he causes. Hilarity ensues to keep the reader snickering and guffawing along the way until all ends well in its own way. In other words, another pre-WWII Wodehouse classic. We learn throughout, as Monty reminds us over and over again, “there are wheels within wheels.” What wonderful wheels they are!
March 8, 2022
Misunderstandings keep the plot afloat and there are a few too many humdrum lines that don't come up to the usual Wodehouse mark. This is the 50th book I've read of his. I don't know, I guess I'll give him another shot to see if I like his work, lol!
October 5, 2016
What can one say? Wodehouse is an angel in human shape, dispensing joy and laughter whenever he sits down at the typewriter. I adore him. This book? It's the usual penicillin.
December 24, 2007
‘The Luck of the Bodkins’ tells the continuing story of Monty Bodkin and his engagement to Gertrude Butterwick which relies on his remaining in someone’s employ for a whole year. We last met Monty at Blanding’s Castle where he was employed as secretary for Lord Emsworth for the length of ‘Heavy Weather’ rather than the length of a year. Monty left Blanding’s after gaining employment with Percy Pilbeam at the Argos Detective Agency. Monty is on Holiday at Cannes but follows Gertrude on board the RMS Atlantic after receiving a Cable breaking off their engagement.
The RMS Atlantic acts as a typical Wodehouse stately home for the purposes of the farce with state rooms replacing the usual bedroom setting for the misunderstandings and complications that litter farce like so may discarded gloves. The RMS Atlantic has the usual domestic staff with steward Albert Peasemarch undertaking most of the ‘business’ usually entrusted to butlers or under footmen. Trying to summarise the plot in less than the three hundred pages Wodehouse uses would rather miss the point of this type of book but in essence Monty loves Gertrude, who thinks he likes Lotus Blossom, a movie starlet whom adores Ambrose, who thinks she has fallen for his brother, Reggie, whom has definitely got it bad for Mabel Spence, sister-in-law to movie mogul Ikey Llewellyn, whom has been charged with smuggling jewels for his wife Grayce.
If the plot appears complicated you should try the resolution. And you really should try the resolution. The Liner setting allowed Wodehouse the unusual point that all his cast need not be aware of each over at the start of the voyage and allowed him to dispense with making half of them unwilling imposters. Definitely one of the masters most overlooked master pieces and my own personnel favourite.
The RMS Atlantic acts as a typical Wodehouse stately home for the purposes of the farce with state rooms replacing the usual bedroom setting for the misunderstandings and complications that litter farce like so may discarded gloves. The RMS Atlantic has the usual domestic staff with steward Albert Peasemarch undertaking most of the ‘business’ usually entrusted to butlers or under footmen. Trying to summarise the plot in less than the three hundred pages Wodehouse uses would rather miss the point of this type of book but in essence Monty loves Gertrude, who thinks he likes Lotus Blossom, a movie starlet whom adores Ambrose, who thinks she has fallen for his brother, Reggie, whom has definitely got it bad for Mabel Spence, sister-in-law to movie mogul Ikey Llewellyn, whom has been charged with smuggling jewels for his wife Grayce.
If the plot appears complicated you should try the resolution. And you really should try the resolution. The Liner setting allowed Wodehouse the unusual point that all his cast need not be aware of each over at the start of the voyage and allowed him to dispense with making half of them unwilling imposters. Definitely one of the masters most overlooked master pieces and my own personnel favourite.
January 4, 2021
Finding myself in need of some cheer, I reached for Wodehouse, knowing that he has the goods. It was my first encounter with Monty Bodkin; it was also the first time (for me) that the Wodehousian story took place on a transatlantic yacht. Wholesome and fun just about sums it up.
January 16, 2012
One of the most delightful of Wodehouse's novels, which is saying something. The likeable, idle-rich Monty, still in pursuit of winning his beloved's heart by holding down a job for a year, ends up on a cruise ship pursuing her to America after a little understanding. As a result he is drawn into the complicated affairs of the Hollywood elite, and ridiculous twists and turns follow before the happy ending. Brilliantly funny, well-written and full of sunshine. And alligators.
July 27, 2016
Read for Anglophiles group.
August 18, 2016
Jolly good fun. At first I did not like the fact that this took place on a boat instead of a lovely stately home with aunts, pigs etc. However it soon grew on me and the humour was relentless.
May 4, 2020
The pace was off on this; it dragged. Nothing wrong with the prose, but the plot wasn’t particularly inventive. And as MacGuffins go, a plush Mickey Mouse is no Empress of Blandings.
February 7, 2012
I am a massive fan of PG Wodehouse - his characters are all very memorable and the comic storyline of "The Luck of the Bodkins" really cheered me up on a cold February day.
This novel is set on the RMS Atlantic which is sailing to America bearing the Tennyson brothers, their cousin Gertrude Butterwick, the Tennyson's old Eton school friend Monty Bodkin as well as the Hollywood movie magnate Ikey Llewellyn, his sister Mabel Spence, the actress Lotus Blossom (an infuriating character who travels everywhere with her pet alligator), as well as the hapless steward Albert Peasemarsh (who I found myself yelling at at different times during the book). Without describing the plot in my review, all I will say is that this group of characters get up to no-end of scrapes during their six-day voyage; and at the centre of all this is a necklace that Llewellyn's wife wants him to smuggle out of Europe without paying duty.
Highly recommended.
This novel is set on the RMS Atlantic which is sailing to America bearing the Tennyson brothers, their cousin Gertrude Butterwick, the Tennyson's old Eton school friend Monty Bodkin as well as the Hollywood movie magnate Ikey Llewellyn, his sister Mabel Spence, the actress Lotus Blossom (an infuriating character who travels everywhere with her pet alligator), as well as the hapless steward Albert Peasemarsh (who I found myself yelling at at different times during the book). Without describing the plot in my review, all I will say is that this group of characters get up to no-end of scrapes during their six-day voyage; and at the centre of all this is a necklace that Llewellyn's wife wants him to smuggle out of Europe without paying duty.
Highly recommended.
November 23, 2023
This book was my first introduction to Wodehouse. I have a clear memory of my dad reading this on the sofa when I was a kid, and laughing his head off. My immediate reaction was to read this wonderous book for myself.
It remains brilliant, with a laugh out loud gag on every other page. It’s not as well known as THE CODE OF THE WOOSTERS, or RIGHT HO, JEEVES, but it’s just as good. It feels the most ‘musical comedy’ of Wodehouse’s ‘musical comedies’, possibly because it shares an ocean liner setting with ANYTHING GOES – which Wodehouse, of course, wrote the book for.
It’s an interesting thing that one of the key props here is a Micky Mouse, which nearly 90 years on is still a big part of the culture.
It remains brilliant, with a laugh out loud gag on every other page. It’s not as well known as THE CODE OF THE WOOSTERS, or RIGHT HO, JEEVES, but it’s just as good. It feels the most ‘musical comedy’ of Wodehouse’s ‘musical comedies’, possibly because it shares an ocean liner setting with ANYTHING GOES – which Wodehouse, of course, wrote the book for.
It’s an interesting thing that one of the key props here is a Micky Mouse, which nearly 90 years on is still a big part of the culture.
March 1, 2008
I'm going to go out on a limb here and rank Luck of the Bodkins as my third favorite Wodehouse novel, just below Leave it to Psmith and Code of the Woosters. It's the longest Wodehouse book I've read yet and probably has the most twists. Highly recommended.
November 7, 2017
4.5* for this audiobook edition, narrated by Jonathan Cecil.
Prime Wodehouse fare, with romantic entanglements, misunderstandings & colorful characters.
Prime Wodehouse fare, with romantic entanglements, misunderstandings & colorful characters.
September 9, 2012
Probably Wodehouse's longest non-Jeeves/non-Blandings novel, Luck of the Bodkins appears to have started out as a play script or screenplay. If this surmise is correct, we can all shed a tear that Eric Blore never got to play the verbose, fat-headed, good-hearted cabin steward Albert Peasemarch.
Peasemarch, a man capable of quoting Shakespeare, singing The Bandolero to a dubious crowd of second-class passengers with only a day's rehearsal, and running the length of a ocean liner half a dozen times, proves also up to the task of nearly wrecking the nuptial plans of a trio of miscellaneous upper-class Englishmen, the titular Monty Bodkin foremost among them. Peasemarch becomes, by degrees, an annoyance, an affliction, and ultimately a curse approaching biblical proportions to Bodkin, a man so dim he makes Bertie Wooster look like Enrico Fermi by comparison.
Bodkin's role in this affair is smaller than the title might lead you to believe. Although he avoids the mid-point stabbing Shakespeare inflicted on Julius Caesar, there are moments in Luck of the Bodkins when he clearly longs for the sweet embrace of death, most notably when the American movie actress Lottie Blossom has, due to the incompetence of Peasemarch, gotten hold of a Mickey Mouse doll symbolic of his undying love for Gertrude Butterwick, and won't give it back unless he signs an acting contract with the big movie tycoon Ivor Llewellyn so that Llewllyn will give her fiance a job so that...no, there is too much.
Let me sum up: it is a feast, one I only wish we could savor with the clicking of a projector in the background, with Albert Peasemarch, Monty Bodkin, and Lottie Blossom up on the screen in glorious sepia-tinted black and white.
Peasemarch, a man capable of quoting Shakespeare, singing The Bandolero to a dubious crowd of second-class passengers with only a day's rehearsal, and running the length of a ocean liner half a dozen times, proves also up to the task of nearly wrecking the nuptial plans of a trio of miscellaneous upper-class Englishmen, the titular Monty Bodkin foremost among them. Peasemarch becomes, by degrees, an annoyance, an affliction, and ultimately a curse approaching biblical proportions to Bodkin, a man so dim he makes Bertie Wooster look like Enrico Fermi by comparison.
Bodkin's role in this affair is smaller than the title might lead you to believe. Although he avoids the mid-point stabbing Shakespeare inflicted on Julius Caesar, there are moments in Luck of the Bodkins when he clearly longs for the sweet embrace of death, most notably when the American movie actress Lottie Blossom has, due to the incompetence of Peasemarch, gotten hold of a Mickey Mouse doll symbolic of his undying love for Gertrude Butterwick, and won't give it back unless he signs an acting contract with the big movie tycoon Ivor Llewellyn so that Llewllyn will give her fiance a job so that...no, there is too much.
Let me sum up: it is a feast, one I only wish we could savor with the clicking of a projector in the background, with Albert Peasemarch, Monty Bodkin, and Lottie Blossom up on the screen in glorious sepia-tinted black and white.
January 11, 2014
Great books unsually start with great 1st sentences, and Luck of the Bodkins doesn't disappoint with this classic Wodehouse gem:
"Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French."
How can you possibly put a book down that starts like that! And it only gets better.
The eponomous hero Monty Bonkin is also a minor character in the Blandings novel Heavy Weather This book picks up right where we left him at the end of that book making it a sequel of sorts though you defininately do not have to have read Heavy Weather first. Set in London, New York and Hollywood this is a great farce, which will keep you laughing to the end. Another great thing about this is that it the longest Wodehouse novel I've come across at 358pgs. so there's more to love. Monty also returns in the later, weaker Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin.
Most importantly, make sure you pick this novel up (as well as the other Wodehouse books available) in the exquisite Overlook (US) or Everyman (UK) editions -- the beautifully designed, well crafted uniform editions that will last for generations and only cost a couple of bucks more than the mass marked paperback.
"Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French."
How can you possibly put a book down that starts like that! And it only gets better.
The eponomous hero Monty Bonkin is also a minor character in the Blandings novel Heavy Weather This book picks up right where we left him at the end of that book making it a sequel of sorts though you defininately do not have to have read Heavy Weather first. Set in London, New York and Hollywood this is a great farce, which will keep you laughing to the end. Another great thing about this is that it the longest Wodehouse novel I've come across at 358pgs. so there's more to love. Monty also returns in the later, weaker Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin.
Most importantly, make sure you pick this novel up (as well as the other Wodehouse books available) in the exquisite Overlook (US) or Everyman (UK) editions -- the beautifully designed, well crafted uniform editions that will last for generations and only cost a couple of bucks more than the mass marked paperback.
March 24, 2017
Monty Bodkins is in love and engaged to Gertrude Butterwick, now that he has finally managed to figure out how to appear gainfully employed despite being independently wealthy. Her cousin Ambrose Tennyson is engaged to the beautiful American actress, Lotus Blossom, and his brother falls head over heals for Grayce, the sister-in-law, for the man who owns the picture company Lotus acts for. In the meantime, this man, Ivor Llewellyn, is highly stressed because Grayce has let him know, in no uncertain terms, that his wife wants him to smuggle an expensive necklace across the border so she won't have to pay duty (the fact that they could afford it be darned), and just at that time, Monty comes by to ask how to spell a word.
The farce begins in France, moves to England and then onto a transatlantic liner as Ivor frets that Monty, who was already booked on this ship, is certainly hot on his trail, Gertrude convinced Monty is actually in love with the assertive Lotus Blossum, and a certain cabin steward becomes embroiled in the mix. This is the first of the Drones Clubs books I have really enjoyed, right up there with the Wooster and Jeeves' books (and, indeed, better than a few of those).
The farce begins in France, moves to England and then onto a transatlantic liner as Ivor frets that Monty, who was already booked on this ship, is certainly hot on his trail, Gertrude convinced Monty is actually in love with the assertive Lotus Blossum, and a certain cabin steward becomes embroiled in the mix. This is the first of the Drones Clubs books I have really enjoyed, right up there with the Wooster and Jeeves' books (and, indeed, better than a few of those).
August 24, 2020
Much like the other Wodehouse books I have read this is one is full of rollicking dialogue and madcap antics. For anyone who enjoys English humor and sensibility, this book is a must. Though it lacks a character as strong as Jeeves; it still has many humorous moments. With all of the misconstrued moments and wackiness that ensues it feels like a modern sitcom (with 1930s language). This is a perfect summer read and even takes place on a boat. The interplay among characters is lively and the book moves along at a rapid pace. Even a diligent reader such as myself only needed a few days to finish. In a world full of uncertainty, we need books such as this one.
July 17, 2016
One of my favorite Wodehouses. Monty Bodkin and his beloved hockey playing fiancée, Gertrude Butterwick set sail for New York. But oh, what adventures there are to be had on a cruise ship! Smuggling, spies, broken hearts and renewed hopes for happiness; just the things a Wodehouse novel should have. All that and an alligator named Wilfred. What could possibly go wrong?
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