P.G. Wodehouse

[Judy]

Reading too many books at once, I'd put down Something Fresh - I've now picked it up again and am suddenly finding it hilarious, presumably because I've now got to know the characters! Really looking forward to following the Blandings series through now.

[Nigeyb]

The Blandings books definitely get better as they go along Judy

[Judy]

That's good to hear, Nigeyb.

[Lady Clementina]

Judy wrote: "That's good to hear, Nigeyb."

Especially once the Empress appears :)

[Nigeyb]

Rupert Baxter, aka The Efficient Baxter, is the character I immediately think about when anyone mentions the Blandings books.


Comedy gold.

Judy, have you got to the scene in Something Fresh where Baxter tries to foil a crime in the middle of the night? I remember weeping with laughter.

[Lady Clementina]

Nigeyb wrote: "Rupert Baxter, aka The Efficient Baxter, is the character I immediately think about when anyone mentions the Blandings books.


Comedy gold.

Judy, have you got to the scene in [book:Something Fre..."
Heh mer!

[Judy]

Nigeyb wrote: "Judy, have you got to the scene in Something Fresh where Baxter tries to foil a crime in the middle of the night? I remember weeping with laughter..."

Haha, funny you should ask, Nigeyb - I just read that bit yesterday and was falling about! I also love the scene the next day when poor Baxter keeps trying to explain to Lord Emsworth, who won't listen to a word he's saying...

[Judy]

I've now finished Something Fresh - pure comic gold overall! I actually read this on Scribd, after giving up on the audiobook, in an American edition with the different title Something New.

I've been surprised to learn that there are more differences than just the title - Wodehouse actually wrote two slightly different versions (it doesn't seem to be clear which came first!).

Ashe and Joan are both American in the US version, which also includes an episode about a painted shoe which isn't in the UK version! (According to Wikipedia, this is because the same sub-plot is also used in another book, Mike.) I will definitely be rereading this in the future, so I will read a UK version next time and compare.

[Lady Clementina]

Judy wrote: "I've now finished Something Fresh - pure comic gold overall! I actually read this on Scribd, after giving up on the audiobook, in an American edition with the different title Something New.

I've ..."

I knew about the differences in titles but not that there were differences in the version- must look up the American version. I think it's in public domain.

[Nigeyb]

How interesting Judy and Lady C


Judy wrote: "I will definitely be rereading this in the future, so I will read a UK version next time and compare."

Please report back

[Judy]

When I get to the other version, I will, Nigeyb! I can already report that the painted shoe sequence was hilarious, causing great agony to Baxter, as Lord Emsworth continued to misunderstand everything.

[Tania]

I heard on the radio today that P G Wodehouse will be getting a memorial plaque at Westminster Abbey.
Great stuff!

[Nigeyb]

I've just started reading....


A Pelican at Blandings

It's either the 10th (or is it the 11th?) Blandings book. So far it's most agreeable and up to snuff.

Blandings Castle lacks its usual balm for the Earl of Emsworth, as his stern sister Lady Constance Keeble is once more in residence. The Duke of Dunstable is also infesting the place again, along with the standard quota of American millionaires, romantic youths, con artists, imposters and so on. With a painting of a reclining nude at the centre of numerous intrigues, Gally's genius is once again required to sort things out.

A Pelican at Blandings was first published in the United Kingdom on 25 September 1969 by Barrie & Jenkins, London, and in the United States on 11 February 1970 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, under the title No Nudes Is Good Nudes.

It is the tenth full-length novel in the Blandings Castle saga and the last one fully completed by Wodehouse. The title refers to Galahad "Gally" Threepwood, a survivor of the Pelican Club.





A Pelican at Blandings by P.G. Wodehouse

[Lynaia]

You make me yearn to read another Wodehouse. No one compares to him. Finding his books was one of the best things to come out of our trip to London 12 years ago. Stuffed our suitcases with Wodehouse novels on the trip home.

[Nigeyb]

I agree Lynaia, I always try to read one every few months.

[Judy]

I’ve only read the first Blandings book so far - I must read more!

[Judy]

Just to add, I've read quite a lot of other Wodehouse books.

[Lady Clementina]

Judy wrote: "I’ve only read the first Blandings book so far - I must read more!"

Do- they become more and more fun. Especially when the Empress comes in.

[Nigeyb]

Don't tell anyone, but I think I might prefer the Blandings stories to the Jeeves and Wooster books

[Lady Clementina]

Nigeyb wrote: "Don't tell anyone, but I think I might prefer the Blandings stories to the Jeeves and Wooster books"

I do too- I like Jeeves and Wooster but I love the Blandings stories much more.

[Nigeyb]

Being transported into PG's world is such a joy.


Whilst the plots are formulaic his turns of phrase, witticisms and bon mots are endlessly entertaining. Would that real life discourse was so colourful and imaginative.

[Nigeyb]

By the by, whilst reading A Pelican at Blandings I came upon a passing reference to the magnificently monikered "Fruity" Biffen.

Following some routine enquiries, I came upon this helpful...

...List of minor Blandings characters....

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_...

Having heaped praise upon PG's way with words, I now feel duty bound to marvel at his talent for naming characters

Who can fail to love names like "Plug" Basham, Maudie Beach, "Puffy" Benger, "Beefy" Bingham, Lady Julia Fish, G. Ovens, Tipton Plimsoll, Vanessa Polk, Slingsby, Pongo Twistleton etc?

Life is better with PGW

[Lady Clementina]

Nigeyb wrote: "By the by, whilst reading A Pelican at Blandings I came upon a passing reference to the magnificently monikered "Fruity" Biffen.

Following some routine enquiries, I came upon this ..."

Pelican is one of my favourites- I love how Vanessa Polk has never met pigs socially!

[Nigeyb]

Absolutely Lady C. I'm already a little bit in love with Vanessa Polk.

[CQM]

I may have mentioned this elsewhere, and if I have ignore me, but one of my absolute favourite things is the fact that old P.G. went to Dulwich College just a few years ahead of Raymond Chandler.
I spend more time than is right imagining them as a crime-fighting double act.

[Tania]

I haven't read that one, but I also prefer the Blandings books.

[Nigeyb]

CQM wrote: "...old P.G. went to Dulwich College just a few years ahead of Raymond Chandler.


I spend more time than is right imagining them as a crime-fighting double act...."

How wonderful. I wonder if they knew each other. And yes, Wodehouse and Chandler - the dynamic duo. What super villain would not be quaking at the prospect?

[CQM]

I think they might have just missed each other but it's a lovely idea isn't it.

[Judy]

I've read that their writing styles were both influenced by the same teacher, which is quite a thought!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8784096.stm

This piece asks which of the two wrote the line:
"she was blonde enough to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window".

I don't know the answer but am guessing Chandler!

[Nigeyb]

That's 100 per cent Chandler

[Lady Clementina]

Nigeyb wrote: "CQM wrote: "...old P.G. went to Dulwich College just a few years ahead of Raymond Chandler.


I spend more time than is right imagining them as a crime-fighting double act...."

How wonderful. I w..."

And PGW used to play cricket with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- I can never ever imagine them as contemporaries since Holmes seems to live so much longer ago.

[Lady Clementina]

Nigeyb wrote: "Absolutely Lady C. I'm already a little bit in love with Vanessa Polk."

:) Another 'scene' that I love in a similar way is from Spring Fever. Have you read that one?

[Nigeyb]

No Lady C, I've yet to have the pleasure of reading Spring Fever. It sounds as though I should put that right before much longer

Spring Fever....

Wealthy New York businessman G. Ellery Cobbold has sent his son Stanwood, a blundering ex-American football player, to London, to separate him from Hollywood starlet Eileen Stoker with whom he is in love. When Cobbold discovers that Stoker is also in London, making pictures, he insists that Stanwood goes to stay with a distant relation, curmudgeonly widower Lord Shortlands.

Spring Fever is a novel by P.G. Wodehouse, first published on 20 May 1948, in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London and in the United States by Doubleday and Co, New York. Although not featuring any of Wodehouse's regular characters, the cast contains a typical Wodehousean selection of English aristocrats, wealthy Americans, household staff and imposters.

[Lady Clementina]

Nigeyb wrote: "No Lady C, I've yet to have the pleasure of reading Spring Fever. It sounds as though I should put that right before much longer

Spring Fever....

Wealthy New York busine..."
Looking forward to your review. This is another of my favourites of his.

[Nigeyb]

I'll keep you posted Lady C


Whilst discussing all things PGW, has anyone else read Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks? It's part of the modern trend of reviving old authors' work.

Sebastian Faulks, in the book's introduction, describes this book as "a tribute" by "a fan" and not "an imitation".

For my money, and as an avid P.G. Wodehouse fan, I'd say Jeeves and the Wedding Bells is every bit as good as the real thing. Sebastian Faulks is to be congratulated for pulling off the perfect homage.

Click here to read my review

4/5





Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks

[Lady Clementina]

Nigeyb wrote: "I'll keep you posted Lady C


Whilst discussing all things PGW, has anyone else read Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks? It's part of the modern trend of..."

Nope- I'm always very sceptical of books continued/written by another author. Even with Enid Blyton, I stay away from other authors' books with her characters.

[CQM]

Lady Clementina wrote: "Nigeyb wrote: "CQM wrote: "...old P.G. went to Dulwich College just a few years ahead of Raymond Chandler.


I spend more time than is right imagining them as a crime-fighting double act...."

How..."
I never knew that. It's interesting to be able to draw a line like that from Doyle to Chandler through Wodehouse.

[Judy]

Nigeyb wrote: "That's 100 per cent Chandler"

You are 100 per cent correct.

I think it should have been possible for the writer of this article to find a phrase which could more possibly belong to either of them! ;)

[Nigeyb]

Lady Clementina wrote: "I'm always very sceptical of books continued/written by another author"


I think I am too, however this is a particularly successful example of the genre. Still, PG wrote some many books you hardly need go looking for other books about his characters by different authors.

That said, I was just listening to an episode of the Books and Authors podcast and heard about a new Philip Marlowe book - Only to Sleep: A Philip Marlowe Novel by Lawrence Osborne - and a series which revives Sherlock Holmes, albeit in a supporting role - The Irregular + The Red Ribbon by H.B. Lyle.

Both sounded quite enticing.

They also discussed The Division Bell Mystery (1932) by Ellen Wilkinson, a thirties crime novel by a female MP, which has just been republished by the British Museum. Another one that sounded rather splendid and which would doubtless appeal to Susan and Judy's Reading The Detectives GR group.

[Nigeyb]

I've just experienced the first laugh out loud moment of A Pelican at Blandings. The scene where the Duke of Emsworth is locked out of Blandings in the small hours and has to enter, via the window of the garden suite, and so disturbs the irascible Alaric Pendlebury-Davenport, aka the Duke of Dunstable.

Comedy gold.

[Nigeyb]

I've just experienced the first laugh out loud moment of A Pelican at Blandings. The scene where the Duke of Emsworth is locked out of Blandings in the small hours and has to enter, via the window of the garden suite, and so disturbs the irascible Alaric Pendlebury-Davenport, aka the Duke of Dunstable

[Lady Clementina]

Nigeyb wrote: "I've just experienced the first laugh out loud moment of A Pelican at Blandings. The scene where the Duke of Emsworth is locked out of Blandings in the small hours and has to enter, ..."
Is Pelican where Ricky Gilpin wants to set up an onion soup bar?

[Nigeyb]

Lady Clementina wrote: "Is Pelican where Ricky Gilpin wants to set up an onion soup bar? "


No Lady C. I believe that is in one of the Uncle Fred books, Uncle Fred in the Springtime...

Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, Fifth Earl of Ickenham, better known as Uncle Fred, is back “to spread sweetness and light” wherever he goes. At the request of Lord Emsworth, Uncle Fred journeys to Blandings Castle to steal the Empress of Blandings before the ill-tempered, egg-throwing Duke of Dunstable can lay claim to her. Disguised as the eminent nerve specialist Sir Roderick Glossop, and with his distressed nephew Pongo in tow, Uncle Fred must not only steal a pig but also reunite a young couple and diagnose various members of the upper class with imaginary mental illnesses, all before his domineering wife realizes he’s escaped their country estate.

By the by, here's a great description of Ricky in that list of minor Blanding characters I posted earlier in this thread (and which references the aforementioned onion soup business proposal)....

The nephew of the Duke of Dunstable, Ricky Gilpin is, despite being a poet, a large, beefy chap with red hair and a quick temper. His mother, the Duke's sister, married beneath her, to one William "Billy" Gilpin, a member of the Connaught Rangers, who was a friend of Uncle Fred; Billy, apparently, looked the dead spit of his son and had same hot temper - Fred often had to sit on his head. The muscular Ricky once cleaned up against three simultaneous Covent Garden costermongers in five minutes. On another occasion, he rescued "Mustard" Pott from a gang of thugs bent on his destruction, and, on taking him home, met and fell in love with Polly Pott. His uncle disapproves of the match, and also of Ricky's plan to buy an onion-soup bar in Coventry Street off Piccadilly from an American friend, despite its great financial potential. Ricky attended a ball as Little Lord Fauntleroy, in Uncle Fred in the Springtime.

[Lady Clementina]

Nigeyb wrote: "Lady Clementina wrote: "Is Pelican where Ricky Gilpin wants to set up an onion soup bar? "


No Lady C. I believe that is in one of the Uncle Fred books, [book:Uncle Fred in the Springtime|13707721..."

Ah- I always manage to get my Blandings books jumbled up. But I do enjoy it when Dunstable and Lady Constance are around-of course I feel sorry for poor Lord Emsworth.

[Nigeyb]

Lady Clementina wrote: "I do enjoy it when Dunstable and Lady Constance are around-of course I feel sorry for poor Lord Emsworth."

I couldn't agree more. It's the dynamic between the aggressive characters and the distracted Lord E which brings out some of the more sublime comedic moments.

Talking of which....

Nigeyb wrote: "I've just experienced the first laugh out loud moment of A Pelican at Blandings. The scene where the Duke of Emsworth is locked out of Blandings in the small hours and has to enter, via the window of the garden suite, and so disturbs the irascible Alaric Pendlebury-Davenport, aka the Duke of Dunstable"

This same scene continues with the Duke of Emsworth convinced the painting of the reclining nude has been stolen. After consultation with a mischievous Gally, they wake up Alaric for a second time. Hilarity ensues. I was convulsed with laughter. I still haven't got to the end of the scene so am hoping for yet more guffawing.

PGW can require a lot of exposition to create these set piece moments but they are almost always worth the wait.

Truly one of the funniest writers ever to grace the literary world.

[Lynaia]

Nigeyb wrote: "I'll keep you posted Lady C


Whilst discussing all things PGW, has anyone else read Jeeves and the Wedding Bells by Sebastian Faulks? It's part of the modern trend of..."

I read it and according to the rare review I did, I found it an enjoyable read but felt the characters were too different from the originals which was a little off putting for me. It must be so difficult to continue somebody elses characters.

[Nigeyb]

Lynaia wrote: "It must be so difficult to continue somebody elses characters"


Absolutely - a bit of a thankless task I'd have thought

[Nigeyb]

I've now finished A Pelican at Blandings (1969) - which is another latter day gem from P.G. Wodehouse


Click here to read my review


4/5



A Pelican at Blandings by P.G. Wodehouse

[Nigeyb]

Sometimes one P.G. Wodehouse is just not enough. Having finished A Pelican at Blandings, I've moved straight on to another one....


Doctor Sally

When Bill Bannister meets Dr Sally Smith, love blossoms immediately. Unfortunately there is just the small problem of Lottie Higginbotham, former actress, serial bride and human fireball, with whom Bill is already involved.The well-meaning interference of Bill's old friend, Squiffy Tidmouth, once married to Lottie, only complicates matters further, until everything is straightened out in a series of comic encounters at Bill's ancestral home and everyone lives happily ever after.

[Lady Clementina]

Nigeyb wrote: "Sometimes one P.G. Wodehouse is just not enough. Having finished A Pelican at Blandings, I've moved straight on to another one....


Doctor Sally

When Bill Bannister me..."
That's one I haven't read yet. Looking forward to see what you think of it.