P.G. Wodehouse

[Nigeyb]

I’m enjoying the Blandings short stories.


Company For Gertrude is the pick of the bunch so far

[Roman Clodia]

Nigeyb wrote: "I’m enjoying the Blandings short stories.


Company For Gertrude is the pick of the bunch so far"

I'm going to have to track them down at some point.

[Nigeyb]

The Go Getter is great too and follows straight on from Company For Gertrude


Blandings is the gift that keeps on giving

[Nigeyb]

Lord Emsworth and the Girlfriend is another goodie


I now realise I have read all these stories before but sufficiently long ago to have forgotten most of the details

[Nigeyb]

Mr Potter Takes a Rest Cure - a Bobbie Wickham story, had me crying with laughter. Superb

I think I might need more Bobbie Wickham in my life 🤠


According to Wikipedia….

Roberta "Bobbie" Wickham is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves and Mr. Mulliner stories of English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being a mischievous red-headed girl who is fond of practical jokes. She is a friend and one-time love interest of Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster, and a relative of Mr. Mulliner.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbie_...#

[Nigeyb]

Bobbie Wickham is featured in:


Mr Mulliner Speaking (1929)…
"Something Squishy" (1924) – Mr. Mulliner
"The Awful Gladness of the Mater" (1925) – Mr. Mulliner
"The Passing of Ambrose" (1928) – Mr. Mulliner

Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935)…
"Mr Potter Takes a Rest Cure" (1926) – Bobbie

Very Good, Jeeves (1930)…
"Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit" (1927) – Jeeves
"Episode of the Dog McIntosh" (1929) – Jeeves
"Jeeves and the Kid Clementina" (1930) – Jeeves

Plum Stones (1993)…
"Dudley Is Back to Normal" (1940) – Bobbie

Jeeves in the Offing (1960) – Jeeves


I must have come across her before and not realised she was a recurring character

I’ve never read any of the Mulliner books but am now filled with enthusiasm for the idea

[Brian E]

Nigeyb wrote: "Jeeves's master Bertie Wooster..."

That's a good one, Nigeyb!

[Brian E]

Nigeyb wrote: "I’ve never read any of the Mulliner books but am now filled with enthusiasm for the idea"

I have read some Mulliner books including this omnibus one sometime last century , but the Mulliner stories in put me off of reading much more Mulliner. It may just have been that they paled by comparison to the Blandings stories in that collection but I do remember thinking that they were too focused on satirizing Hollywood and grew tiresome.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Brian


Funnily enough I have just stared the Mulliner story in Blandings Castle ... and Elsewhere


Certainly an interesting premise....

Like his fellow Wodehouse character, the Oldest Member, the raconteur Mr. Mulliner can turn any conversation into a "recollection", or funny story. A habitué of the Angler's Rest pub, his fellow drinkers are identified only by their beverages. (Mr. Mulliner is a Hot Scotch and Lemon.) Wodehouse revealed in an introduction that he devised Mr. Mulliner after collecting notebooks full of ideas that could not be used because they were too outlandish, until he had the happy notion of a fisherman whose veracity could be doubted.

The tales of Mulliner all involve one of his relations: there are dozens upon dozens of cousins, nieces, and nephews. These include stories about loves lost, found and rekindled; fortunes made and lost; and opportunities grasped or missed. They take place across the globe: Los Angeles's Hollywood and the English Country House are the settings for many.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Mul...

[Nigeyb]

Thanks RTTC for inspiring me to read these short stories as part of our Blandings read - my life is the richer for the experience.


I am still chuckling about the Bobbie Wickham story, Mr Potter Takes a Rest Cure. I had tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks.

Isn't it marvellous when that happens?

PGW is one of that rare breed who can reduce me to that state. Genius

[Roman Clodia]

Ah, Bobby Wickham, I thought I recognised that name! I am sorely tempted to go back to the Jeeves books after we've done Blandings. It's years since I read them and I dipped in and out. It's lovely having a PGW on the go while reading other stuff.

[Nigeyb]

I read the Mulliner story last night - pretty good but nothing amazing. I'm still keen to try a few more and really get a feel for the Mulliner stories

Overall though Blandings Castle ... and Elsewhere is another Wodehousian delight 👏🏼

[Roman Clodia]

Yes, please do report back on the Mulliner stories - I think Alwynne is a fan.

[Nigeyb]

There’s a second Mulliner story and it’s pretty good. I can imagine they could get cumulatively more entertaining. I’m definitely going to investigate more of them so will report back

[Alwynne]

Nigeyb wrote: "There’s a second Mulliner story and it’s pretty good. I can imagine they could get cumulatively more entertaining. I’m definitely going to investigate more of them so will report back"

They grew on me but obvs can't guarantee the same for everyone else, there are a fair few curates and aunts, so filled the gap when I felt bereft after finishing a reread of the Jeeves and Wooster novels.

[Roman Clodia]

I'm not sure I've read the Jeeves novels, mainly the stories, so will be adding them to the pile! I can imagine feeling bereft, PGW world is like a sanctuary of feel-good.

[Nigeyb]

You’re in for a treat RC. I’d say the novels are more satisfying than the short stories

[Roman Clodia]

Nigeyb wrote: "You’re in for a treat RC. I’d say the novels are more satisfying than the short stories"

That's interesting. I've read at least one novel and preferred the more focused 'single-issue' stories - but now that I've discovered the delights of Blandings, I have more appreciation of how beautifully PGW orchestrates his plots.

[Nigeyb]

Exactly that RC


And, like Blandings, there are some fabulous recurring characters

[Sonia]

Also love the recurring characters. Started listening to Heavy Weather, with the new character Monty Bodkin, and am happy that his story will continue in The Luck of the Bodkins.

[Lady Clementina]

The Luck of the Bodkins is one of my favourites. Really good fun

[Roman Clodia]

Lady Clementina wrote: "The Luck of the Bodkins is one of my favourites. Really good fun"

Wait, wait, is this another series? I have so much PGW catching up to do!

[Nigeyb]

Yes indeed RC, The Luck of the Bodkins continues the story started in Heavy Weather of the complicated love life of amiable young Monty Bodkin, the nephew of Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe .

In Heavy Weather, Monty was the latest in the long line of Lord Emsworth's secretaries. In The Luck of the Bodkins, he is still hoping to marry his fiancée Gertrude Butterwick but, as usual, the course of true love does not run smoothly.

Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin (1972) belatedly (in terms of publishing date) picks up the story yet again

[Roman Clodia]

It looks delightful 😊

[Brian E]

Brian E wrote: "I haven't joined in since I feel I just read these, but in checking I found I finished reading as follows:
Something Fresh March 3, 2016
Summer Lightning March 23, 2016...
Heavy Weather April 8, 2016.
So it has been 8 years. And it will be symmetrical to read the first two in March and then Heavy Weather in April again. So I may join in too. As soon as I finish Queen Lucia which is my current 'entertaining read' selection."

New plans. I just started my reread of 'Something Fresh' and have stopped. While a reread of the above three would be great, I feel like reading "something fresher" to me.
After enjoying Queen Lucia I feel I am better off devoting my "entertainment read' slot to reading the other 5 books in the Mapp and Lucia series. Interestingly, my series has Lucia in London as #2 and Miss Mapp as #3 while most people list it in the reverse of that. I will read Miss Mapp next as that is the order consistent with when Benson wrote it.
Also, this thread has reminded me that I never did read the third Bodkin book Pearls, Girls And Monty Bodkin. I think that, if reading any more Wodehouse this year after reading the complete Mike and Psmith series , I would rather it be some Wodehouse I've never read before than a reread of the early Blandings. I have a copy of an unread Hot Water lined up for when I take a break from Lucia and Mapp.

[Roman Clodia]

Brian, I've always had Lucia in London as book 2 and then Miss Mapp but I don't think the order matters - the bar is truly raised in Mapp and Lucia!

[Brian E]

Roman Clodia wrote: "Brian, I've always had Lucia in London as book 2 and then Miss Mapp but I don't think the order matters - the bar is truly raised in Mapp and Lucia!"

Thanks, RC. I was thinking that I might like do it that way, if Mapp isn't in that one either, which I presume. I'd rather continue with one more book with Lucia - kind of cement Lucia on my memory -before I move on to a new Lucia-less story and village.

[Nigeyb]

I’ve just finished the Blandings Castle short story collection


The last five stories are all Mulliner stories. They are not as funny as the other stories, but do exert a certain charm. I’m looking forward to reading more of them.

[Nigeyb]

Wodehouse's Mulliner stories all start in the Angler's Rest pub and all the drinkers are identified only by their beverages (Mulliner is a Hot Scotch and Lemon which sounds quite pleasant to me - anyone tried it?).


Intrigued by this idea I came across this article...

http://www.wodehouse.org/extra/PL/PL_...

The writer states... "To consider this matter of drinks in Mulliner, I have sipped the essence of 43 Mulliner stories. Without any claim of completeness, my survey reveals over 50 “drinks.” Forty-two different drinks appear as “listeners” in the stories"

[Nigeyb]

Here's my review of...


Blandings Castle and Elsewhere: (1935)


...which I have now finished


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Delightful

4/5

[Brian E]

Nigeyb wrote: "The last five stories are all Mulliner stories. They are not as funny as the other stories, but do exert a certain charm. I’m looking forward to reading more of them"

I have read some of the later Mulliner stories, such as the Blandings Castle ones, but not the early ones since I first read them n the 1980s. Since you are interested in "reading more of them" Nige, I suggest starting with the first Mulliner collection from 1927:
Meet Mr. Mulliner .

I suggest we do a Buddy Read of it in June, July or whenever you finish or want a one month break from reading the]Blandings books. I've read all 12 and then some of the Blandings series within the past 8 years except for the last one: Sunset at Blandings .

Let me know. However, I don't want to read Meet Mr Mulliner in a month another Wodehouse will be read.

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Brian - will do 👌🏻

[Nigeyb]

I'm taking the opportunity to read this 80 page short story....




The Crime Wave at Blandings (1937) (Blandings Castle #5.5)



...and which I recenty acquired. Completist that I am.


"The Crime Wave at Blandings" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse that first appeared in the United States in two parts, in the October 10 and October 17, 1936 editions of the Saturday Evening Post, and in the UK in the January 1937 issue of the Strand (as "Crime Wave at Blandings"). It was included in the collection Lord Emsworth and Others (1937).


It was also published as a mini book by Penguin Modern Classics in 2011. This mini book is what I am reading.


Blurb....

One of P.G. Wodehouse's most gloriously funny stories, this is the tale of bumbling Lord Emsworth, whose quiet life reading "The Care Of The Pig" and pottering among the flowers at Blandings Castle is shattered by an outbreak of lawlessness involving his niece Jane (the third prettiest girl in Shropshire), an airgun - and the trouser seat of the abominable Baxter.

[Roman Clodia]

Ooh, I need to get my hands on that! Some of those stories are elusive to find so thanks Penguin!

[Nigeyb]

If not you can probably find it in Lord Emsworth and OthersLord Emsworth and Others - it's the first story and the only one about Blandings. I suspect most library services would be able to find that one for you.

[Roman Clodia]

Thanks - I just checked the Penguin and it's 7 quid for a mini book which is just extortion. I'm sure I'll be able to get it from the library.

[Nigeyb]

Otherwise I’ll send you mine. I won’t keep it once I’ve read it

[Roman Clodia]

Aw, thanks. I'll let you know if I can't get it at the library and maybe pick it up next time I'm in sunny Hove.

[Vesna]

I have this story in the Lord Emsworth and Others and plan to read it it after Heavy Weather. Apparently it reads as a transition from Heavy Weather to Uncle Fred In The Springtime which got me on the PGW train (and what a fabulous time I have).

[Nigeyb]

I can heartily recommend it


I’m halfway through and it’s a pip and a dandy

You get to see Lord Emsworth in a whole new light

[Sonia]

I love this story. Little George is a hoot, especially calling his Grandpa Big Boy.

[Nigeyb]

I have just finished


Absolutely superb

It really subverts expectations and, as I said earlier, throws Lord Emsworth and other favourite characters, in a new light

It’s also extremely amusing

Highly recommended

[Nigeyb]

A brief review of The Crime Wave at Blandings (1937) (Blandings Castle #5.5)....



https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

5/5

[Roman Clodia]

Sounds a blast!

[Roman Clodia]

Ha, just finished The Crime Wave at Blandings and it is, indeed, a hoot. I see what you mean, Nigeyb, about seeing a different side to Lord Em - he gets quite competitive, doesn't he?! I do have a soft spot for Baxter, even if he is a blister 😉

5-stars from me too

[Nigeyb]

Splendid news


Although never in doubt

[Roman Clodia]

I'm not usually a fan of cartoonish, knockabout humour but somehow PGW makes those 'seat of his pants' scenes hilarious - I don't know how he does it.

[Roman Clodia]

Oh and Beach - bless!

[Nigeyb]

Nobody can resist that air rifle


And more ignominy for The Efficient Baxter

[Nigeyb]

Message for RC and all the other RTTCers keen on more Wodehouse buddy reads now we've (nearly) finished the Blandings series, I am keen to read more of the standalones.....


How about we read and discuss Jill the Reckless (1920) next?


Currently 79 pence for the Kindle edition in the UK


Here's the deets from Wikipedia.....

The heroine here, Jill Mariner, is a sweet-natured and wealthy young woman who, at the opening, is engaged to an MP, the baronet Sir Derek Underhill. We follow her through an adventure with a parrot, a policeman and the colourful proletariat; financial disaster; a broken engagement; an awkward stay with some grasping relatives; employment as a chorus girl; and the finding of true love.

Other characters include wealthy, dimwitted clubman Freddie Rooke and ruggedly attractive writer Wally Mason (both childhood friends of Jill's); her financially inept but charming uncle Major Christopher Selby; Sir Derek's domineering mother, Lady Underhill; Jill's unpleasant relatives on Long Island, New York, Elmer, Julia and Tibby Mariner; Drones Club member Algy Martyn; various chorus girls, composers and other theatrical types; and miscellaneous servants.

George Bevan, composer hero of Wodehouse's previous work A Damsel in Distress, receives a passing mention, as does an unspecified member of the Threepwood family. Algy Martyn later appears in Company for Henry.


How good does that sound?