It is indeed spring and with sunny days, warming weather, and the return of the beautiful colors of nature comes the desire to delve into the stories of P.G. Wodehouse. There is no other author who I consider as quintessentially ‘spring’ as Wodehouse. His work makes you happy and makes your heart light. He is one of the few authors whom I have read who makes me laugh out loud. There is a biography of P.G. Wodehouse here. Its a quick but fascinating read and I recommend that you nip over there quickly before continuing.
Mistaken identities, reckless engagements, tyranical uncles, looney aunts, genius butlers, madcap adventures, outrageous plots, thwarted lovers, and a royal pig are just some of the many things one can find in the farcical tales of Wodehouse.
Wodehouse is the English comic writer. I first discovered Wodehouse through his most famous characters, Bertie Wooster and his man-servant Jeeves.
I happened to catch a few episodes on PBS years ago and rushed out immediately and began consuming Wodehouse. I bought this entire set for Mary for Christmas 2 years ago and it is wonderful. If you have a chance to watch these you will not be disappointed.
Second only to Jeeves and Wooster in popularity is his fictional world of Blandings Castle. A few years ago a wonderful company called Overlook Press began releasing hardback versions of Wodehouse’s work in a series called The Collector’s Wodehouse. I much prefer hardback books when I can get them and so I slowly began collecting volumes that I had not yet read, impatiently awaiting the day that my favorite Wodehouse book would be released: Something Fresh.
I had pre-ordered this months ago from Amazon.com and was so excited when it came in the mail today. I’ve been aching to read this book again! Its a great jumping on point if you’re new to Wodehouse as it is the first of the Blandings Castle novels. I would also recommend the Mulliner books. They are a series of tales told to patrons in a local pub by Mr. Mulliner concerning his relatives. The tales become quite tall in the telling and usually involve a series of mishaps with the said Mulliner coming out all right in the end. The first of this series is Meet Mr. Mulliner.
They are great short story books that are marvelously amusing and are another great introduction to Wodehouse. And of course you can never go wrong with a Jeeves/Wooster novel.
At this point I may not have convinced you, but believe me when I say that Wodehouse is a pure delight to read. A few of the multitude of characters who populate his novels are:
Bertie Wooster, Oofy Prosser, Barmy Fungy-Phipps, the honorable Frederick Threepwood, Gussie Fink-Nottle, Pongo Twistleton, Roderick Spode, Lord Emsworth, and The Empress of Blandings (a pig).
And here is a sampling of the many amusing quotes from Wodehouse novels:
“She looked as if she had been poured into her clothes and had forgotten to say ‘when.’ “
“Marriage isn’t a process of prolonging the life of love, but of mummifying the corpse.”
“A melancholy-looking man, he had the appearance of someone who had searched for the leak in life’s gas pipe with a lighted candle.”
“There is only one cure for grey hair. It was invented by a Frenchman. It is called the guillotine.”
“As for Gussie Finknottle, many an experienced undertaker would have been deceived by his appearance and started embalming on sight.”
and
“She gave me the sort of look she would have given a leper she wasn’t fond of.”
In his 93 years of life Sir P.G. Wodehouse was quite prolific. He wrote more than 70 novels, wrote in excess of 300 short stories, contributed at least 800 pieces to about 80 journals and, by writing more than 200 lyrics for musical comedies, is acknowledged to be one of the founders of the modern stage-musical. (Man I feel like a slacker!!!!)
Wodehouse is English comedy at its absolute finest. Your local library and bookstore are filled with Wodehouse delights, partake of some today!
I will have to read one of these novels sometimes. I really haven’t been exposed to hardly any british comdey except for Benny Hill years ago. I have only seen one Monty Python film, Meaning of Life. Several people tell me I must check out The Holy Grail and The Life of Brian. I have also some very good reviews of this last year of a british comedy series called The Office. I also have never seen Dr Who, Red Dwarf, or seen/read any Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. I practically a british comedy virgin. 🙂
I like the cover on Something Fresh so I’ll be looking for that one first down the road.
Well, I’m not much of a British comedy fan, but I have been watching the American version of The Office. It is incredibly funny! I love the documentary style shooting.
This comedy is more old fashioned, for lack of a better way to put it, than Monty Python or any other British TV comedy. Its clean and fun and based much more on creative, witty language. Wodehouse is an author who just does wonderful things with words. There is truly no one like him and once you’ve discovered his style it is easy to pick up a book and know immediately that he wrote it even if it didn’t say so. There is some amount of social satire in his writing but you never feel like he’s trying to make some grand statement about society…reading a Wodehouse novel is akin to sitting on the porch on a glorious spring day listening to a story told by your favorite uncle….the kind of uncle who has a certain way about him and can keep you hanging onto his every word out of sheer delight.
Although I love the bawdy, slapstick humor of Python, etc. it would be a shame to compare Wodehouse to that as his work is far superior in quality.
I love reading P.G. Wodehouse! The Jeeves and Wooster televised (for lack of a better word?)series was so well done that you can easily go from reading the book to watching the show and completely feel the genius of the Wodehouse style.
I wonder if Carl and I are just quirky? We love so many of the British comedies that PBS airs.
Now all of you don’t need to jump in to confirm that we are quirky…maybe just our sense of humour (do you like my nod to the Brits)?
PG Wodehouse, the uber-Brit.
the yin to Dickens’ yang?
but then what happens to Chesterton?
I just read The Man Who Was Thursday (G.K. Chesterton) during the past Christmas holiday and LOVED it. Such an interesting story, I couldn’t put it down. I need to see what else he has written and check it out.
Napoleon of Notting Hill.
how’s that for timely, eh? eh?
Yes, that is very appropos! I’ve heard that title but didn’t know that is was Chesterton’s. Read the description on Amazon, this looks really good!
We don’t need to be told how quirky we are Mary, everyone knows! 🙂
I’ve been listening to a Wodehouse book on tape the last 4 days and I can’t stop thinking, and occasionally typing, very Wodehousian, English phrases!
I’ve picked Damsel in distress from my shelf, so I’ll be reading that. Haven’t started yet, but this post certainly makes me want to leave work now, grab a cuppa and get to it.
I stumbled onto P.G. Wodehouse about a month ago, but I had no idea who he was. Thanks, I think he’s right up my alley.
As for Chesterton, he’s one of the classics. My favorite books of his are definitely the Napoleon of Notting Hill and The Man Who Was Thursday; but he also created the Father Brown detective stories and numerous essays, poems and non-fiction books. Methinks a few of his quotes are in order:
“There is a law written in the darkest of the books of life and it is this: if you look at a thing nine-hundred and ninety-nine times, you are perfectly safe. But if you look at it the thousanth time, you are in frightful danger of seeing it for the first time.” -Napoleon of Notting Hill
“Misers get up early in the morning; and burglars, I am informed, get up the night before.” – Tremendous Trifles
“You want a safe disguise, do you? You want a dress which will guarantee you harmless, a dress in which no one would ever look for a bomb? Why then, dress up as an anarchist, you fool! Nobody will ever expect you to do anything dangerous then.” -The Man Who Was Thursday
“I have formed a very clear conception of patriotism. I have generally found it thrust into the foreground by some fellow who has something to hide in the background. I have seen a great deal of patriotism; and I have generally found it the last refuge of the scoundrel.” – The Judgement of Dr. Johnson, Act III
“Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” – ILN, 4/19/30
“Man is always something worse or something better than an animal; and a mere argument from animal perfection never touches him at all. Thus, in sex no animal is either chivalrous or obscene. And thus no animal invented anything so bad as drunkeness – or so good as drink.” – “Wine when it is red” All Things Considered
Anne, let me know how you like Damsel. I have this on my list to pick up.
Mysfit, great quotes! Makes me want to run out and read more Chesterton! As I said I really enjoyed The Man Who Was Thursday. And now that I think of it I believe that I have a book of Father Brown stories that someone here at work picked up for me at a book sale. I’ll have to go basement diving to see where that’s at!
“Makes me want to run out and read more Chesterton!”
Good! That was my intent.
That’s what I love most about book talk….you almost always walk away with more books to add to your ‘must read’ list!