P.G. Wodehouse Books

Over a few drinks at The Anglers' Rest, Mulliner is likely to captivate the locals with tales about his cousins, uncles, brothers and various other relatives. Meet George Mulliner and learn how a mad dash through the English countryside can cure a bad case of stuttering. Meet Augustine Mulliner and his rise through the ranks of the Anglican Church with a trusty flask of his uncle Wilfred Mulliner's experimental Buck-U-Uppo tonic at his side.

Plum delivers a polished and quirky narrative throughout the nine short stories in this book. His formulaic method of story-telling makes you feel like you are one of those locals who come back time-and-again to slake their thirst over a Mulliner tale -- who insists, by the by, that they are all true and unexaggerated.

The Mulliner tales are mostly mildly entertaining. I usually laugh out loud at Wodehouse stories and re-read passages and whole books for joy at his use of language, but these stories don't have the same zing as other Wodehouse works. There a few cute ones with a few chuckles, but overall the stories feel tired.

P.G. Wodehouse is a master of the English language and of creating highly improbable situations for his protagonists to get into and out of. Of his many superb characters, Mr. Mulliner is one of the most hilarious.

All these stories start off with Mr. Mulliner, a kindly Englishman in his sixties, sitting in an English bar and having a drink with his many friends. As the conversation swings this way and that, Mr. Mulliner is reminded of his seemingly unlimited nephews and nieces who went through just such a situation (as is being discussed), and he launches into a narration of their story. But of course each situation is unique and, more importantly, both completely improbable and yet plausible at the same time.

This book is the perfect read when you want a quick read and a bunch of chuckles. Or, you can just keep reading through the book and be a little annoyed when it is over and you realize there is no more stories left.

Never fear, though: you can re-read these stories with the same enjoyment over and over again, for years to come. Like fine wine, Wodehouse's narrations age beautifully. He is a master of comedy. No one else even comes close.

Through his barfly creation, Mr. Mulliner, Wodehouse dispels the common notion that all tall tales originate in Texas. In The Angler's Rest, an oh-so-British pub, Mulliner holds court--or, more precisely, he overwhelms the possibility of alternative banter among the regulars. The slightest conversational tidbit or abbreviated anecdote will set Mulliner off on a shaggy-dog story about the improbable escapades of one of his relatives, and each tale follows a similar blueprint, culminating in the expected "saved-from-a-tough-spot" resolution or (more often) a boy-gets-girl finale.

As always with Wodehouse, to sum up the plot of one story is to sum up all of them; instead, the devil is scattered, liberally, in the details. The pleasure of reading his tales arises not from discovering what happens--nor from even from seeing how it happens--but from the slapstick follies and rapid-fire wit of the character sketches who populate his world. Still, there are three stories out of the nine in this volume that stand out because they form a continuum of sorts; one might even call the trilogy an accidental novella. They feature common characters: the pharmacist William Mulliner, his wife Angela, their nephew Augustine (a curate), and the bishop of Stortford. The comedy results from the unexpected results produced by William's toxic and not-yet-patented concoctions--especially Buck-U-Uppo, which seems to have all the redundant power of Red Bull laced with a jolt of amphetamine. And it's absolutely priceless when Augustine addresses his superior with a greeting like "Cheerio, bish. How's the lumbago today?"

Ironically, the memorable nature of these three consecutive stories reminds me why I prefer Wodehouse's novels, in which the humor inexorably builds to an uproarious crescendo. I will always get a kick out of Wodehouse's shorter fare and the diversions they supply, but their impressions consistently fade as soon as the laughter dies down.

Blandings Castle is an unexpected mix of short stories. After P.G. Wodehouse began to weave his novels about Clarence, Ninth Earl of Emsworth, and his improbable family and friends into a series of hilarious stories, he realized that he needed to fill in a gap. He warns that the first six stories in this collection constitute "the short snorts in between the solid orgies." Specifically, these stories tell us about happenings between Leave It to Psmith and Summer Lightning.

You find out more about why Clarence doesn't like to have his son, the Honorable Freddie around. You also learn about how the Empress of Blandings won her first Fat Pigs competition. The Custody of the Pumpkin shows Clarence as a plant-focused competitor before he became a pig-focused one. Mr. Wodehouse also lets us know how Freddie came to marry his wealthy wife and join the dog biscuit business in the States. Some of these stories have plots that could have been turned into novels, which makes the short stories all the better. The most delicious of the stories is a sweet tale of Clarence taking it upon himself to do the right thing in Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend.

The seventh tale is a typical Wodehouse country hullabaloo as Bobbie Wickham manipulates all involved to her advantage in dispatching an unwelcome suitor . . . playing the role for herself the Jeeves and Gally usually play in resolving romantic mishaps. It's clever and ever so liberated.

In the last five stories, P.G. Wodehouse unleashes his dissatisfaction with the Hollywood studios into acid satires of moguls and their foibles. For those who know the Hollywood of those days, these tales are almost biographical. Like the Canterbury Tales, there's a delightful element of exaggeration that makes the humor ever so much more tangy. If you dislike phonies, incompetents and those who are out for only themselves, you'll love these stories. If you don't like biting satire, skip these stories. You'll like the earlier seven.

The first half of the book, which is devoted to Blandings Castle and Lord Emsworth, is a sheer joy to read (5 stars!). The final chapter of the first half is the oft-anthologized short story "Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend," an exquisite tale of how the permanently befuddled old man befriends a young lass from London who is summering in the countryside, and together the two of them set the world straight. In fact, that's just what the Emsworth stories are always about: People thrown together, each having his/her own set of priorities, and how they get what they want by practicing "You scratch my back, I scratch yours." Communicating over the din of one another's priorities is a constant source of humor, the unexpected combination of actions and outcomes is another, and the whole reveals Wodehouse's virtuosic gift for storytelling. The Emsworth stories are hard to beat.

Not so the Mulliner stories that make up the second half of the book (3 stars). Here we have a set of stories with improbable plots about Hollywood in the early talkies days. They rely too much on myths about tons of money floating around Hollywod and the incompetent people who wield all this wealth. Though they were probably pretty well received when they first came out, by a naïve public newly fascinated with Hollywood, they are now rather dated and sometimes too silly to be funny. Plus, Wodehouse shares with Shute and Waugh that singular inability of many an English writer to capture and replicate American-ese. Well, they are not horrible stories; simply relatively uninteresting. You can stop with the last Emsworth story in this book and not miss a thing, which is what I recommend.

The title's a little misleading; this is a set of 12 stories, and only the first six are at Blandings Castle. I'm a particular Blandings Castle fan -- they're my favorite Wodehouse -- so I was a little disappointed in this one. But, hey, there ARE six fairly good Blandings Castle stories here. Then again, I recommend the novels over the short stories; they're much more fun and engaging. The stories are like eating one M&M and not having any more in the bag. Not enough THERE there. The novels have more time for P.G. to do what he's best at -- weaving tangled plot lines and setting up slapstick.

John Caroll loved Patricia Wyvern whom he had known since childhood, their being neighbours.

But John's uncle, Lester Charmody, mortally offended Colonel Wyvern, Patricia's father, when the former used the latter as a bodyshield when they both accidentally walked into a blast site on Charmody's grounds. Colonel Wyvern was of the old school and demanded proper apologies where he considered it due, causing a feud in a quiet countryside of Rudge. Worse for John that Pat considered him, too homely and unexciting.

Meanwhile, Lester Charmody was brooding over money problems. It was not that he had none, he had plenty. But he considered his trove pittance. Worse was his sitting on the Charmody's heirlooms which could not be sold out of the estate.

Lester's moods was not improved by his other nephew, Hugo, who pestered him for five hundred pounds to invest in a night-club with Ronnie Fish (of Blandings background).

The stalemate might have gone on indefinitely had not the Molloys insinuated themselves into Rudge Hall. An older husband to a younger pretty wife, the couple passed themselves off as a American oil tycoon with his daughter.

A plot was hatched between the Molloys and Lester to pretend to have the heirlooms stolen, claiming insurance, smuggled to America to be sold. The services of "Chimp" Alexendar Twist was secured to remove the valuables. Of course, they all planned to double-triple-cross each other.

Amidst the intrigue, Hugo Charmody and John Carroll learned that sometimes it took an enemy to provide them with a way out of their predicaments.

A very funny book, Wodehouse was meant to be enjoyed as a light-hearted book, definitely not to be taken too seriously.

Have you ever come across a P.G. Wodehouse story that isn't an absolute delight? No, and this one is no different. Wodehouse is a master with words, creating a single sentence that can have you on the floor laughing hysterically. His plots, at first glance, seem unconnected but by the end, everything works out so beautifully it's almost stunning. Not only do things work out so nicely, but it's also great fun getting there. An especially great book for a nice Sunday afternoon...

Like many readers bitten by the P.G. Wodehouse bug, I at one point attempted to procure all of the Master's literary output. That spell of power reading included this early novel, which I devoured in the hardback. On later rereading, however, I somewhat revise my initial favorable impression.

Why? How can a Wodehouse book get three stars? Simply in relation to the usual five star ratings. There are plenty of nuggets here (and did this title inspire the Dire Straits song?), but if this were the first Wodehouse title you picked up, you might not find him the stellar author that those who latch onto a Jeeves or Drones or Blandings novel generally find him to be.

Wodehouse would write for more than fifty years after this story first appeared, but even then he knew which were the good bits, and the best lines from this novel would appear verbatim later on. Of course he got that idea from his first life of writing musicals for the stage (and along with Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern bringing the musical to America), where the good bits are endlessly rehashed in amusing variations.

Now that both Overlook Press in hardback and Penguin in paperback are reprinting the entire run of Wodehouse, completists will certainly want to sample this novel, but for those new to Wodehouse, Jeeves or the Drones are better places to start.

Bertie Wooster has gone off to school in an attempt to learn how to fend for himself, (which in Bertie's case meant locating and donning his own socks).

Jeeves has gone to the household of the Earl of Towcester, a young gentleman as much in need of Jeeves as Bertie. The Earl has a large estate, a fiancee, a sister and brother-in-law and a desperate need for ready cash. He and Jeeves attempt to remedy this problem by becoming turf accountants (bookies to us Americans). Naturally this only makes matters worse.

As one would expect in a Wodehouse novel the situation rapidly becomes absurd, the long lost appear, romance blooms and goes awry, wrong conclusions are reached and a wonderful time is had by all.

This is a hilarious story, perfect escapism for those times when the world begins to get too serious.

While the perfect gentleman's gentleman Jeeves is nothing without his master, Bertie Wooster, "The Return of Jeeves" finds the butler in the temporary employ of Bill Towcester. The recently landed lord finds that the aristocracy in England may have titles and manors, but very little money to pay for upkeep. Lord Towcester must find some sort of employ that allows him to raise funds, but his grand scheme goes absurdly awry.

Bill Towcester and Jeeves decide to employ their knowledge of horse racing to earn those funds, hiding their true identities through disguises, and making a tidy profit for themselves. Then comes Captain Biggar, a hunter with a strict honor code, who makes an unlikely bet that miraculously wins, but leaves Lord Towcester without the cash to pay up. He takes off and Captain Biggar follows him, and hilarity ensues. For not only must Bill keep his identity secret from the angry captain, but also from his beloved fiancee who knows nothing of his venture. And as if Lord Towcester didn't have enough chaos in his life, his sister brings along an American lady who might be interested in purchasing his home and solving all of his problems. Too bad for him that she is a woman he once romanced while on vacation, one he never told his fiancee about.

"The Return of Jeeves" is a quick-paced and witty comedic read. P.G. Wodehouse makes the intelligent and know-it-all Jeeves a likeable character, who charms and quotes his way thorugh absurd and trying situations. As Lord Towcester manages to enmesh himself even more deeply into a problematic situation, readers will wonder how all will possibly be solved, and happily at that. And they will laugh all the way through to the end.

This is one of P.G. Wodehouses lesser efforts. The books plods rather than races along. All the other Jeeves books are written from the point of view of Bertie Wooster, but with Bertie gone this tactic cannot be used and the book suffers as a consequence. Only get it if you are making a collection of Wodehouse. Two other points. Firstly, the character in the novel is the Earl of Rowcester (not Towcester) and secondly the book was previously published as 'Ring for Jeeves'

This early example of Wodehouse's whimsy is perfect for reading aloud to a child before bedtime, or for enjoying ones' self no matter the age. The tale of Tell is not well known by many these days-- learn a little history (well, legend) and enjoy Wodehouse's always- sparkling prose and verse in this extended fable.

One hundred years later, he's still hard to beat for humor.

The basic conceit of Wodehouse's part of this book was to tell a version of the legend of William Tell as if all the characters were ordinary English idiots of the early twentieth century. The effect is rather like that of _1066 and All That_, but without the accuracy, and hence without the humor. Wodehouse's prose was written to accompany verse by John W. Houghton, which in turn was written to accompany illustrations by Philip Dadd. I haven't seen the illustrations, but the verse is much worse than Wodehouse's prose; I'm sure he could could have done it better himself. Wodehouse's style was quite good even early in his career, so the book is readable; it's just not worth reading if you can read his later work instead.

One of Wodehouse's earliest efforts, this is a must-own for any Wodehouse fan. Still written in the days when the master was doing school tales, one can see precusors of that incredible ability that Wodehouse had, to take the English language to places few others could have imagined it could go to. A simple tale of good triumphing over evil - it is one of those rare Wodehouses (probably the only one) in which a character dies. In his later & much more celebrated efforts, one got the feeling that all his characters were ageless & immortal.

P. G. does it again. Through the words of the "Oldest Member", Wodehouse spins his tales of love, golf and more golf. Though most modern golfers won't have a clue what a mashie or a niblick is, it doesn't matter, because the golf-stricken fanatics in his tales will light a memory in everyone's mind of a person run into on the links, in the airport, or in the sporting goods store. Wodehouse mentions in passing some of the early greats of golf, and his love of the game comes through in terms of reverence spoken by his characters. The love of golf is ageless and timeless, and to read these stories, written in the 1920's, late in the century proves a link to the past that is strong and vital yet.

All of the stories in this book can be found in the "Golf
Omnibus" along with several more. The "Golf Omnibus" in my opinion is a much better bargain.

This certain novel has a really complex plot, very many characters, so it is pretty hard to tell if there's a real centre-character in this book because there are so many differnt people that dramatically change the course of happenings. It has a fairly good story but what I was amazed about the most, was the poor ending of the novel and its lack of GREAT humor. To first-time Wodehouse-readers I recommend books like Right Ho Jeeves and The Mating Season.

In most P.G. Wodehouse stories, the innocents and the not-so-innocents attempt to solve tricky family problems with feats of misdirection and partial truths. The result of these complicated ruses is usually a great deal of unexpected consequences that will tickle almost any funny bone. Heavy Weather is an unusually fine example of this type of story.

Monty Bodkin, who's rolling in dough, must hold a job for a year to win the approval of his fiancee's father. Then the wedding bells can chime. Monty isn't the most helpful fellow, and makes a hash out of his writing for Tiny Tots. He soon uses his uncle's influence a second time to get a new job as private secretary to Clarence, ninth Earl of Emsworth, whose pride and joy is his prize-winning pig, the Empress of Blandings.

This new employment creates much consternation for Sue Brown, who is engaged to marry the jealous Ronnie Fish. Monty and Sue had been engaged earlier, and Sue's afraid that Ronnie won't be able to handle having Monty around. Wedding bells for Sue and Ronnie depend on getting Clarence to release trust funds for Ronnie. There are a few other problems, as well. For example, Sue earns her living as a chorus girl. What will Ronnie's mother, Lady Julia, think?

The key theme of the story is that true love will win out, if the lovers follow their hearts and seize opportunity when it arises. In that way, the end will charm almost anyone . . . much like Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream does.

In most stories like this, you can anticipate how the obstacles will be overcome. Well, Heavy Weather will surprise you, if you are like me. The plot complications and resolution are delightfully adept, acrobatic, and subtle. I felt like I was watching the elephants do their ballet dance again in Fantasia. The contradictions between the messy moments and the final neatness are brilliantly handled!

The conflict between the desire to have a good reputation and the willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed (including cutting all possible corners) is shown off to good effect in Heavy Weather. Developing this point creates questions about what real goodness is, versus assumed goodness from social position and family connections. In fact, inherited intelligence is also questioned for its morality. The more powerful minds in the story tend to use those capabilities to plot for self-advantage, rather than to accomplish anything meaningful for all involved. Those of limited intelligence, by contrast, tend to follow their hearts and try to do the right thing.

Good results follow in this story whenever people are loyal and honor goodness.

What can you accomplish by being loyal and honoring goodness today? And tomorrow?

This refers to the audio version. The stories are entertaining, but Davidson has a simpering delivery that I find hard to tolerate. For Wodehouse audio, I definitely recommend those stories read by Jonathan Cecil or Martin Jarvis. They are upbeat and deliciously entertaining without the "sticky sweet" quality you will find in Davidson's readings.

Those who consider reading a welcome break from the usual rigmarole of life should read this. Those of us who are die-hard fans of Wodehouse know just how good it feels !!

Wodehouse is an unfailing master. I don't think I've ever been disappointed by anything he's ever written. Disappointingly, I won't give a plot summary here, for that I refer to the other reviewer.

However, for the die-hard Wodehouse fans like myself, be aware that this book is also known as "Girls, Pearls & Monty Bodkin." So, if you already own the latter novel, you own this one, as well.

The world of P.G. Wodehouse is filled with fat-headed aristocrats, grubby social climbers with money, and crooks who would like to relieve both of their excess funds and goods against the backdrop of a romance that is in difficulty. Eventually, love conquers all with much good fun along the way. The Plot That Thickened is a fine outing in that famous formula.

I divide all P.G. Wodehouse comic novels into two categories: Those with Jeeves (the all-knowing and ever-helpful butler) and those without Jeeves. Jeeves is one of the great comic characters in English literature, and I miss him when he's not around. The Plot That Thickened is without Jeeves.

Monty Bodkin, one of the two solvent members of the disreputable Drones Club in London, has fallen in love with Ms. Gertrude Butterwick, a hefty young lady who played for the All England women's field hockey team. Gertrude's father doesn't approve of Monty, seeing his as a useless wastrel, and puts a condition on the engagement. There will be no marriage until Monty has completed one year of a paying job.

As the book opens, Monty has just completed this task pretty pleasantly by becoming an advisor to a motion picture studio in Hollywood, after he helps the head of the studio, one Ivor Llewellyn, smuggle some jewelry after a transatlantic crossing. He spends his days doing very little, attended by his charming secretary, Sandy Miller, who's fallen in love with Monty . . . a fact he's totally missed.

Monty heads back to Jolly Old England to claim the girl . . . only to find that old Butterworth has found out about how Monty got the job from a letter Monty sent to Gertrude. Butterworth tells Monty his year in Hollywood doesn't count. Sandy follows Monty to London where they meet by chance, and Sandy offers to help him get a job as the studio mogul's secretary while the mogul writes a book.

How will love conquer all? Well, not without complications. It turns out that the mogul's wife hires a crook to protect her prize possession, a string of peerless pearls that she's keeping for her daughter's marriage. The daughter, Mavis, is a real tigress and decides that Monty is a crook who wants to steal the pearls. Mrs. Llewellen further complicates matters by inviting a pair of crooks to be house guests. What will happen to those pearls?

If you would like to read a book that gives you a new smile or laugh on almost every page, The Plot That Thickened is a fine choice.

Have you ever found yourself beset by rules that you couldn't seem to follow without breaking some other rule (sort of like Catch-22)? How did you extract yourself? How can you avoid getting into a situation like that in the future?

Sometimes when you read a novel, you want a searing look at the human condition or a sprawling epic crossing generations. At other times, you want complete fluff, light entertainment that makes you feel good while offering little real substance. In this field of whimsical words, few can outshine P.G. Wodehouse, and rarely is Wodehouse better than when he writes of Bertie Wooster, the dim but well-meaning member of the idle rich, and his omniscient valet Jeeves.

Ring for Jeeves is the only Jeeves and Wooster story without Bertie (who is off getting an education in independence and is only referred to occasionally). Instead, Jeeves is temporarily attending to William Belfry, a poor member of the nobility who has landed himself in the soup. In an effort to raise funds to properly marry his fiancée Jill, he has adopted a second identity as a bookie; this works great until an erstwhile great white hunter Biggar wins a long shot; Bill welshes on the bet (intending to pay when he has the funds) and flees to his estate, Biggar in hot pursuit.

There is hope, however, with a beautiful, wealthy widow who wants to buy the estate and give Bill more than enough money. But with this hope comes complications. She is secretly in love with Biggar, who is in turn secretly in love with her; as he is also impoverished, he feels it wrong to marry her when it would be assumed he was after her money. She is also Bill's ex-lover, causing a potential rift with Jill. There are also complications regarding a diamond pendant and an upcoming horse race. In the middle of all this is Jeeves, the calm port in the storm of troubles, who offers various solutions, some of which are more effective than others.

This is in many ways an atypical novel, hampered by Bertie's absence. Told in the third person instead of with Bertie's usually delightful narration, something is lost. In addition, Jeeves is at his best when he is at his most all-knowing; here, he seems less brilliant than usual, although still clever enough. These problems are sufficient to reduce this to a four-star effort. This is still a good book, but not a good introduction to Wodehouse or the Jeeves & Wooster stories; I recommend reading others in the series first (such as Right Ho, Jeeves; Carry On, Jeeves or Thank You, Jeeves).

I concur with mrliteral (below) that this isn't top-tier Jeeves, due to his estrangement from Bertie in this tale. It's full of the typical Wodehousery and wordplay, and you're sure to enjoy, but it's not quite up to the heights of the very best. Another question: was this written as a theatre piece? With the exception of an opening at a pub, the entire narrative takes place at Bill's mansion, and frequently in one room. I imagine this may have been written for the stage and then retrofitted as a novel. No matter-- still much fun. As always, Wodehouse satisfies.