P. G. Wodehouse
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Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (October 15, 1881 – February 14, 1975) was a prolific English comic writer whose career spanned nearly seventy years. Described by Sean O'Casey as "English literature's performing flea", Wodehouse was an acknowledged master of the English tongue and a stylist par excellence, with admirers ranging from contemporaries like Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh, and Rudyard Kipling to modern writers such as Salman Rushdie and Douglas Adams.
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented lyricist who worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern. He wrote the lyrics for the song "Bill" in Show Boat, which was a huge hit.
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Life
Born in Guildford, Wodehouse (pronounced "Woodhouse") was nicknamed 'Plum'. He was educated at Dulwich College, but his anticipated progression to university was stymied by family financial problems. Subsequently he worked for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank for two years, though he was never really interested in banking as a career. Having taken up writing as his profession, he eventually went to Hollywood, where he earned enormous amounts as a screenwriter. Many of his novels were also serialized in magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, which also paid large amounts of money. He married in 1914, gaining a stepdaughter.
Although Wodehouse and his novels are considered quintessentially English, from 1924 through 1940 he lived entirely in the United States and France and apparently applied for American citizenship at one point. He was also profoundly uninterested in politics and world affairs. When World War II broke out in 1939 he remained at his seaside home in Le Touquet, France, instead of returning to England, apparently failing to recognize the seriousness of the conflict. He was subsequently taken prisoner by the Germans in 1940 and interned by them for a year, first in Belgium, then at Tost in Upper Silesia (now in Poland). While at Tost, he entertained his fellow prisoners with witty dialogues, which, after being released from internment a few months short of his 60th birthday, he used as the basis for a series of radio broadcasts he was persuaded by the Germans to make from Berlin. Wartime England was in no mood for light-hearted banter, however, and the broadcasts led to many accusations of collaboration and even treason. Some libraries banned his books. Foremost among his critics was A. A. Milne, author of the "Winnie the Pooh" books; Wodehouse got some revenge by creating a ridiculous character named "Timothy Bobbin," who starred in hilarious parodies of some of Milne's children's poetry. Among Wodehouse's defenders were Evelyn Waugh and George Orwell (see links below).
The criticism led Wodehouse to move permanently to America. He became an American citizen in 1955, and never returned to his homeland. He was made a Knight of the British Empire (KBE) in 1975, shortly before his death. It is widely believed that the honor was not given earlier because of lingering resentment about the German broadcasts.
Many consider Wodehouse as second only to Charles Dickens in fecundity of character invention. His characters however were not always popular with the establishment, notably the foppish foolishness of Bertie Wooster. Papers released by the Public Record Office have disclosed that when Wodehouse was recommended for a Companion of Honour in 1967, Sir Patrick Dean, British ambassador in Washington, argued that it "would also give currency to a Bertie Wooster image of the British character which we are doing our best to eradicate."
Writings
For a complete list, see List of books by P. G. Wodehouse.
Wodehouse was a prolific author, writing ninety-six books in a career spanning from 1902 to 1977. His works include novels, collections of short stories, and a musical comedy. Many characters and locations appear repeatedly throughout his short stories and novels, leading readers to classify his work by "series".
- The Blandings books are about the upper-class inhabitants of the fictional Blandings Castle, including the eccentric Lord Emsworth, obsessed by his prize-winning pig, the "Empress of Blandings".
- Something Fresh (U.S. title: Something New) (1915)
- Leave it to Psmith (1923)
- Lord Emsworth and Others (U.S. title: Crime Wave at Blandings) (1937)
- Sunset at Blandings (1977)
- The wealthy, foppish Bertie Wooster narrates a number of stories and novels which recount the improbable and unfortunate situations in which he and his friends find themselves, and the manner in which his ingenious valet Jeeves is always able to solve them. Collectively called "the Jeeves stories", they are Wodehouse's most famous. The Jeeves stories are a valuable compendium of pre-World War II English slang in use, perhaps most closely mirrored in American literature by the work of Damon Runyon.
- Right Ho, Jeeves (1922)
- Much Obliged, Jeeves
- The Code of the Woosters (1939)
- Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (U.S. title: Bertie Wooster Sees It Through) (1954)
- Aunts Aren't Gentlemen (U.S. title: The Catnappers) (1974)
- Mr Mulliner is a long-winded pub raconteur who tells outrageous stories about his family.
- Many stories were built around the sport of golf, a pursuit which all characters involved consider the only important part of life. The Oldest Member tells most of them.
- Psmith is an ingenious jack-of-all-trades. Some of the Psmith stories overlap with the Blandings stories in that Psmith works for Lord Emsworth, lives at Blandings, and becomes a friend of Freddie Threepwood.
- School stories
- Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge is a scheming character, always looking to enlarge his income.
- Uncle Fred:
- Other:
Both the Blandings and Jeeves stories have been adapted as BBC television series: the Jeeves series has been adapted twice, once in the 1960s (for the BBC) with Ian Carmichael as Bertie Wooster, and Dennis Price as Jeeves, and again in the 1990s (by Granada Television for ITV), with the title Jeeves and Wooster, starring Hugh Laurie as Bertie and Stephen Fry as Jeeves. David Niven and Arthur Treacher also starred as Bertie and Jeeves, respectively, in a few films made in the 1930s.
Characters
Jeeves-n-wooster.jpg
For a more extensive list of characters, see List of P. G. Wodehouse characters.
Major characters
- Madeline Bassett
- Monty Bodkin
- Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth
- Galahad Threepwood
- Gussie Fink-Nottle
- Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps (pronounced Barmy Fungy-Phipps)
- Agatha Gregson (Aunt Agatha)
- Bingo Little
- Jeeves
- Mr Mulliner
- Oofy Prosser
- Dahlia Travers (Aunt Dahlia)
- The Oldest Member
- Psmith
- Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge
- Bertie Wooster
- Frederick Twistleton, 5th Earl of Ickenham (Uncle Fred)
Minor Characters
- Mr. Anstruther, "wettest man in Worcestershire"
- Anatole, chef extraordinaire
- Rupert Baxter, Lord Emsworth's efficient secretary
- Sebastian Beach, butler at Blandings Castle
- Major Brabazon-Plank
- Sir Roderick Glossop, famed looney doctor
- Honoria Glossop, Sir Roderick's intimidating daughter
- Tuppy Glossop, Sir Roderick's nephew
- Roderick Spode, 8th Earl of Sidcup, amateur dictator
- Pongo Twistleton, Uncle Fred's nephew
References
External links
- In Defence of P.G. Wodehouse -- George Orwell (http://www.drones.com/orwell.html)
- Stephen Fry on Wodehouse (http://ssmith.wodehouse.ru/fryartcl.html)
- Blandings Castle located! (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3078912.stm)
- Biblia Wodehousiana (http://wodehouse-bible.freeservers.com/)
- The P.G. Wodehouse Society (UK) (http://www.eclipse.co.uk/wodehouse/)
- P.G. Wodehouse Website (http://www.pgwodehousebooks.com/)
- Quotations by P.G. Wodehouse (http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/P._G._Wodehouse)
- P.G. Wodehouse eTexts (http://www.gutenberg.net/author/Wodehouse+P+G) at Project Gutenberg
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