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Encyclopedia > P. G. Wodehouse

P. G. Wodehouse

Wodehouse in 1904 (aged 23).
Born October 15, 1881(1881-10-15)
Guildford, Surrey, UK
Died February 14 1975 (aged 93)
Southampton, NY, U.S.
Occupation novelist, playwright, lyricist
Nationality Flag of the United Kingdom British (English)
Flag of the United States U.S. (1955, aged 74)
Writing period 1902–1975
Genres comedy, romantic comedy
Debut works The Pothunters (1902)

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE (15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) (IPA: /ˈwʊdhaʊs/) was a comic writer who has enjoyed enormous popular success for more than seventy years. Despite all the political and social upheavals that occurred during his life, much of which was spent in France and the United States, Wodehouse's main canvas remained that of prewar English upper-class society, reflecting his birth, education, and youthful writing career. An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse was admired both by contemporaries like Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling as well as by modern writers like Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse said he believed was "meant to be complimentary", and which he used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend. Download high resolution version (470x657, 47 KB)British comic author P. G. Wodehouse in 1904 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... , For other places with the same name, see Guildford (disambiguation). ... This article is about the English county. ... is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Southampton is a town located in Suffolk County, New York. ... This article is about the state. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... This article is about work. ... A novel is an extended work of written, narrative, prose fiction, usually in story form; the writer of a novel is a novelist. ... A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... A literary genre is one of the divisions of literature into genres according to particular criteria such as literary technique, tone, or content. ... A comedy is a dramatic performance of a light and amusing character, usually with a happy conclusion to its plot. ... A romantic comedy may be a film or novel, presenting a story about romance in a comedic style. ... The Pothunters is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up Antebellum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Prose is writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to the patterns of everyday speech. ... Photograph of Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (27 July 1870 – 16 July 1953) was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. ... Evelyn Waugh, as photographed in 1940 by Carl Van Vechten Arthur Evelyn St. ... This article is about the British author. ... Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... Ahmed Salman Rushdie KBE (Hindi: Urdu: سلمان رشدی; born 19 June 1947) is a British-Indian novelist and essayist. ... Terence David John Pratchett, OBE (born 28 April 1948) is a British fantasy and science fiction author, best known for his Discworld series. ... Sean OCasey Sean OCasey (March 30, 1880 - September 18, 1964) was a major Irish dramatist and memorist. ...


Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song "Bill" in Show Boat and collaborated with Rudolph Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers. Jeeves, here portrayed by Stephen Fry in ITVs Jeeves and Wooster series, is P.G. Wodehouses most famous character. ... Blandings Castle is a fictitious location in the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theater combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter from Peru, Indiana. ... Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theatre combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... For other uses, see Anything Goes (disambiguation). ... Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of popular music. ... Guy Bolton (November 23, 1884 - September 6, 1979) was a writer of Broadway musical comedies who frequently collaborated with P. G. Wodehouse and Jerome Kern among others. ... For films based on the musical, see Show Boat (film). ... Rudolf Friml (December 7, 1879 - November 12, 1972) was a composer of operettas, musicals, songs, as well as a pianist. ... The Three Musketeers is a musical with a book by William Anthony McGuire, lyrics by Clifford Grey and P. G. Wodehouse, and music by Rudolf Friml. ...

Contents

Life

P. G. Wodehouse in his last days.
P. G. Wodehouse in his last days.

Wodehouse, called "Plum" by most family and friends, was born prematurely to Eleanor Wodehouse (née Deane) whilst she was visiting Guildford. His father Henry Ernest Wodehouse (1845–1929) was a British judge in Hong Kong. The Wodehouse family had been settled in Norfolk for many centuries. Wodehouse's great-grandfather Reverend Philip Wodehouse was the second son of Sir Armine Wodehouse, 5th Baronet, whose eldest son John Wodehouse, 1st Baron Wodehouse, was the ancestor of the Earls of Kimberley. He attended boarding school, where he saw his parents only once every six or seven months. Wodehouse grew very close to his brother, who shared his love for art. Wodehouse filled the voids in his life by writing relentlessly. He spent quite a few of his school holidays with one aunt or another; it has been speculated that this gave him a healthy horror of the "gaggle of aunts", reflected in Bertie Wooster's formidable aunts Agatha and Dahlia, as well as Lady Constance Keeble's tyranny over her many nieces and nephews in the Blandings Castle series. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (564x703, 95 KB) This work is copyrighted and unlicensed. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (564x703, 95 KB) This work is copyrighted and unlicensed. ... , For other places with the same name, see Guildford (disambiguation). ... Norfolk (IPA: //) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ... Sir Armine Wodehouse, 5th Baronet (c. ... John Wodehouse, 1st Baron Wodehouse (4 April 1741 – 29 May 1834), known as Sir John Wodehouse, 6th Baronet, from 1777 to 1797, was a British peer and Member of Parliament. ... Earl of Kimberley is a peerage title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. ... Bertie Wooster portrayed by Hugh Laurie in ITVs Jeeves and Wooster series Bertram Wilberforce Bertie Wooster is the wealthy, good-natured co-protagonist and narrator of P. G. Wodehouses Jeeves stories. ... Agatha Gregson, later Lady Worplesdon, is a fictional character created by P. G. Wodehouse. ... Dahlia Travers is a fictional character in the novels of P.G. Wodehouse. ... Lady Constance Connie Keeble is one of the characters in the comic novel series Blandings Castle by PG Wodehouse. ... Blandings Castle is a fictitious location in the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ...


He was educated at Dulwich College, where the library is now named after him, but his anticipated progression to university was stymied by family financial problems. Subsequently he worked for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank in London (now known as HSBC) for two years, though he was never interested in banking as a career. He wrote part-time while working in the bank, eventually proving successful enough to take up writing as a full-time profession. He was a journalist with The Globe (a defunct English newspaper) for some years before moving to New York, where he worked for a time as theatre critic of "The New Yorker", collaborated with Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern on several musical comedies, and began publishing short stories and novels. In the 1930s, he had two brief stints as a screenwriter in Hollywood, where, so he claimed, he was greatly over-paid. Many of his novels were also serialised in magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post and The Strand, which also paid well. Dulwich New College buildings. ... For other uses, see HSBC (disambiguation). ... ... A cover of the Saturday Evening Post from 1903 The Saturday Evening Post was a weekly magazine published in the United States from August 4, 1821 to February 8, 1969. ... The Strand Magazine was a monthly fiction magazine founded by George Newnes. ...


He married Ethel Wayman in 1914, gaining a stepdaughter, Leonora. He had no natural children, perhaps owing to having contracted mumps as a young man. Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...


Although Wodehouse and his novels are considered quintessentially English, from 1914 onward he shared his time between England and the United States. In 1934, he took up residence in France, to avoid double taxation on his earnings by the tax authorities in Britain and the US. 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 recognise 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 (now Toszek) in Upper Silesia (now in Poland). (He is recorded as saying, "If this is Upper Silesia, one must wonder what Lower Silesia must be like...".) Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, commonly referred to as Le Touquet, is a coastal town and commune of the Pas-de-Calais département, in northern France. ... Coat of Arms Toszek is a town in Poland, in Silesian Voivodeship, with 10,547 inhabitants (2004) in the Toszek Commune (gmina) and about 4,000 in the town proper. ... Map of Upper Silesia, 1746 Upper Silesia (Polish: Górny Śląsk, German: Oberschlesien, Czech: Horní Slezsko) is the south-eastern part of Silesia, a historical and geographical region of Poland (Opole Voivodship and Silesian Voivodship) and of the Czech Republic (Silesian-Moravian Region). ...


While at Tost, he entertained his fellow prisoners with witty dialogues. After being released from internment, a few months short of his 60th birthday, he used these dialogues as a basis for a series of radio broadcasts aimed at America (but not England) that the Germans persuaded him to make from Berlin. Wartime England was in no mood for light-hearted banter, however, and the broadcasts led to many accusations of collaboration with the Nazis 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 parodies of some of Milne's children's poetry. Among Wodehouse's defenders were Evelyn Waugh and George Orwell (see article by Orwell[1]). An investigation by the British security service MI5 concluded that Wodehouse was naive and foolish but not a traitor.[1] This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Collaboration is a process defined by the recursive interaction of knowledge[1] and mutual learning between two or more people working together[2] toward a common goal typically creative in nature. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Alan Alexander Milne (IPA pronunciation: ) (January 18, 1882 – January 31, 1956), also known as A. A. Milne, was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various childrens poems. ... Pooh redirects here. ... Evelyn Waugh, as photographed in 1940 by Carl Van Vechten Arthur Evelyn St. ... Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 [1] [2] – 21 January 1950), better known by the pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist. ... MI-5 redirects here. ...


The criticism led Wodehouse and his wife to move permanently to New York. Apart from Leonora, who died during Wodehouse's internment in Germany, they had no children. He became an American citizen in 1955 and never returned to his homeland, spending the remainder of his life in Remsenburg, Long Island. Remsenburg, New York is an exclusive village in the Hamptons. ...


He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) shortly before his death at the age of 93. It is widely believed that the honour was not given earlier because of lingering resentment about the German broadcasts. In a BBC interview he said that he had no ambitions left now that he had been knighted and there was a waxwork of him in Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... “Tussauds” redirects here. ...


In 2000, the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize was established and named in honour of PG Wodehouse and awards an annual prize for the finest example in the UK of comic writing. The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize is the UKs only literary award for comic writing. ...


Writing style

Wodehouse took a modest attitude to his own works. In Over Seventy (1957) he wrote: Over Seventy is an autobiographical work by P.G. Wodehouse, including a collection of articles originally from Punch. ...


"I go in for what is known in the trade as 'light writing' and those who do that – humorists they are sometimes called – are looked down upon by the intelligentsia and sneered at."


In the same article, Wodehouse names some contemporary humorists whom he held in high regard. These include Frank Sullivan, A. P. Herbert, and Alex Atkinson. Sir Alan Patrick Herbert (September 24, 1890 - November 11, 1971) was a British humorist, Member of Parliament, barrister, and novelist. ... Alex Atkinson (1916-1962) was an English journalist, novelist and playwright who is best remembered for his collaborative works with the illustrator Ronald Searle. ...


Characters

Wodehouse's 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 P. G. Wodehouse was recommended in 1967 for a Companion of Honour, Sir Patrick Dean, the 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." Bertie Wooster portrayed by Hugh Laurie in ITVs Jeeves and Wooster series Bertram Wilberforce Bertie Wooster is the wealthy, good-natured co-protagonist and narrator of P. G. Wodehouses Jeeves stories. ... The Kew building. ... The Order of the Companions of Honour is a British and Commonwealth Order. ...


Wodehouse's characters are often eccentric, with peculiar attachments, such as to pigs (Lord Emsworth), newts (Gussie Fink-Nottle), or socks (Archibald Mulliner). His "mentally negligible" good-natured characters invariably make their lot worse by their half-witted schemes to improve a bad situation. Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, Viscount Bosham is a fictional character created by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. ... Augustus Gussie Fink-Nottle is a fictional character who appears in several of P. G. Wodehouses novels. ... The Reverent Wooing of Archibald is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse. ...


Wodehouse's aristocrats, however, embody many of the comic attributes that characterize buffoons. In many cases the classic eccentricities of Wodehouse's upperclass give rise to plot complications.


Relatives, especially aunts and uncles, are commonly depicted with an exaggerated power to help or impede marriage or financial prospects, or simply to make life miserable. Friends are often more a trouble than a comfort in Wodehouse stories: the main character is typically being placed in a most painful situation just to please a friend. Antagonists (particularly rivals in love) are frequently terrifying and just as often get their come-uppance in a delicious fashion.


Policemen and magistrates are typically portrayed as threatening, yet easy to fool, often through the simple expedient of giving a false name. A recurring motif is the theft of policemen's helmets. For other uses, see Police (disambiguation). ... A magistrate is a judicial officer. ...


In a manner going back to the stock characters of Roman comedy (such as Plautus), Wodehouse's servants are frequently far cleverer than their masters. This is quintessentially true with Jeeves, who always pulls Bertie Wooster out of the direst scrapes. It recurs elsewhere, such as the efficient (though despised) Baxter, secretary to the befogged Lord Emsworth. Titus Macchius Plautus, generally referred to simply as Plautus, was a playwright of Ancient Rome. ... Jeeves, here portrayed by Stephen Fry in ITVs Jeeves and Wooster series, is P.G. Wodehouses most famous character. ... Rupert Baxter is a fictional character who appears in several of the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, Viscount Bosham is a fictional character created by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. ...


Plots

Although his plots are on the surface formulaic, Wodehouse's genius lies in the tangled layers of comedic complications that the characters must endure to reach the invariable happy ending. Typically, a relative or friend makes some demand that forces a character into a bizarre situation that seems impossible to recover from, only to resolve itself in a clever and satisfying finale. The layers pile up thickly in the longer works, with a character getting into multiple dangerous situations by mid-story. An outstanding example of this is The Code of the Woosters where most of the chapters have an essential plot point reversed in the last sentence, catapulting the characters forward into greater diplomatic disasters. The Code of the Woosters is a book from the Jeeves and Wooster series by P. G. Wodehouse. ...


Engagements are a common theme in Wodehouse stories. A man may be unable to become engaged to the woman he loves due to some impediment. Just as often, he becomes unwillingly, or even accidentally, engaged to a woman he does not love and needs to find some back-door way out other than breaking it off directly (which goes against a gentleman's code of honour). A case in point is Freddie in Something Fresh, where his engagement to Miss Peters apparently broke off after she eloped with George Emerson. A very sad situation of a girl choosing a spirited man instead of her dim witted fiancée was cleverly made light hearted by showing how Freddie could not care less, as he was more interested in meeting the revered writer of detective stories: Ashe Marson and so on.


Assumed identities and resulting confusion are particularly common in the Blandings books.


Gambling often plays a large role in Wodehouse plots, typically with someone manipulating the outcome of the wager.


Another subject which features strongly in Wodehouse's plots is alcohol, and many plots revolve around the tipsiness of a major character. It is clear that Wodehouse himself was fond of a tipple, and he enumerated what many people consider as the definitive list of hangovers: the Broken Compass, the Sewing Machine, the Comet, the Atomic, the Cement Mixer and, of course, the Gremlin Boogie. Furthermore, he makes several references to a drink the nickname of which is May Queen. It is described by Uncle Fred as follows: "Its full name is, 'Tomorrow'll be of all the year the maddest, merriest day, for I'm to be the Queen of the May, mother, the Queen of the May.' A clumsy title, generally shortened for purposes of ordinary conversation. Its foundation is any good dry champagne, to which is added liqueur brandy, armagnac, kummel, yellow chartreuse, and old stout, to taste." Alcoholic beverages An alcoholic beverage (also known as booze in slang term) is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol, although in chemistry the definition of alcohol includes many other compounds. ... Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, 5th Earl of Ickenham is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ...


Writings

Main article: List of books by P. G. Wodehouse

Wodehouse was a prolific author, writing ninety-six books in a career spanning from 1902 to 1975. 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", being: The following is a complete list of books by P. G. Wodehouse, including novels and collections of short stories, sorted first by date of publication and later according to the conventional division of his work, by recurring characters or locations. ...

  • The Blandings Castle stories (later dubbed "the Blandings Castle Saga" by Wodehouse[2]), about the upper-class inhabitants of the fictional rural Blandings Castle. Includes the eccentric Lord Emsworth, obsessed by his prize-winning pig, the "Empress of Blandings", and at one point by his equally prize-winning pumpkin ("Blandings' Hope", but, mockingly, "Percy" to Emsworth's unappreciative second son Freddie Threepwood).
  • The Drones Club stories, about the mishaps of certain members of a raucous social club for London's idle rich. Born in the Jeeves stories, it became its own informal series of short stories, mostly featuring club members Freddie Widgeon or Bingo Little, plus a cast of recurrent bit players such as Club millionaire Oofy Prosser.
  • The Golf and Oldest Member stories. They are built around one of Wodehouse's passions, the sport of golf, which all characters involved consider the only important pursuit in life. The Oldest Member of the golf course clubhouse tells most of them.
  • The Jeeves and Wooster stories, narrated by the wealthy, scatterbrained Bertie Wooster. A number of stories and novels that 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 extricate them. Collectively called "the Jeeves stories", or "Jeeves and Wooster", 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, although at a different social level, by the work of Damon Runyon.
  • The Mr Mulliner stories, about a long-winded pub raconteur who tells outrageous stories about his family, all surnamed Mulliner. His sometimes unwilling listeners are always identified solely by their drinks, e.g., a "Hot Scotch and Lemon" or a "Double Whisky and Splash".
  • The Psmith stories, about an ingenious jack-of-all-trades with a charming, exaggeratedly refined manner. The final Psmith story, Leave it to Psmith, overlaps the Blandings stories in that Psmith works for Lord Emsworth, lives for a time at Blandings Castle, and becomes a friend of Freddie Threepwood.
  • The School stories, which launched Wodehouse's career with their comparative realism. They are often located at the fictional public schools of St. Austin's or Wrykyn.
  • The Ukridge stories, about the charming but unprincipled Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge, always looking to enlarge his income through the reluctant assistance of his friend in his schemes.
  • The Uncle Fred stories, about the eccentric Earl of Ickenham. Whenever he can escape his wife's chaperonage, he likes to spread what he calls "sweetness and light" and others are likely to call chaos. His escapades, always involving impersonations of some sort, are usually told from the viewpoint of his nephew and reluctant companion Reginald "Pongo" Twistleton. Several times he performs his "art" at Blandings Castle.

Blandings Castle is a fictitious location in the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, Viscount Bosham is a fictional character created by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. ... The Empress of Blandings is the name of a fictional pig featured in a number of comic short stories and novels by British writer P.G. Wodehouse. ... The Honourable Frederick Threepwood, known as Freddie, is the second son of Lord Emsworth in the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... The fictional Drones Club, located in Dover Street, London, (where a real club, the Arts Club, is based) was created by English comic novelist P. G. Wodehouse. ... Freddie Widgeon is a fictional character created by P. G. Wodehouse. ... Richard Bingo Little appears in a number of books by the renowned comic author, P. G. Wodehouse. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: it is patent nonsense. ... The Oldest Member is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... This article is about the sport. ... Jeeves, here portrayed by Stephen Fry in ITVs Jeeves and Wooster series, is P.G. Wodehouses most famous character. ... Bertie Wooster portrayed by Hugh Laurie in ITVs Jeeves and Wooster series Bertram Wilberforce Bertie Wooster is the wealthy, good-natured co-protagonist and narrator of P. G. Wodehouses Jeeves stories. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... American literature refers to written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and Colonial America. ... Damon Runyon Damon Runyon (October 4, 1884 – December 10, 1946) was a newspaperman and writer. ... Mr Mulliner is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, who is widely regarded as one of the great comic writers of the 20th century, once described as English literatures performing flea. ... Ronald Eustace Psmith (or Rupert Psmith, as his is called in the first two books in which he appears) is a character in several of the comic novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Leave it to Psmith is a comic novel by P. G. Wodehouse. ... The Honourable Frederick Threepwood, known as Freddie, is the second son of Lord Emsworth in the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... The following is an incomplete compendium of the fictional locations featured in the stories of P. G. Wodehouse, in alphabetical order by place name. ... The following is an incomplete compendium of the fictional locations featured in the stories of P. G. Wodehouse, in alphabetical order by place name. ... Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, 5th Earl of Ickenham is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Reginald Pongo Twistleton is a character in the Uncle Fred books by P. G. Wodehouse. ... Blandings Castle is a fictitious location in the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ...

Adaptations

See also: Category:Works derived from P. G. Wodehouse

Considering the extent of his success, there have been comparatively few adaptations of Wodehouse's works, in part because he was reluctant to do so:

"One great advantage in being a historian to a man like Jeeves is that his mere personality prevents one selling one's artistic soul for gold. In recent years I have had lucrative offers for his services from theatrical managers, motion-picture magnates, the proprietors of one or two widely advertised commodities, and even the editor of the comic supplement of an American newspaper, who wanted him for a "comic strip". But, tempting though the terms were, it only needed Jeeves deprecating cough and his murmured "I would scarcely advocate it, sir," to put the jack under my better nature. Jeeves knows his place, and it is between the covers of a book." (from Wodehouse's introduction to the compilation The World of Jeeves, 1967)

A Damsel in Distress was adapted in the 1937 film starring Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen and Joan Fontaine. A 1962 film adaptation of The Girl On The Boat starred Norman Wisdom, Millicent Martin and Richard Briers. A Damsel in Distress (RKO) is a 1937 English-themed Hollywood musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire, Joan Fontaine, George Burns and Gracie Allen, with a screenplay by P.G. Plum Wodehouse based on his novel, music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, and directed by George Stevens. ... Fred Astaire (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987), born Frederick Austerlitz in Omaha, Nebraska,[1] was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. ... George Burns[1], born Nathan Birnbaum (January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996), was an American comedian and actor. ... Gracie Allen (July 26, 1895[1] – August 27, 1964) was an American comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns. ... Joan Fontaine (born October 22, 1917) is an Academy Award-winning British American actress, who became an American citizen in April 1943. ... Sir Norman Wisdom, OBE (born 4 February 1915) is an English comedian, singer and actor. ... Millicent Mary Lillian Martin (born 8 June 1934) is an English actress, singer and comedienne. ... Richard Briers, CBE (born on January 14, 1934) is a popular English actor whose career encompasses the theatre, television, film and radio. ...


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 the title World of Wooster, starring 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 short 1930s film that was a very loose adaptation of Thank You, Jeeves, and Treacher played Jeeves without Bertie in an original sequel, Step Lively, Jeeves. For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey Ian Carmichael OBE (born 18 June 1920) is a British film, stage and television actor. ... Dennistoun Franklyn John Rose-Price (June 23, 1915 – October 6, 1973) was a British actor. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Independent Television (generally known as ITV, but also as ITV Network) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK. Since 1990 and the Broadcasting... Jeeves and Wooster is a humorous television series adapted by Clive Exton from P.G. Wodehouses Jeeves stories, and produced by Carnival Films for Granada Television, and screened on the United Kingdoms ITV network from 1990 to 1993. ... James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE (born June 11, 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. ... Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English comedian, writer, actor, novelist, filmmaker, journalist and television personality. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Arthur Treachers Fish and Chips is a fast food seafood restaurant chain with, as of 2003, 177 stores which serve fish and chips. ...


In 1975, Andrew Lloyd Webber made a musical, originally titled Jeeves. In 1996, it was rewritten as the more successful By Jeeves made it to Broadway, and a performance recorded as a video film, also shown on TV. Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is a highly successful English composer of musical theatre, and also the elder brother of cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. ... By Jeeves, originally Jeeves, is a 1975/1996 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alan Ayckbourn, based on the novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ...


A version of Heavy Weather was filmed by the BBC in 1995 starring Peter O'Toole as Lord Emsworth and Richard Briers, again, as Lord Emsworth's brother, Galahad Threepwood. Peter OToole as Lord Emsworth in Heavy Weather (BBC, 1995) Heavy Weather was a dramatisation for television by Douglas Livingstone of the novel Heavy Weather by P. G. Wodehouse (1881–1975), set at Blandings Castle. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Peter Seamus OToole (born August 2, 1932, uncertain but presumed correct date[1]) is an eight-time Academy Award-nominated Irish actor. ... Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, Viscount Bosham is a fictional character created by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. ... Richard Briers, CBE (born on January 14, 1934) is a popular English actor whose career encompasses the theatre, television, film and radio. ... In the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, The Honourable Galahad Threepwood is Lord Emsworths younger brother. ...


In 2004, Julian Fellowes wrote a screen adaptation of Piccadilly Jim which starred Sam Rockwell. The film was not successful. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fellowes as Lord Kilwillie Julian Fellowes (born August 17, 1949 in Egypt, although he is British) was an actor for over twenty years before winning the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay in 2001 for Gosford Park. ... Piccadilly Jim is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the U.S. in 1917 by Dodd, Mean and Co. ... Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. ...


There was also a series of BBC adaptations of various short works, mostly from the Mulliner series, under the title of Wodehouse Playhouse starring John Alderton and Pauline Collins, which aired starting in 1975. The first series was introduced by Wodehouse himself, which was extraordinary considering he was 93 at the time and died the year the TV series started. For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... John Alderton and Pauline Collins in Wodehouse Playhouse (DVD) Wodehouse Playhouse (1975-1978) is a British television series of short comical stories, written by P.G. Wodehouse, with a story being complete in each single half-hour episode. ... John Alderton (born November 27, 1940), is a popular British actor. ... Pauline Collins (born September 3, 1940) is a British actress working extensively in movies and television. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...


Arthur, starring Dudley Moore and Sir John Gielgud, and its sequel Arthur II: On the Rocks, were also an adaptation of the characters of Bertie and Jeeves, although not officially acknowledged, and many of the lines and incidents from the movie, including the main plot involving an engagement, were directly influenced by Wodehouse's characters. Arthur is a 1981 film which tells the story of drunken playboy millionaire Arthur Bach (Dudley Moore), who was on the brink of an arranged marriage to a wealthy heiress, Susan Johnson (Jill Eikenberry). ... Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE (April 19, 1935 – March 27, 2002), was an Academy-Award nominated British comedian, actor and musician. ... Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH (14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000), known as Sir John Gielgud, was an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Academy Award-winning British theatre and film actor. ...


Wodehouse's involvement with film and television from around the world is chronicled in Brian Taves, P.G. Wodehouse and Hollywood: Screenwriting, Satires, and Adaptations (McFarland, 2006).


Major characters

Lists of P. G. Wodehouse characters
Major characters of primary importance

Wodehouse's work contains a number of recurring protagonists, narrators and principal characters, including: The following is an incomplete list of fictional characters who appear in the novels and short stories of P. G. Wodehouse. ... An incomplete, alphabetical list of fictional characters appearing in P. G. Wodehouses Blandings Castle stories. ... The fictional Drones Club, located in Dover Street, London, (where a real club, the Arts Club, is based) was created by English comic novelist P. G. Wodehouse. ... The following is an incomplete list of fictional character appearing in the Jeeves stories by P. G. Wodehouse. ... Lists of P. G. Wodehouse characters Characters in all Wodehouse stories Characters in the Blandings stories Characters in the Drones Club stories Characters in the Jeeves stories Characters in the Mulliner stories Characters in the Ukridge stories Characters in other stories      The following is an incomplete compendium of the fictional... The following is an incomplete list of characters appearing in the Ukridge stories by P. G. Wodehouse. ... The following is an incomplete guide to minor fictional characters from the works of P. G. Wodehouse. ...

Major characters of secondary importance

Certain Wodehouse's less central characters are particularly well-known, despite being less critical elements of his works as a whole. Bertie Wooster portrayed by Hugh Laurie in ITVs Jeeves and Wooster series Bertram Wilberforce Bertie Wooster is the wealthy, good-natured co-protagonist and narrator of P. G. Wodehouses Jeeves stories. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jeeves, here portrayed by Stephen Fry in ITVs Jeeves and Wooster series, is P.G. Wodehouses most famous character. ... Dahlia Travers is a fictional character in the novels of P.G. Wodehouse. ... Agatha Gregson, née Wooster, later Lady Worplesdon, is a fictional character created by P. G. Wodehouse. ... Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth, Viscount Bosham is a fictional character created by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. ... The following is an incomplete list of fictional characters who appear in the novels and short stories of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Mr Mulliner is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, who is widely regarded as one of the great comic writers of the 20th century, once described as English literatures performing flea. ... The Oldest Member is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... The Nineteenth hole is a slang term used in golf. ... Ronald Eustace Psmith (or Rupert Psmith, as his is called in the first two books in which he appears) is a character in several of the comic novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Frederick Altamont Cornwallis Twistleton, 5th Earl of Ickenham is a fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ...

This article is about the P. G. Wodehouse character. ... In the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, Sebastian Beach is the butler at Blandings Castle, seat of Lord Emsworth and his family, where he serves for eighteen years. ... Rupert Baxter is a fictional character who appears in several of the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Major Brabazon-Plank is a minor fictional character from the short stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, who is widely regarded as one of the great comic writers of the 20th century, once described as English literatures performing flea. ... Sir Roderick Glossop is a recurring fictional character in the comic novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Hildebrand Tuppy Glossop is a fictional character appearing in some of P. G. Wodehouse Jeeves books. ... Roderick Spode, 8th Earl of Sidcup, also known as Lord Sidcup, is a minor fictional character from the novels of P. G. Wodehouse. ... Reginald Pongo Twistleton is a character in the Uncle Fred books by P. G. Wodehouse. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: it is patent nonsense. ... Montague Monty Bodkin, also referred to as Montrose, is a character from the dossiers of P.G. Wodehouse. ... Richard Bingo Little appears in a number of books by the renowned comic author, P. G. Wodehouse. ... Freddie Widgeon is a fictional character created by P. G. Wodehouse. ... Augustus Gussie Fink-Nottle is a fictional character who appears in several of P. G. Wodehouses novels. ... In the stories and novels of P. G. Wodehouse, Sir Watkyn Bassett is a magistrate in the Bosher Street courthouse in London, the father of Madeline Bassett, and Bertie Woosters potential father-in-law on several occasions. ... Madeline Bassett (later Lady Sidcup for about four days), is a character in P. G. Wodehouses Jeeves series of books. ... Lady Florence Craye is a fictional character who appears in P. G. Wodehouses Jeeves stories and novels. ... Lists of P. G. Wodehouse characters Characters in all Wodehouse stories Characters in the Blandings stories Characters in the Drones Club stories Characters in the Jeeves stories Characters in the Mulliner stories Characters in the Ukridge stories Characters in other stories      The following is an incomplete compendium of the fictional... Mike Jackson is a fictional character appearing in several early novels by P. G. Wodehouse. ... The Reverent Wooing of Archibald is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • Author Kyril Bonfiglioli appears to have modelled his series of crime novels on Wodehouse's style. Bonfiglioli's major characters (Mortdecai and Jock) bear a fun-house mirror relation to Wodehouse's Wooster and Jeeves.[3]
  • Hugh Laurie, the actor who portrayed Wooster in the TV series Jeeves and Wooster, has said that Wodehouse's novels saved him from depression.[4] It has been remarked that Laurie's novel The Gun Seller bears much resemblance to Jeeves and Wooster.
  • Author Lawrence Sanders based his character Archie McNally, the bonvivant sleuth and head of Discreet Inquiries for his patrician father's Palm Beach law firm, on an amalgam of Wodehouse's characters Jeeves and Wooster. [citation needed]
  • Wodehouse made use of the Paint-on-the-Shoe scene in both Mike, chapter 49 and the Blandings book Something Fresh, chapter 9. Apart from character names and a few changes to fit the different plots, the scenes are practically identical.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Kyril Bonfiglioli (1929-1985) was an art dealer in Oxford, UK, who was for a short time also an editor. ... James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE (born June 11, 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. ... Jeeves and Wooster is a humorous television series adapted by Clive Exton from P.G. Wodehouses Jeeves stories, and produced by Carnival Films for Granada Television, and screened on the United Kingdoms ITV network from 1990 to 1993. ... The Gun Seller (1996) is Hugh Lauries first, and to date only, novel. ... Lawrence Sanders (March 15, 1920 – February 7, 1998) was an American novelist. ... Jeeves and Wooster is a humorous television series adapted by Clive Exton from P.G. Wodehouses Jeeves stories, and produced by Carnival Films for Granada Television, and screened on the United Kingdoms ITV network from 1990 to 1993. ...

References

Sources consulted
  • Davis, Lee (1993). Bolton & Wodehouse & Kern: The Men Who Made Musical Comedy. James H. Heineman Incorporated. ISBN 0-87008-131-4. 
  • Day, Barry (2004). The Complete Lyrics of P. G. Wodehouse. The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 0-8108-4994-1. 
  • McCrum, Robert (2004). Wodehouse: A Life. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-05159-5. 
  • Usborne, Richard (2003). Plum Sauce: A P. G. Wodehouse Companion. New York: The Overlook Press, page 137–207. ISBN 1-58567-441-9. 
Endnotes
  1. ^ Weale, Adrian (1994), Renegades: Hitler's Englishmen, ISBN 0-297-81488-5.
  2. ^ Wodehouse, P. G. (1969). "Preface [new since the 1969 edition]", Something Fresh. “Something Fresh was the first of what I might call – in fact, I will call – the Blandings Castle Saga.” 
  3. ^ Lewis, Georgie (August 27, 2005). Don't Point That Thing at Me. Review-a-Day. Powell's Books. Retrieved on December 19, 2006.
  4. ^ pgwodehousebooks.com: Wodehouse saved my life

Richard Usbornes Plum Sauce (Ebury Press, 2002) Richard (Dick) Alexander Usborne (16 May 1910-21 March 2006) was a journalist and author, widely regarded as the leading scholar of the life and works of the English humorist P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975). ... Adrian Weale, born 9 February 1964 in Knightsbridge, London, is a British writer, journalist, illustrator and photographer of Welsh origin. ... is the 239th day of the year (240th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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Persondata
NAME Wodehouse, Pelham Grenville, Sir
ALTERNATIVE NAMES P. G. Wodehouse
SHORT DESCRIPTION British comic writer creator of Jeeves
DATE OF BIRTH 15 October 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH Guildford, Surrey, UK
DATE OF DEATH 14 February 1975
PLACE OF DEATH Southampton, NY, U.S.