“Bertie, it is imperative that you marry.” “But, dash it all…” “Yes! You should be breeding children to…” “No, really, I say, please!” I said, blushing richly. Aunt Agatha belongs to two or three of these women’s clubs, and she … Continue reading The Romances of Bertie Wooster
This February’s Great Wodehouse romances series continues with another guest author, K.V.K. Murthy, known to Facebook friends as James Joyce. His piece takes us on a walk through romantic literary history with Psmith and Eve Halliday (Leave it to Psmith). A note on the Psmith-Halliday romance by K.V.K. Murthy The question of favourites is mostly subjective, and Wodehouse’s vast canvas of miniature romances doubtless provides for each taste. The Gussie-Bassett, Tuppy-Angela, Bingo-Banks and others too numerous to mention are all miniatures :a concatenation (to use Jeeves’ word) of comical situation, Edwardian silly-assness and a bit of fat-headedness thrown in for seasoning. They … Continue reading A note on the Psmith-Halliday romance by K.V.K. Murthy
It is not unreasonable to assume that when the assorted dignitaries of Bath bunged off their application for UNESCO World Heritage listing, the fact that P.G. Wodehouse lived here as a boy was pretty high up on their list of … Continue reading P.G. Wodehouse in Bath: The Loafing Years
Imitating authors seems quite the fashion at present. Unlike Sebastian Faulks, I haven’t the nerve to attempt Wodehouse, but I once attempted a piece in the style of the great satirist Jane Austen. As discussed previously, Austen is an author beloved by many Wodehouse fans so I’d like to share my little effort with you. It’s not Wodehouse, I know, but we’re not sticklers at Plumtopia. This is Liberty Hall! *** Every Michaelmas, for some fifteen years past, Mrs Harper and her daughters were invited to visit her uncle, the Rev. James Archer, at Sandford Parsonage in Devonshire. James Archer … Continue reading Imitating style: Jane Austen
“You are evidently fond of mystery plays.” “I love them.” “So do I. And mystery novels?” “Oh, yes!” “Have you read Blood on the Banisters?” “Oh, yes! I thought it was much better than Severed Throats.” “So did I,” said … Continue reading What do Wodehouse lovers read when not reading Wodehouse?
All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning. Albert Camus The world of literature is blessed with many brilliantly conceived and well-remembered beginnings, celebrated in fitting tributes across the blogoshpere. Inspired by Albert Camus’s appreciation of the ridiculous, I have been contemplating great beginnings in humorous fiction. Terry Pratchett, the modern master of intelligent ridiculousness, begins Hogfather on a similar theme. Everything starts somewhere, although many physicists disagree. Further thoughts on the subject are offered by Douglas Adams in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe . The story so far: In the beginning the universe … Continue reading Ridiculous Beginnings
