A dash of Wodehouse is always a great gift idea. This seasonal piece offers a few ideas to help you choose something special for the Wodehouse lover in your life — or for those poor souls of your acquaintance who … Continue reading Wodehouse for Christmas: gifts that keep giving
For some time I’ve been threatening to write a fictional homage to P.G. Wodehouse – a statement that will induce some of you to sadly shake your heads, for there is a school of thought among Wodehouse lovers that such homages ought not be attempted. Stern words have been written on the subject. Alexandra Petri leaps to mind. She makes a sound case for the prosecution in her review of Sebastian Faulks’ homage, ‘Jeeves and the Wedding Bells is worse than bad fanfiction’ (Washington Post), in which she helpfully outlines the world of fanfiction (yes, it’s one word apparently). I would submit that … Continue reading 50 shades of Wodehouse homage
At last week’s Hay Festival, Alexander McCall Smith was announced winner of the 2015 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic fiction, for his book Fatty O’Leary’s Dinner Party. The prize is awarded ‘in the spirit of P.G. Wodehouse’. I’ve enjoyed many of the previous winners and shortlisted entries, but Wodehouse fans should not to expect great similarities between Wodehouse’s writing and these examples of modern genre. With that caveat in mind, let’s take a look at the 2015 shortlist. How to Build a Girl by Cailtin Moran “My life is basically The Bell Jar written by Adrian Mole.” Described as semi-autobiographical, … Continue reading The 2015 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize: a Wodehouse reader’s view
It is too early to begin contemplating the enormous loss to literature, and our lives, that will follow Terry Pratchett‘s sad passing today. The news has upset me too deeply to write at length, but I wanted to add my small voice to the millions who will surely be mourning Terry Pratchett’s death and celebrating his life over the coming days. My 2013 review of his novel I Shall Wear Midnight, expresses some of my feelings. I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude to Terry Pratchett, not just for the pleasure his writing has given me, but for demonstrating what can … Continue reading I shall wear midnight for Terry Pratchett
“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?
Wodehouse offers so much more to female readers than he is usually given credit for. A few months ago, I responded to criticism of Indian Summer of an Uncle by Janet Cameron (see my case for the defence). I feel sad that Cameron’s cursory appraisal of perceived gender issues has blinded her to the exquisite joys of his work. So today, I want to talk about why Wodehouse is a great writer of, and for, women. First, Wodehouse presents readers with heroines who are full of pep and ginger; independent, sometimes feisty, characters who frequently outsmart the men. What a … Continue reading Wodehouse’s women: in the eye of the beholder
Whenever I begin something new from (Bollinger Wodehouse prize-winner) Terry Pratchett these days, I prepare myself for the possibility that it might not sparkle quite so much as old favourites, like Carpe Jugulum. I remind myself that Pratchett has given us so much already, and that he’s entitled to ‘slip’ a little since being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2007. But Pratchett isn’t slipping. Each new book is as fresh, engaging, and bloody marvellous as the last, and I consider recent works such as Dodger (2012) and I Shall Wear Midnight[ (2010) among his best. I feel an overwhelming sense … Continue reading I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
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
Wodehouse lovers may be keen on this idea by fellow blogger Swymmwys to create a P G Wodehouse computer game. Continue reading Wodehouse Game – cntd 3
Plumtopia 