Uploaded April 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
P.G. Wodehouse is deservedly renowned for his immortal creation of Jeeves. He is, however, even better renowned for an almost unbroken string of peerless social comedies that have never gone out of print.
Several of these concern the ineffable Earl of Emsworth and his improbable prize pig, the Empress of Blandings; and while your correspondent has shamelessly deployed "Blandings Castle" as bait, he might just as well have deployed PGW's entire oeuvre (proudly owned in its entirety) for the difficulty entailed in deciding on a single book to review.
For those not brought up on Britain's social mores, as much as those that have been, the likes of Jeeves, Lord Emsworth and the dreaded Freddie Threepwood are the stuff of comedic legend; and if - horrors! - one is hospital-bound or otherwise indisposed, look no further! A short, sharp dose of P.G. Wodehouse will restore your spirits pronto, no matter which of his books you choose.
As to Jeeves, PBS's splendid series, featuring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, stands as a benchmark of British humour and remains, deservedly, definitive.
A magnificent author, whose time has come to be rediscovered, as much by a new generation as the old. And "Blandings..." is one of his best.
More humour book reviews at:
bookreviewsandvideos.com/category/humorous-books-reviewed
P.G. Wodehouse is deservedly renowned for his immortal creation of Jeeves. He is, however, even better renowned for an almost unbroken string of peerless social comedies that have never gone out of print.
Several of these concern the ineffable Earl of Emsworth and his improbable prize pig, the Empress of Blandings; and while your correspondent has shamelessly deployed "Blandings Castle" as bait, he might just as well have deployed PGW's entire oeuvre (proudly owned in its entirety) for the difficulty entailed in deciding on a single book to review.
For those not brought up on Britain's social mores, as much as those that have been, the likes of Jeeves, Lord Emsworth and the dreaded Freddie Threepwood are the stuff of comedic legend; and if - horrors! - one is hospital-bound or otherwise indisposed, look no further! A short, sharp dose of P.G. Wodehouse will restore your spirits pronto, no matter which of his books you choose.
As to Jeeves, PBS's splendid series, featuring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, stands as a benchmark of British humour and remains, deservedly, definitive.
A magnificent author, whose time has come to be rediscovered, as much by a new generation as the old. And "Blandings..." is one of his best.
More humour book reviews at:
bookreviewsandvideos.com/category/humorous-books-reviewed
