P G Wodehouse

[Oldposts]

#0002 is definitely in Uncle Dynamite. PGW at his best there.

It starts with a shy guy returning from an expedition to Amazon cringing at the sight of a whole school choir waiting to recieve him at the
station and the fellow passenger, Uncle Dynamite,
understands the whole situation in one glance and
makes him hide under the seat. Later he invites
himself to this guy's place, masquerades under
three different names simultaneously to unite this
guy with his love. Most of the names I have forgotten.
-----------------------------

Ramji, I think it was Wembley, a suburban station
in London.
-----------------------------

---Lady Schoonmacker, and Captain Bigger---#0003
Lady Schoonmacker, an american is a potential
buyer of a castle. The lord of the castle is
trying to impress her, by going to the extent
of hiring "the boy who cleans knives and boots".
His brother keeps coming back with Captain
Bigger jokes.

Who is Bigger, Captain Bigger or Mrs Bigger?
Mrs Bigger because she became Bigger.
Who is Bigger, Captain Bigger or Master Bigger?
Master Bigger because, he is a little Bigger.
Who is Bigger, Captain Bigger or spinster(?) Bigger?
spinster Bigger, because she's always Bigger.

There were three more of these questions I have
forgotten. This guy also makes this comment that
almost torpedos the sale.
"In the summer the river is at the bottom of the
garden, in the winter the garden is at the bottom
of the river."
---End of #0003

[Oldposts]

Ravi:

Yes, that was Wembley.

Did "Lord Ikenham" ring a bell?

One non- PGW. Forgive the related digression:

Her name was Virginia. She was called Virgin for short but she was not a virgin for long.

( This is from the days when the author could write such things and get away without being branded a sexist )

[Oldposts]

Could be Lord Ikenham. But I dont remember
the name well enough.

A quick search in google turned up

http://www.eclipse.co.uk/wodehouse/

Try the quiz page.

--Jams, Jellies and Potted Preserved---#0004
The guy mentioned in #0003 works in the dept store
as the shop assistant in the Jams, Jellies and Potted preserves section and he confides in
Lady Schoonmacker, "The roumour has it that soon I'll be promoted to the Hats, Kerchiefs and Walking sticks section and everyone knows from there promotion to something, something and Ladies Undergarments is just around the corner".
Everytime I catch an episode of "Are you Being Served" I am reminded of this guy.
--------End of #0004

[Oldposts]

In the eclipse website about PGW
some more info regarding #0001

1. At what time on Friday, July 1, did Freddie Threepwood stipulate that somebody wearing a pink chrysanthemum should meet him in the lobby of the
Piccadilly Palace Hotel,?
At noon, twelve sharp. "Leave it to Psmith", chapter 6 ("Lord Emsworth meets a Poet"), section 1. As Freddie didn't know what the somebody (Psmith, as it
turned out) looked like, nor what a chrysanthemum looked like, nor how much Psmith prattled on, and hadn't allowed for the fact that he had promised to catch
the twelve-fifty from Paddington, the meeting ended in undignified haste.
----------------

[Oldposts]

British humour, hmmm! I have always thought Wodehouse had the 'bestseller' kind of humour. You would make yourself a crackpot laughing loudly while reading his works. He was a master in laughing at the absurdities of the human mind, particularly of the English Upper class.

He would certainly be a favorite writer of anyone who can appreciate good English and above all humor. I was very much impressed by his PSmith series (I won’t forget to put the ‘P’ before the name and do gross injustice to the humor that was generated behind the name; ‘Leave it to Psmith’ was my favorite book among his works); no one who reads him can forget the lazy but lovable lords of English aristocracy with their interest in weird things like pig breeding (I can’t forget Blandings castle and Lord Emsworth and his terrorizing sister or cousin), the young, spoiled but again lovable brats of the English Aristocracy, and above all the impeccable butler, Jeeves, who could come out with solutions for all these lovable idiots.

But then, I wouldn’t place him in the lines of Charles Di*kens and Oscar Wilde for his humor; he was certainly a good writer and had a good sense of English language too but he wasn’t any kind of ‘literary’ personality, for his humour, as it appeared to me, didn't have a content ; he was more of a ‘best seller’ kind of writer, but any way he was so enjoyable to read.

[Oldposts]

Come on Vish, you seem to consider being a "best seller" somehow lessens one's literary abilities. Such a line of thinking would be considered elitist. PGW made fun of such "I am better than the masses" attitudes.

But I know you are a good guy at the core and can be salvaged after all you laughed out aloud in public places reading PGW.

---------------Vice Presidents in USA---#0005
Freddie Threepwood, son of Lord Emsworth, the ninth Earl of Emsworth marries the daughter of the owner of Donaldson's Dog-Joy dog biscuits company and goes off to USA. Then he returns as the Vice President of Sales and tries to get the accout of
Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe. Someone asks him, "So you are the Vice President, eh? mm. It pays to marry into the family in America, looks like, old chap". Freddie replies, "Everyone over there starts as the vice president. If I do a really good job I might be promoted to the level of assistant saleman".
-------------End of #0005

[Oldposts]

Vishvesh:
"I wouldn’t place him in the lines of Charles Di*kens and Oscar Wilde for his humor."

PGW is a class on his own. Di*kens, for the most part, presented life in its real form, esp. the uglier side. However, I see PGW in Di*kens' works such as 'Pickwick Papers' & 'Hard Times'. Sure, PGW came 50 years later, but I feel PGW carried that 'spirit' of Di*kens through all his works.

What is the literary worth of humor anyway? Humor should be brief, spontaneous and crackingly funny. That is what PGW's works are all about. Objective humor borders on pessimism and indifference and as you said they are not popular. They are sought after by literature students or highly academic readers.
I can agree that PGW was a bestseller sort of writer. But to say that his humor does not have literary worth is injustice.

[Oldposts]

The question of looking for any ‘literary’ merit in a writer is a question of standards one develops in one’s acquaintance with works of different kinds. This distinction never exists in a society in which there is a possibility of a kind of homogenous context of taste and response. In our age, anything passes on as the best by the popularity it generates, our lack of any standards of judgement and so many other factors. When you look into the works of Woodhouse along with the works of Di*kens or even with the works of a minor writer like Gogol, and if you have developed some ‘standards of judgement’ , you would find the glaring difference in the quality of humor that is generated. A book, if it is to be of any value, has to have some purpose apart from just making people laughing ; it should make you an altered person after reading it by affecting your sensibility and your way of looking at life. The humor that is generated by Di*kens always has the content of a related reality, while Woodhouse just laughs at certain imagined quirks. While Di*kens uses humor as an emphasis and coloring to a subtler understanding of an issue, Woodhouse just feels happy to be light-hearted by just a loud laugh on pseudo-issues. In a way, it tends to lead one away from the realities and be an escapist. Not to say that Di*kens’ humor is always tragic. I have laughed even louder while reading the works of Di*kens. But then as I said it has a ‘content’ most of the times, and relates to an inward understanding of a related issue than just make you laugh and stop at that. I have read “Hard Times” and I still remember the liveliness of Sissy Jupe and her father, who tends horse, if I remember it right and has a funny ‘nasal’ accent. I still remember the pathos behind his humor which is subtly related to the onslaught of the Industrial Revolution in England demolishing the simpler ways of living which existed till then.

[Oldposts]

Vishvesh:
"A book, if it is to be of any value, has to have some purpose apart from just making people laughing"
You hit the nail right on its head. I do not go to PGW for hidden messages in his prose. In PGW's own words, his works are a sort of 'musical comedy' without the music. Humor, this is strictly IMHO, should be as unreal as possible and if it is tied in with some daily occurence it just makes me sad and pessimistic.
Sure PGW is unreal, Di*kens is just too real.

[Oldposts]

I found "Three men in a boat" to be very
humorous. Much better than the very dilute
humour in PGW's works.