A Damsel in Distress
1919
A Damsel in Distress is a comedic novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in 1919. Set against the backdrop of aristocratic life at Belpher Castle, it follows the romantic misadventures of Lord Marshmoreton's daughter, Maud, as she navigates her feelings for an artist named George Bevan. The story features a cast of humorous characters and explores themes of love, misunderstanding, and class struggles through a series of delightful complications. Wodehouse's light-hearted narrative style and clever dialogue make this work a notable example of early 20th-century humor.
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“Sober or blotto, this is your motto: keep muddling through.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“Lord Marshmoreton: I wish I could get you see my point of view.George Bevan: I do see your point of view. But dimly. You see, my own takes up such a lot of the foreground””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“The proprietor of the grocery store on the corner was bidding a silent farewell to a tomato which even he, though a dauntless optimist, had been compelled to recognize as having outlived its utility.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“What George was thinking was that the late king Herod had been unjustly blamed for a policy which had been both statesmanlike and in the interests of the public. He was blaming the mawkish sentimentality of the modern legal system which ranks the evisceration and secret burial of small boys as a crime.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“Normally he was fond of most things. He was a good-natured and cheerful young man, who liked life and the great majority of those who lived it contemporaneously with himself. He had no enemies and many friends.But today he had noticed from the moment he had got out of bed that something was amiss with the world. Either he was in the grip of some divine discontent due to the highly developed condition of his soul, or else he had a grouch. One of the two.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“Hear him now as he toils. He has a long garden-implement in his hand, and he is sending up the death-rate in slug circles with a devastating rapidity. "Ta-ra-ra boom-de-ay Ta-ra-ra BOOM”
— P. G. Wodehouse
“Like one kissed by a goddess in a dream, he walked on air; and, while one is walking on air, it is easy to overlook the boulders in the path.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“In our moments of distress we can see clearly that what is wrong with this world of ours is the fact that Misery loves company and seldom gets it.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“Whatever may be said of the possibility of love at first sight, in which theory George was now a confirmed believer, there can be no doubt that an exactly opposite phenomenon is of frequent occurrence. After one look at some people even friendship is impossible. Such a one, in George's opinion, was this gurgling excrescence underneath the silk hat. He comprised in his single person practically all the qualities which George disliked most. He was, for a young man, extraordinarily obese. Already a second edition of his chin had been published, and the perfectly-cut morning coat which encased his upper section bulged out in an opulent semi-circle. He wore a little moustache, which to George's prejudiced eye seemed more a complaint than a moustache. His face was red, his manner dictatorial, and he was touched in the wind. Take him for all in all he looked like a bit of bad news.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
