A Wodehouse Miscellany: Articles & Stories

Before Jeeves became the most famous valet in English literature, P.G. Wodehouse was already sharpening his weapons. This collection gathers early articles and stories that showcase the young Wodehouse in all his glittering absurdity, dissecting the pompous Game-Captain, following the self-aware Reggie through his secret pleasures, defending astigmatism with the gravity of a philosopher. The man who would later perfect the comic novel was, in these pieces, learning to find the funny in everything: sportsmanship, advertising, drink, and the endless negotiations of English social life. What emerges is Wodehouse at his most freewheeling, before the famous formulas solidified. These are not the later, perfected engines of farce but something rawer, comedy being invented in real time, with all the zigs and zags that implies. The wit is already immaculate, the eye for human folly already unerring. If you've ever laughed at a misplaced modifier or a character digging himself into ever-deeper absurdity, here's where the tradition begins. For devoted Jeeves fans, this is archaeology. For newcomers, it's a sparkling introduction to the English language's finest comic architect.