The Man Upstairs and Other Stories
1914
The Man Upstairs and Other Stories
1914
This 1914 collection captures P.G. Wodehouse in his early creative stride, before he became the undisputed king of British comedy. The stories burst with the ingredients that would define his career: romantic misunderstandings, social absurdities, and characters whose dignity consistently undermines itself. The title story exemplifies his approach perfectly: Annette Brougham, a serious musician, is driven to distraction by the persistent knocking from the artist studio above her. Her confrontation with the lighthearted Alan Beverley begins in fury and descends (or ascends, depending on one's perspective) into unexpectedly tender attraction. Across these stories, Wodehouse dissects the particular absurdities of early 20th-century English society with a gentle, affectionate cruelty. Young lovers scheme and stumble, society matrons maneuver behind fans, and everyone speaks in a kind of delighted code that obscures as much as it reveals. The wit is bright, the romantic sentiment genuine beneath the playfulness, and the comic timing impeccable. For readers who adore Jeeves and Wooster, these stories offer a fascinating glimpse at Wodehouse perfecting his craft before the masterpieces.
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“It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“A melancholy-looking man, he had the appearance of one who has searched for the leak in life's gas-pipe with a lighted candle.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“To persons of spirit like ourselves the only happy marriage is that which is based on a firm foundation of almost incessant quarrelling.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“This is the age of the specialist, and years ago Rollo had settled on his career. Even as a boy, hardly capable of connected thought, he had been convinced that his speciality, the one thing he could do really well, was to inherit money.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“It was a half-grown puppy with long legs and a long tail, belonging to no one species, but generously distributing itself among about six.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“He was a long, slender youth, with green eyes, jet-black hair, and a passionate fondness for the sound of his own voice.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“Few things are more difficult in this world for a young man than the securing of an introduction to the right girl under just the right conditions.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“Come in!’ cried the voice, rather a pleasant voice; but what is a pleasant voice if the soul be vile?””
— P. G. Wodehouse
“the hand that counteth its chickens ere they be hatched oft-times doth but step on the banana-skin.””
— P. G. Wodehouse
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Wodehouse, P. G.. The Man Upstairs and Other Stories. Lex, lex-books.com/book/the-man-upstairs-and-other-stories-9ea37511-5275-49bb-b2d4-86a8b57d05ba.Wodehouse, P. G. (1914). The Man Upstairs and Other Stories. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-man-upstairs-and-other-stories-9ea37511-5275-49bb-b2d4-86a8b57d05baWodehouse, P. G.. The Man Upstairs and Other Stories. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-man-upstairs-and-other-stories-9ea37511-5275-49bb-b2d4-86a8b57d05ba.
