P. G. Wodehouse

What would you do if you found out that a long-ago acquaintance left you the equivalent of millions of dollars in his will? That's exactly what happens to down-on-his-luck Lord Dawlish in P.G. Wodehouse's Uneasy Money.

The Man with Two Left Feet and Other Stories by P. G. Wodehouse

The Clicking of Cuthbert by P. G. Wodehouse

The Adventures of Sally by P. G. Wodehouse

Psmith in the City by P. G. Wodehouse

Mike by P. G. Wodehouse

Death at the Excelsior by P. G. Wodehouse

Go back to the beginning with one of the masters of English humor writing. Wodehouse's first published novel, The Pothunters is also one of several of the author's works that centers on the fictional public school known as St. Austin's. The book recounts the daily comings and goings of the students, as well as their athletic triumphs and travails in their quest for glory and "pots" (trophies).

Three Men and a Maid is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It first appeared in 1921 in England under the title The Girl on the Boat.

In the British tradition, a white feather has long been a symbol of cowardice or pusillanimity in battle or when facing adversity. In The White Feather, Wodehouse applies this metaphor to the dog-eat-dog world of school. When an introverted and academically minded student displays a pronounced lack of courage when attacked by a gang of street toughs, he is ostracized by his peers and develops an outlandish scheme to restore his reputation.

The Little Warrior was the US title of the British publication Jill, The Reckless by P. G. Wodehose. The heroine here, Jill Mariner, is a young woman from the lower end of the upper class. We follow her through financial disaster, a broken engagement, an awkward stay with some grasping relatives, employment as a chorus girl, and of course, the finding of true love.

Only in the hands of British humor master P.G. Wodehouse can a plot involving a horrendously spoiled child and a slew of botched kidnapping attempts become an uproariously funny comedy of errors. Ogden Ford, the Little Nugget referred to in the book's title, is a petulant brat who has been coddled to the point of no return by his indulgent parents. Because of the family's immense wealth, Ogden represents a big fat payday to various nefarious characters. Will one of the crews abscond with the Little Nugget, or will altruism win the day?

The action begins with bachelor Jimmy Pitt in New York; having fallen in love on a transatlantic liner, he befriends a small-time burglar and breaks into a police captain's house as a result of a bet. The cast of characters head to England, and from there on it is a typically Wodehousean romantic story, set at the stately Dreever Castle, overflowing with impostors, detectives, crooks, scheming lovers and conniving aunts.

Set at the fictional school of Eckleton, the story centres upon the "house of Kay's", the riotous boys therein, its tactless, unpopular master Mr Kay, and Fenn, the head boy. The story features practical jokes, fighting between the boys, burglaries, a mugging in the local village, politics amongst the houses of the school, a trip to an army-style camp, and plenty of cricket, rugby, and other school sports.

P.G. Wodehouse was a British writer best known for his humorous fiction.  Wodehouse's long career produced many classics with his most famous works centering around Jeeves, the genius valet of Bertie Wooster.  This edition of The Gold Bat includes a table of contents.

The nearest Wodehouse ever came to a serious story, The Coming of Bill is a fascinating blend of social commentary and light comedy.Kirk, an impecunious artist of perfect physique, and Ruth, a spoilt heiress, were blissfully happy through their early days of marriage and the birth of their first son. But when Kirk returns from a trip to Columbia to find Ruth under the thumb of her Aunt Laura, an advocate of eugenics, parenting philosophies divide them. It takes a series of comic mishaps, featuring a galaxy of vintage Wodehouse characters, to retrieve the family's happiness from the overbearing aunt.

Tales of St. Austin's is a collection of short stories and essays, all with a school theme, by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published on 10 November 1903 by Adam & Charles Black, London, all except one item having previously appeared in the schoolboy magazines, The Captain and Public School Magazine. The stories are set in the fictional public school of St. Austin's, which was also the setting for The Pothunters (1902); they revolve around cricket, rugby, petty gambling and other boyish escapades.

From the book:It sounds so weak-minded. But in the case of Love Among the Chickens it is unavoidable. It was not so much that you sympathised and encouraged - where you really came out strong was that you gave me the stuff. I like people who sympathise with me. I am grateful to those who encourage me. But the man to whom I raise the Wodehouse hat - owing to the increased cost of living, the same old brown one I had last year - it is being complained of on all sides, but the public must bear it like men till the straw hat season comes round - I say, the man to whom I raise this venerable relic is the man who gives me the material. Sixteen years ago, my William, when we were young and spritely lads; when you were a tricky centre-forward and I a fast bowler; when your head was covered with hair and my list of "Hobbies" in Who's Who included Boxing; I received from you one morning about thirty closely-written foolscap pages, giving me the details of your friend ---'s adventures on his Devonshire chicken farm. Round these I wove as funny a plot as I could, but the book stands or falls by the stuff you gave me about "Ukridge" - the things that actually happened.

This episodic novel tells the story of Archibald Moffam, a perennially down-on-his-luck character who meets with misfortune as he tries to navigate the landmines of marriage, family relationships, and the working life. Told with the kind of sparkling wit only P.G. Wodehouse can muster, Indiscretions of Archie is enough to make anyone feel better about their own mishaps, while providing plenty of belly laughs along the way.

The novel follows the lives of several of the schoolboys as they study, take part in their school sports (particularly boxing and running), and enjoy tea in their studies. After the school's sports trophies ('pots' in contemporary slang) are stolen in a burglary, the boys, their masters, and the police join in the hunt for the 'pots'.

Love Among the Chickens is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published as a book in the United Kingdom in June 1906 by George Newnes, London, and in the United States by Circle Publishing, New York, on 11 May 1909, having already appeared there as a serial in Circle magazine between September 1908 and March 1909. The English edition was dedicated "to Sir Bargrave and Lady Deane"; the Rt Hon Sir Henry Bargrave Deane QC was a High Court judge and a cousin of Wodehouse's mother. In 1921, Wodehouse revised the book. In the 1906 version, the first five chapters were narrated in the third person, before shifting to the first person. The new version was narrated entirely in the first person and had a slightly different ending. The new edition was published in May 1921 by Herbert Jenkins and carried an extended dedication to Wodehouse's old school friend, Bill Townend, in which Wodehouse thanked his friend for the original idea for the story and commented that "... I have practically re-written the book. There was some pretty bad work in it, ..." This is the only novel to feature the recurring character Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge, whose appearances are otherwise confined to short stories. This was the first book by Wodehouse to be published separately in the U.S. The four books that had appeared there previously were all printed from imported plates of the UK edition.

Jill The Reckless is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on October 11, 1920 by George H. Doran, New York, (under the title The Little Warrior), and in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, on 4 July 1921. It was serialised in Collier's (US) between 10 April and 28 August 1920, in Maclean's (Canada) between 1 August and 15 November 1920, in both cases as The Little Warrior, and, as Jill the Reckless, in the Grand Magazine (UK), from September 1920 to June 1921. The heroine here, Jill Mariner, is a young woman from the lower end of the upper class. We follow her through financial disaster, a broken engagement, an awkward stay with some grasping relatives, employment as a chorus girl, and of course, the finding of true love. Other characters include wealthy Drone Freddie Rooke and writer Wally Mason, her childhood friends; her financially inept uncle Major Christopher Selby; her fiancee at the beginning of the book, the M.P Derek Underhill, and his domineering mother, Lady Underhill; Jill's unpleasant relatives, Elmer and Julia Mariner; more Drones Club members, various chorus girls, composers and other theatrical types, and, of course, miscellaneous servants. George Bevan, composer hero of Wodehouse's previous work A Damsel in Distress, receives a passing mention, as does an unspecified member of the Threepwood family. The dust jacket of the UK first edition published by Herbert Jenkins was designed by Edmund Blampied.

The Little Nugget is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in Munsey's Magazine in August 1913, before being published as a book in the U.K. on August 28, 1913 by Methuen & Co, London, and in the U.S. on February 10, 1914 by W.J. Watt and Co., New York. An earlier version of the story, without the love interest, had appeared as a serial in The Captain between January and March 1913 under the title The Eighteen-Carat Kid; this version was not published in the U.S. until August 1980, when it appeared in a volume entitled The Eighteen-Carat Kid and Other Stories. The Little Nugget was reprinted in the Philadelphia Record on 12 May 1940.

The action of the novel takes place at the fictional "Beckford College", a private school for boys; the title alludes to the arrival at the school of a mischievous young boy called Farnie, who turns out to be the uncle of the older "Bishop" Gethryn, a prefect, cricketer and popular figure in the school. His arrival, along with that of another youngster who becomes fag to Gethryn, leads to much excitement and scandal in the school, and the disruption of some important cricket matches.

Piccadilly Jim is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on February 24, 1917 by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, and in the United Kingdom in May 1918 by Herbert Jenkins, London. The story had previously appeared in the US in the Saturday Evening Post between 16 September and 11 November 1916. The novel features Ogden Ford and his mother Nesta (both previously encountered in The Little Nugget (1913)). Nesta has remarried, to the hen-pecked, baseball-loving millionaire Mr. Peter Pett, and Ogden remains spoilt and obnoxious. The story takes its title from the charismatic character of Jimmy Crocker, Nesta's nephew and a reforming playboy. 'Jim' is called upon to assist in the kidnapping of Ogden, amongst much confusion involving imposters, crooks, detectives, butlers, aunts etc. - all in the name of romance of course.

Psmith in the City is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 23 September 1910 by Adam & Charles Black, London. The story was originally released as a serial in The Captain magazine, between October 1908 and March 1909, under the title The New Fold. It continues the adventures of cricket-loving Mike Jackson and his immaculately-dressed friend Psmith, first encountered in Mike (1909).

The sunshine of a fair Spring morning fell graciously on London town. Out in Piccadilly its heartening warmth seemed to infuse into traffic and pedestrians alike a novel jauntiness, so that bus drivers jested and even the lips of chauffeurs uncurled into not unkindly smiles. Policemen whistled at their posts-clerks, on their way to work; beggars approached the task of trying to persuade perfect strangers to bear the burden of their maintenance with that optimistic vim which makes all the difference. It was one of those happy mornings. At nine o'clock precisely the door of Number Seven Arundell Street, Leicester Square, opened and a young man stepped out.

"Jeeves," I said, "may I speak frankly?" "Certainly, sir." "What I have to say may wound you." "Not at all, sir." "Well, then----" No--wait. Hold the line a minute. I've gone off the rails.

To MY BROTHER DICK   The time of this story is a year and a term later thanthat of _The Gold Bat._ The history of Wrykyn in between these two books is dealt with in a number ofshort stories, some of them brainy in the extreme, whichhave appeared in various magazines. I wanted Messrs Blackto publish these, but they were light on their feet andkept away--a painful exhibition of the White Feather. P. G. Wodehouse

Indiscretions of Archie is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on February 14, 1921 by Herbert Jenkins, London, and in the United States on July 15, 1921 by George H. Doran, New York. The book was adapted from a series of short stories, originally serialised in the Strand in the UK, between March 1920 and February 1921, and, all except one, in Cosmopolitan in the US between May 1920 and February 1921. The stories were rewritten and reorganised to create a more flowing novel form. The one story that was not published in Cosmopolitan, "Strange Experience of an Artist's Model", was collected in Wodehouse on Crime (1981) under the title "Indiscretions of Archie".

A pretty girl in a blue dress came out of the house, and began to walk slowly across the terrace to where Elsa Keith sat with Marvin Rossiter in the shade of the big sycamore. Elsa and Marvin had become engaged some few days before, and were generally to be found at this time sitting together in some shaded spot in the grounds of the Keith's Long Island home.

In a day in June, at the hour when London moves abroad in quest of lunch, a young man stood at the entrance of the Bandolero Restaurant looking earnestly up Shaftesbury Avenue--a large young man in excellent condition, with a pleasant, good-humoured, brown, clean-cut face. He paid no attention to the stream of humanity that flowed past him. His mouth was set and his eyes wore a serious, almost a wistful expression. He was frowning slightly. One would have said that here was a man with a secret sorrow.

The Coming of Bill is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published, as Their Mutual Child, in the United States in 1919 by Boni and Liveright, New York, and in the United Kingdom on 1 July 1920 by Herbert Jenkins, London. The story first appeared in Munsey's Magazine in May 1914, under the title The White Hope. The book tells the story of Kirk Winfield, his marriage to Ruth, and their child called Bill. Bill's upbringing is threatened by the interference of Ruth's busybody writer aunt, Mrs Lora Delane Porter. A silent film version of Their Mutual Child was made in 1920.

A Damsel in Distress is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United States on 4 October 1919 by George H. Doran, New York, and in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, on 17 October 1919. It had previously been serialised in The Saturday Evening Post, between May and June that year. Golf-loving American composer George Bevan falls in love with a mysterious young lady who takes refuge in his taxicab one day; when he tracks her down to a romantic rural manor, mistaken identity leads to all manner of brouhaha... The story was made into a silent, black-and-white movie in 1919. In 1928 Wodehouse collaborated with Ian Hay in adapting the book for the stage: Hay, Wodehouse and A. A. Milne invested in the production, about which Wodehouse said "I don't think we shall lose our money, as Ian has done an awfully good job.". The play, which opened at the New Theatre, London, on 13 August 1928, had a successful run of 234 performances. Wodehouse was involved in adapting the novel as a musical in 1937.

The Girl on the Boat is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. The story first appeared as a serial in Woman's Home Companion in the United States, under the title Three Men and a Maid, from October to December 1921. It was first published as a book in the U.S. on April 26, 1922 by George H. Doran, New York, and as The Girl on the Boat in the United Kingdom by Herbert Jenkins, London, on June 15, 1922.

The Gold Bat is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published on 13 September 1904 by Adam & Charles Black, London. Set at the fictional public school of Wrykyn, the novel tells of how two boys, O'Hara and Moriarty, tar and feather a statue of the local M.P. as a prank. They get away with it, but O'Hara had borrowed a tiny gold cricket bat belonging to Trevor, the captain of the cricket team, and after the escapade he discovers the trinket is missing. Schoolboy honour is at stake, and the book covers events that term including inter-house rugby matches and the appearance of a mysterious society called the League, as Trevor and friends try to get the gold bat back. Wrykyn School would appear again in The White Feather (1907), and as the setting of the first half of Mike (1909); it would be mentioned occasionally in later Wodehouse works.

Set at the fictional school of Eckleton, the story centres around the house of "Kay's", the riotous boys therein, its tactless, unpopular master Mr. Kay, and Fenn, the head boy. The story features practical jokes, fighting between the boys and with the locals in the nearby town, politics amongst the houses of the school, a trip to an army-style camp, and plenty of cricket and rugby.

The Adventures of Sally is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse. It appeared as a serial in Collier's Weekly magazine in the United States from 8 October to 31 December 1921, and in the Grand Magazine in the United Kingdom from April to July 1922. It was first published as a book in the UK by Herbert Jenkins, London, on October 17, 1922, and in the US by George H. Doran, New York, on March 23, 1923, under the title Mostly Sally. It was serialised again, under this second title, in The Household Magazine from November 1925 to April 1926. The story concerns a young American girl named Sally, who inherits a considerable fortune and finds her life turned upside down.