About the Author

Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (always known as 'Plum') wrote about seventy novels and some three hundred short stories over seventy-three years. He is widely recognised as the greatest 20th-century writer of humour in the English language.

Perhaps best known for the escapades of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, Wodehouse also created the world of Blandings Castle, home to Lord Emsworth and his cherished pig, the Empress of Blandings. His stories include gems concerning the irrepressible and disreputable Ukridge; Psmith, the elegant socialist; the ever-so-slightly-unscrupulous Fifth Earl of Ickenham, better known as Uncle Fred; and those related by Mr Mulliner, the charming raconteur of The Angler's Rest, and the Oldest Member at the Golf Club.

In 1936 he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for 'having made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the happiness of the world'. He was made a Doctor of Letters by Oxford University in 1939 and in 1975, aged ninety-three, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. He died shortly afterwards, on St Valentine's Day.

Reviews

Originally published in 1935, this book contains 12 short stories, only half of which are about Lord Emsworth and his Blandings estate. The rest are a miscellany, most of which are told by Mr. Mulliner, the indefatigable liar of the Angler's Rest. Moreover, while British actor James Saxon's reading is certainly competent, it doesn't reach the levels of inspiration of such other Wodehouse readers as Jonathan Cecil and Frederick Davidson. For an author who wrote nearly 100 books, Wodehouse struck a pretty high average; however, not everything he wrote was unalloyed gold. Blandings Castle contains flecks of the noble metal but also a large enough proportion of base metals to cause one to pause before purchasing this volume. Essential reading to Emsworth devotees but otherwise of only peripheral interest. R. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.