And the race is on to steal Lady Constance Keeble's diamond necklace. From the best possible motives, of course.

This was my first encounter with Psmith, and he deserves to be much better known as one of Wodehouse's greatest creations. Note, the Empress of Blandings does not appear in this book. ( )

This was our latest family-read-aloud book. I read, and my wife and daughter listen, comment, and (particularly with this book) giggle, chuckle, and laugh.

Psmith ("the p is silent, as in phthisis, psychic, and ptarmigan") is a debonair young gentleman who needs to support himself. Unwilling to work for his rich uncle in the fish business, he runs an advertisement in the paper offering to do anything for anyone. Before long, he finds himself impersonating a poet at Blandings Castle, home of the Earl of Emsworth, hired by the Earl's son, Freddie, to steal a diamond necklace from the Earl's domineering sister. At the same time, Psmith falls in love at first sight with Eve Halliday, who conveniently is at Blandings to catalogue the library. Unfortunately Freddie also loves Eve. Eve believes Psmith has recently jilted her best friend and thinks Freddie is a dolt. Throw in the Earl's suspicious and astute secretary, a card-sharp turned jewel thief, and a few more house guests and hilarity ensues---much of it involving flower pots.

This was a great read-aloud book for our eleven-year-old daughter. She loved the twisting plot, lunatic characters, and Wodehouse's wit. Every chapter provided seemed to provide a few laugh-out-loud moments. At the same time it exposed her to a world (and vocabulary) beyond her regular reading genres. I suspect we'll be reading a lot more Wodehouse in the future.

This book is one of my favourites from when I was growing up and it is just as funny now as it was then. It is a gentle humour which kept me laughing quietly as I read. Psmith is elegant and unflappable in a plot to steal a diamond necklace in which more and more of the characters became involved. Eventually no-one trusts anyone else and no-one knows who actually has the diamonds.

Naturally, it all worked out in the end and the happy couples all lived happily ever after. ( )

A Wonder Among Wodehouse: Where to begin trying to explain the comic genius of Pelham Grenville? Leave it to Psmith is a perfect example of the humor genre. It is light, bright, clean, unobjectionable (unless you adore fish), and even more importantly- hysterically, bone achingly funny.The tale covers of the triumphs and travails of genial, bemonocled, and decidedly socialistic Psmith. (The P is silent as in ptarmigan, psoriasis, and psychiatrist.) Laugh as Psmith woos the young herione, lobs flowerpots at his host, and generally runs nonchalantly amok until he heroically saves the day. A must read for anyone who loves to laugh!

The second book in the Blandings series and the fourth in the Psmith series. This is certainly the best Wodehouse novel I've encountered so far (and I hope, one day to have read them all!). The humour and the writing are wonderfully clever. Another great unabridged audio recording by Jonathan Cecil. ( )