A lot of people give Wodehouse's school books low scores because they want something like Jeeves and this is not it. Wodehouse is famous for his humorous writing, after all, and this is not humorous. It's just a straightforward public school story for young readers, in the Victorian/Edwardian tradition of Thomas Hughes, Talbot Baines Reed and others. There was a market for it at the time, and the young Wodehouse delivered to that market.

I enjoyed this novel. It was a fast, entertaining read. Wodehouse is a very skilled writer, even if this is not the witty style that would make him famous later, he really knows his sport stuff and the plot is focused and much tighter than in other of his school novels.

The novel begins at a boarding school called Eckleton, with the final of the cricket inter-house cup, a competition between the different houses of the school. The finalists are Blackburn's House and Kay's House. Blackburn's is a model of what a proper house should be like in a public school. It is well-run, with a good house master and a good head boy, ably helped by competent prefects. Morale is high there and they have a rather competent team, where the different players do their best for the house. Kay's is the complete opposite. That house is a disaster area, plagued by indiscipline, low motivation, prefects who would break the rules rather than uphold them, an odious house master... The only thing working properly there is their head boy, Fenn, but his efforts are wasted because he is constantly undermined by Mr. Kay, the house master.

In the cricket inter-house cup, no one expected Kay's to achieve anything, since they never do, but they got to the final. It wasn't on the strength of a well-rounded team, but on the strength of a single player, the head boy Fenn, who is an exceptional bowler and batter and seems on his way to win the cup single-handedly.

The final game gets to its second day, and only an inning for Kay's House remains. If they score 78 points they'll win, and it's very likely they will, because Fenn hasn't personally scored less than 80 on any single inning on any of his appearances in the house cup. However, their chances are spoiled because of a punishment by Mr. Kay, which leads to more indiscipline, and eventually to Fenn's removal as head of the house on Mr. Kay's request.

Kennedy, a senior boy from Blackburn's House, to his dismay is sent to Kay's House to be the new head. Fenn and he are friends, or used to be, but Fenn does not take this latest humiliation too well and, although he will not undermine Kennedy, neither will he help him against an hostile, undisciplined house.

And that's the setup. Will Kennedy, steady but tenacious, be able to whip Kay's House into shape, hindered by Mr. Kay himself and most of the senior and junior boys? Will his friendship with Fenn survive? There are also some side plots involving a holidays camp, and also a burglary and an unauthorized escapade to town by Fenn, which could end up with him expelled if discovered. These plots are tied up perhaps a bit too easily.

Even though I have enjoyed this story, I have read several Talbot Baines Reed school novels recently, and they seem to me more enjoyable than this one by Wodehouse. Reed is a fine writer, but it's not a problem of skill, an area where Wodehouse obviously is not lacking. It's a matter of Reed's novels being fun, while this one is competent and professional, but not fun. After reading a Reed novel I feel as if going to that school would be fun, while in The Head of Kay's, being at Kay's House seems a rather miserable experience, at least for most of the book. ( )

One of Wodehouse's "School Stories", this book takes place at a minor public school named Eckleton's and deals with the difficulties faced by the boy who is the head of Kay's house (mostly caused by the "beastly" behaviour of Kay himself).

I found this story to be less outrageously funny than many of Wodehouse's books and more of a straight-forward 'boy at school' book. I enjoyed it but I doubt that I will ever reread it. ( )

Pretty good little story when Wodehouse doesn't get too bogged down in the sports stuff. This is the 5th of his school stories and you can see him starting to find his voice. ( )

One of Wodehouse's "School Stories", this book takes place at a minor public school named Eckleton's and deals with the difficulties faced by the boy who is the head of Kay's house (mostly caused by the "beastly" behaviour of Kay himself).

I found this story to be less outrageously funny than many of Wodehouse's books and more of a straight-forward 'boy at school' book. I enjoyed it but I doubt that I will ever reread it. ( )

The first Wodehouse book I've read - was delighted to see that he'd written some school stories, as I'm a bit of a sucker for them. Enjoyed it. Love his occasional asides to the reader. ( )