A Prefect's Uncle (1903)

Not much of a plot in this one. I hope you're a cricket fan if you read it! It looks like from many of the reviews that this is nowhere near what Wodehouse's popular works are like, so I won't write him off completely. Plus, you have to give someone a second chance when Douglas Adams has called him the greatest comic writer ever.

Some bits of this book here and there were delightful to read, but most was "beastly". (That would be one of the delights of the book for me, whenever someone called something "beastly".) I'm glad it was short.

On a stupid American note, as this was a British school story, I learned that some of the things about Hogwarts were not original; they are just standard in the British school system (or the old system? I don't know how much has changed and what percentage of kids go away to school since this book was written) - the school is divided into different houses, and they compete against each other for a cricket cup. And then there are prefects of course. Up until now Harry Potter has been my only glimpse into British schooling.

And I just realized there are no female characters in this book, but that is kind of to be expected in a boys' school story. ( )

Fun - though it might help if you know a bit more about cricket and rugby than I do. ( )

Schoolboys play cricket and get into trouble. Occasionally funny, but forgettable.

The redeeming feature for me is that Wodehouse's later humour and wit are already apparent in this very early novel; usually, school and sports novels bore me stiff (I usually skip the Quidditch parts in Harry Potter), but here at least I chuckled a few times. ( )

This is one of Wodehouse's early school stories,and was written in 1903,before being republished in 2006 by Bibliobazaar.
While obviously an apprentice work,The genius of 'The Master' still shines clearly through.
The scene is Beckford College where the pupils seem to be spending most of their time playing cricket. For me a little too much in fact. As with all Wodehouse however this book has much to commend it. Not least when the main character is faced with his uncle arriving at the school, This uncle being somewhat younger than he is. This creates,as you might imagine many problems before the end of the story. ( )