Harry Leon Wilson (1867–1939)

The 1935 movie with Charles Laughton (and, in a bit of fortuitous casting, Charlie Ruggles as the Honorable George) is pretty near perfect, but the 1915 book is subtler and a touch less sentimental, and it has more jokes. In fact, it's consistently hilarious, which is a remarkable feat for a book that (truth be told) is twice as long as it has to be. I was amazed at the author's ability to carry off an extended work with a blinkered and somewhat unreliable narrator, making clear what's show more really going on between the lines.

The book was originally serialized in the Saturday Evening Post, so it's particularly easy to put down and pick up again over a few nights. Watch for the word "snarky," which shows up more than once, several decades before one could have imagined. show less

This is sort of like Jeeves and Wooster but from Jeeves point of view, although Jeeves is a bit smarter than Ruggles. Perhaps 'Frazier Crane' would be a better comparison.
Ruggles is forced to go to america and deal with the lack of social distinctions. Its a pretty funny social comedy with Ruggles stuck between various factions and social classes.
The story certainly never went where i expected and Ruggles denseness to some of what was going on around him was always humorous.
It definitely show more improved as it went along as some of the early chapters were a bit of a slog to get through. I'm personally not much of a Wodehouse fan but if you like that sort of thing you'll probably like this too, i mean to say even more then i did, what what! show less

Harry Leon Wilson wrote during the first few decades of the 20th century. Unfortunately, it seems he is now largely forgotten, though he appears to have a good-sized body of work. This collection contains three of his most popular novels.

1. 'Ruggles of Red Gap': A spoiled Englishman loses his valet, Ruggles (a Jeeves-esque character, although a bit more of a snob) to an American family in a high-stakes game of poker. Ruggles reluctantly travels with the family to Washington state, where he show more causes a stir in their small hometown.

2. 'Bunker Bean': A meek office clerk visits a pair of greedy fortune-tellers and learns he lived previous lives as an Egyptian pharaoh and Napoleon Bonaparte, among others. Empowered by this impressive history, he adjusts his love life, work life, and finances to better fit his regal background.

3. 'Merton of the Movies': Merton Gill's only dream is to act on the big screen. After saving his pennies and taking an acting class he leaves his job in Illinois for Hollywood. There, he struggles to find work as an extra and eventually get his big break.

All three of these novels were highly entertaining. I wasn't surprised to discover that "Merton of the Movies" had been adapted as a screenplay by George S. Kaufman, as Wilson's humor immediately reminded me of the Algonquin Round Table group. There were moments of slapstick but also witty dialogue and scenarios. Each title character also had odd bits of misfortune, so, although each story was overall a comedy, there were elements of pathos as well. Of the three, Bunker Bean was probably my personal favorite although it took the longest for me to get into. The storyline was just the most original of the bunch. It really is a shame that Wilson isn't better remembered today. show less

Cute idea and a nice bit of popular culture from bygone days, but it went on a bit too long for me. I would have enjoyed it more had it been a bit tighter. It got very repetitive in plot points once Ruggles got to Red Gap. I enjoyed it up to that point, but then it just got way too bogged down. Ruggles was a great character though and I enjoyed watching his awakening.