Company for Henry

Delightful. All the usual characters but with different names: The cow creamer is now a French 18th century paperweight, the former chorus girl who married well is now named Kelley, the impoverished owner of a dilapidated country estate is now Henry, and I could go on. The ending doesn't completely tidy up all the loose ends, but I'm sure nothing will unravel after the story ends.

I must admit that I don't understand why the rich man who so desperately wants the paperweight can't buy the estate, complete with the heirlooms that Henry is not legally allowed to sell individually, and have both the house and the paperweight. Of course, this would have been a much shorter book in that case.

It had a different title in England, namely show more Company for Henry show less

A pleasant tale, near the end of PGW's output, of broke but landed gentry off-loading the family pile on a handy American millionaire while the niece dispenses with an unsatisfactory fiance and finds her true soul mate. The book is a good example of Plum's recycling skills, of plots, people and other tit-bits. Characters we have met before include Algy Martyn, a member of the Drones (The Little Warrior) and schoolfriend of thriller writer Thomas "Bill" Hardy, our hero, Lionel P Green, handsome but effete interior decorator, also at school with Algy and Bill and affianced to Jane Martyn, our heroine, and Orlo Tarvin, Lionel's decorator partner. The last two are straight out of Money in the Bank, in which Lionel has exactly the same role show more vis-a-vis the heroine and thriller writer (another one!) hero, who, again, was a contemporary at school. There is a butler named Ferris who seems familiar and the impecunious house owner's wine merchants, whose efforts to have a long overdue bill paid are central to the plot, are Duff and Trotter, previously known (Quick Service, Money in the Bank) as purveyors of London's premiere ham and pork pies.

The story coasts agreeably along until everyone has got what he or she wants - all except Lionel, but I am unconvinced that he really wanted the girl (or, indeed, any girl) in the first place. All in all, not bad for an 82 year old.

An unusual pun caught my eye. I don't think of PGW as a great punner and, although there are plenty of literary quotes and allusions around, I can't remember a reference to one of his contemporaries. On p.169 of my Penguin edition we have the following: '......there's a portrait of him in the picture gallery and he looks like Nero Wolfe'. 'Stout?' 'Bulging. I'm surprised he....'

The book was first published in the USA as The Purloined Paperweight. show less

A classic romp in which the impoverished (we would these days say 'asset rich,income poor') owner (Henry) of a hideous English country house wishes to part company with it, and latches onto to his forgotten millionaire American cousin (the magnificently named J Wendell Stickney), who seems to have little (architectural) taste but significant income.

Wendell in turn is looking to escape his aunt Kelly who he finds embarrassing, with Kelly in turn looks to escape being financially dependent on Wendell.

of course there a few younger people, with the promise of romance, as well as misunderstandings all around.

As usual most is sorted out in the end.

One of the better Wodehouse's I have read this year.

Big Ship

1 December 2022

‘The Purloined Paperweight’ revolves around several entertaining characters in a typical P.G. Wodehouse-style plot.

It feels like it’s lacking something, though. Maybe it needed expanding a bit more, I don’t know, but that said, it features plenty of humour and several notably good comic scenes, which help make this a dashed good read, by Jove.

There are a lot of characters in this one, but their plots all weave in and out of each other, so it’s not as complicated as it sounds. Henry has inherited the family estate in the English countryside, but his lack of finances to keep it up make him wish he could unload the place on some unsuspecting relative. Enter Wendell Stickney, Henry’s wealthy American cousin. Wendell wants to be rid of his meddling sister, Loretta, and his embarrassing aunt, Kelly, so that he can collect eighteenth century French paperweights in peace. Meanwhile, Henry’s niece, Jane, is concerned that her fiancée, Lionel, may not be as enamored with her as he could be, and her lazy brother, Algy, spends all his time thinking up one get-rich-quick scheme show more after another and trying to convince anyone with money to invest in them. Algy’s friend, Bill, falls in love with Jane the instant he meets her, and his despondence at learning she’s engaged leaves him unreceptive to Algy’s investment opportunities.

This was not as laugh-out-loud funny as Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster novels, but it was entertaining nonetheless. The humor is very British and therefore more subtle to American eyes, but as long as you’re paying attention, you’re sure to get a laugh out of it. show less

Amusing wit.
Noted during my 1980's attempt to read every book in my small town library.

published in America as 'The Purloined Paperweight'
Hardcover of this title available Blackwells for $129.56 on 2.8.2026