A Wodehouse Bestiary
by P. G. Wodehouse, D.R. Bensen (Editor)
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Fans already familiar with Wodehouse the Connoisseur of Country Houses or Wodehouse the Golfing Enthusiast have a real and unexpected treat in store for them in this remarkable anthology, which highlights a previously overlooked Wodehouse - the Keen Animal Observer, a Wodehouse worthy of a special place of honor. Since the collection contains some of his very best stories, it will also serve as a delightful introduction to his complete oeuvre as well as to his natural history.Tags
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A collection of miscellaneous P.G. Wodehouse stories, all of which feature animals in some capacity. Sometimes they're the main focus of the story -- there's even one that's from the POV of a dog -- and sometimes they're pretty peripheral. One of them, for instance, involves a racehorse that is much discussed (and much bet upon), but who never actually appears in person in the story.
I'd already read a few of these elsewhere, but one of the nice things about Wodehouse is that he's very re-readable, because you really don't read his stuff to be surprised by the plot. You read it for the fun, frothy silliness and the witty language, and those never get old. Although I suppose it is possible that a 330-page semi-random sampling of his stuff show more might be a little bit much to imbibe all at once. Still, this is a nice cross-sectional sampling of his work that I'd think might work fairly well as a first introduction, except that it's a bit obscure to seek out for that purpose. show less
I'd already read a few of these elsewhere, but one of the nice things about Wodehouse is that he's very re-readable, because you really don't read his stuff to be surprised by the plot. You read it for the fun, frothy silliness and the witty language, and those never get old. Although I suppose it is possible that a 330-page semi-random sampling of his stuff show more might be a little bit much to imbibe all at once. Still, this is a nice cross-sectional sampling of his work that I'd think might work fairly well as a first introduction, except that it's a bit obscure to seek out for that purpose. show less
Some fun stories. I wish there were more with Jeeves and Wooster. But there were a number of other characters I hadn't read before so that was a plus.
Miscellaneous stories from Wodehouse, all involving animals in some way. Of course, being Wodehouse, the stories are all very humorous.
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656+ Works 110,699 Members
P. G. Wodehouse was born in Guildford, United Kingdom on October 15, 1881. After completing school, he spent two years as a banker at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank in London and then took a job as a sports reporter and columnist for the Globe newspaper. His first novel, The Pothunters, was published in 1902. He wrote over 100 novels and short show more story collections during his lifetime including A Perfect Uncle, Love Among the Chickens, The Swoop, P. Smith in the City, Meet Mr. Milliner, Doctor Sally, Quick Service, The Old Reliable, Uneasy Money, A Damsel in Distress, Jill the Reckless, The Adventures of Sally, A Pelican at Blandings, The Girl in Blue, and Aunts Aren't Gentlemen. His most famous characters, Bertie Wooster and his manservant, Jeeves, appeared in books such as Much Obliged, Jeeves. He also wrote lyrics for musical comedies and worked as screenwriter in Hollywood in the 1930s. In 1939, he bought a villa in Le Touquet on the coast of France. He remained there when World War II started in 1939. The following year, the Germans appropriated the villa, confiscated property, and arrested him. He was detained in various German camps for almost one year before being released in 1941. He went to Berlin and spoke of his experience in five radio talks to be broadcast to America and England. The talks themselves were completely innocuous, but he was charged with treason in England. He was cleared, but settled permanently in the United States. He became a citizen in 1955. He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1975. He died from a heart attack after a long illness on February 14, 1975 at the age of 93. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 1985
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- Members
- 271
- Popularity
- 119,155
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.18)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- UPCs
- 2
- ASINs
- 4




























































