Plum Pie

This collection, written when the author was in his mid eighties, may not be Wodehouse at his best, but it is still Wodehouse. There is still a little fizz in the writing, though much of the joy seems absent. It is notable for longer stories involving Jeeves and Freddie Threepwood.

From the book jacket, the publisher's blurb says:
"Pelham Grenville Wodehouse --
known to his friends as Plum!
No funnier writer has ever lived
- nor will in the eons to come.
His every story herein is a glory;
he beautifully interweaves
Freddy Threepwood, Bingo Little,
"The Oldest Member" and Jeeves,
and the dear old dears from Blandings Castle
and the young blighters from Drones,
and machinations and muffins at tea,
and lovers' intrigues and scones.
Oh bliss! This is manna -- this Wodehousiana --
new, fresh, delicious! In sum,
you may well decry our calling it Pie,
but you've certainly pulled out a
  Plum!"

This collection of short stories from the mid-1960s (most of which were first published in Playboy show more magazine!) has at least one short story from all of Wodehouse's continuing characters except Psmith. I enjoyed them all! One thing I noticed (and appreciated) is that his characters haven't aged. Bingo Little & Bertie & Freddy Threepwood are still all young men (well, Bingo & Freddie are married so maybe they are 30 instead of 25) despite the fact that Wodehouse had created them 40-odd years before. It would have been so depressing in "Bingo Bans the Bomb", for instance, to find Bingo Little middle-aged and (gasp) responsible. show less

A very average Wodehouse collection, in my opinion. The first and the last stories appealed to me the most.

I gave up on the Ukridge tale. I’ve never been keen on Ukridge stories and find him annoying as a character.

I also skipped most of the “Our Man in America” interludes between each story. Nothing about them amused me, and they bored me on the whole.

This collection of short stories from the mid-1960s (most of which were first published in Playboy magazine!) has at least one short story from all of Wodehouse's continuing characters except Psmith. I enjoyed them all! One thing I noticed (and appreciated) is that his characters haven't aged. Bingo Little & Bertie & Freddy Threepwood are still all young men (well, Bingo & Freddie are married so maybe they are 30 instead of 25) despite the fact that Wodehouse had created them 40-odd years before. It would have been so depressing in "Bingo Bans the Bomb", for instance, to find Bingo Little middle-aged and (gasp) responsible.

The first one is a Jeeves and Wooster, but the rest all deal with other such nimwits as seem to populate England :-) I didn't find these particularly funny, perhaps because I just couldn't get into mocking dumb people? I don't know.

A collection of short stories from the 1960s, most originally published in Playboy Magazine.

"Jeeves and the Greasy Bird" --- Jeeves and Wooster:
Bertie Wooster, having become such good pals with Roderick Glossop that he now calls him Roddy, tries to help him by trying to marry off Honoria Glossop by pretending to woo her and thus make the shy man in love with her jealous enough to propose. Not surprisingly (we've read this before more than once), things don't quite work out as planned and Jeeves must save the day. This time a theatrical agent and his niece behave dishonorably.

"Sleepy Time" --- golf
A golf story with Agnes Flack and Sidney McMurdo (who I think show up in other golf stories). A hypnotist who has just written a book and the show more junior partner of his publishers are featured.

"Sticky Wicket at Blandings" --- Blandings Castle
Freddy Threepwood needs to retrieve the dog he has given to an attractive neighbor before his wife shows up. Sprinkling aniseed on trousers and getting locked in a coal cellar are important plot points once again.

"Ukridge Starts a Bank Acount" --- Ukridge
Ukridge gets involved with less-than-honest sellers of antique furniture.

"Bingo Bans the Bomb" --- Bingo Little
While his wife is away, Bingo inadvertently gets involved with a demonstration to ban the bomb and a newspaper publishes a picture of him with a beautiful demonstrator.

"Stylish Stouts" --- Bingo Little
Bingo is convinced that his aunt's butler's tip to bet on Whistler's Mother is a sure thing when he learns that his mother-in-law has been making a whistling sound. The rest of the story is about his attempts to replace the money he's lost, all but the final one failing. A fat uncles contest at the Drones Club features in this.

"George and Alfred" --- Mr. Mulliner
Twin brothers, one a Hollywood writer and one a magician, meet in Monte Carlo.

"A Good Cigar Is a Smoke"
A "rising young artist" and a "poetess" want to marry. Her uncle, "a famous big-game hunter," controls her inheritance and has a marvelous cook who disapproves of smoking. Clandestine cigar smoking at his country estate is a problem and then a solution to the young couples' plans.

"Life with Freddie" --- Blandings Castle / Freddie Threepwood
The action mostly occurs during a transatlantic crossing. Two sets of soulmates endure misunderstandings and complications before all ends well.
A weatlhy woman, Julie Cheever nee Phipps and soon to be Pinkney, objects to paying customs and wants her new jewelry smuggled into the United States. She has done this before, using a hollow Mickey Mouse toy. I don't remember if this is the same person or just the same plot device that appears in a Wodehouse novel. show less

A collection of short stories by Wodehouse. Only the first one involves Jeeves and Bertie, but all follow Wodehouse's signature style. Between the stories are short pieces giving a humorous look at current news, called "Our Man In America." These are kind of like the opening monologue of a late-night TV chat show. At the end of the volume are two poems and an essay about humor.