The Swoop! and the Military Invasion of America (Collector's Wodehouse)
by P. G. Wodehouse
On This Page
Description
And the Russians. And the Chinese. Not to mention a 'boisterous band of Young Turks', a mad Mullah and a brace of North African pirates. The government has recently abolished the army so there is nothing to be done about it anyway, except give a masterly display of polite indifference. But this would be to reckon without patriotic Clarence, 'Boy of Destiny', who alone is prepared to stand up to the foe, and who devises an unorthodox plan to restore his country to freedom . . . Written as a show more satire on the popular 'Invasion literature' of the period, The Swoop! is an amusing jeu d'esprit in which the young Wodehouse gives full rein to his sense of the absurd. The Everyman edition reprints the 33 black and white drawings by C. Harrison that accompanied the original text, and also includes The Military Invasion of America, in which Clarence's story is humorously transplanted across the Atlantic. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Amusing, but dated. Much of the humor comes from racial and national stereotypes, which takes away from what is otherwise a neat little satire.
"The Military Invasion of America" is just an abridged version of "The Swoop" transplanted to America and barely worth the 15 or so minutes it took me to read it.
"The Military Invasion of America" is just an abridged version of "The Swoop" transplanted to America and barely worth the 15 or so minutes it took me to read it.
A fun book, not an entry for new readers to Wodehouse but a must for any collector. In this early novella, we see every early 1900s racial stereotype on display, albeit mostly in harmless form. There is no real depth or complexity to the plot, but the writing is beginning to show the sparkle for which Wodehouse would later justly be known.
The companion piece is a retelling of the main story, in shorter form and transplanted across the Atlantic. I found this most interesting--the "localization" reveals some peculiarities of American and British English which the intervening century have wiped away.
The companion piece is a retelling of the main story, in shorter form and transplanted across the Atlantic. I found this most interesting--the "localization" reveals some peculiarities of American and British English which the intervening century have wiped away.
A slight novella, from early in his career.
I agree with the comments of the other 2 (earlier) reviews, and have little more to add other than to emphasise that someone new to Wodehouse should regard this as typical in any substantive way.
Big Ship
23 October 2018
I agree with the comments of the other 2 (earlier) reviews, and have little more to add other than to emphasise that someone new to Wodehouse should regard this as typical in any substantive way.
Big Ship
23 October 2018
Clarence Chugwater is not a Boy Scout for nothing. It is summer 1909 and everyone is too interested in the Test Match to notice that England has been invaded by the Germans. And the Russians. And the Chinese. Not to mention a ‘boisterous band of the Young Turks’, a mad Mullah, and a brace of North African pirates. The government has recently abolished the army so there is nothing to be done about it anyway, except give a masterly display of polite indifference. But this would be to reckon without patriotic Clarence, ‘Boy of Destiny’, who alone is prepared to stand up to the foe, and who devises a highly unorthodox plan to restore his country to freedom…
An amusing jeu d’esprit of the young Wodehouse, which satirizes the show more popular ‘Invasion literature’ of the era while poking gentle fun at English (and Foreign) manners and generally revelling in absurdity. The Swoop! Or, How Clarence Saved England reprints the 33 black and white drawings by C. Harrison that accompanied the first edition. It is supplemented byThe Military Invasion of America, in which Clarence’s story is humorously transplanted across the Atlantic. show less
An amusing jeu d’esprit of the young Wodehouse, which satirizes the show more popular ‘Invasion literature’ of the era while poking gentle fun at English (and Foreign) manners and generally revelling in absurdity. The Swoop! Or, How Clarence Saved England reprints the 33 black and white drawings by C. Harrison that accompanied the first edition. It is supplemented byThe Military Invasion of America, in which Clarence’s story is humorously transplanted across the Atlantic. show less
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
656+ Works 110,728 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
Some Editions
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 62
- Popularity
- 500,118
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (2.93)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 3
