Wodehouse Message Board

Do the rest of you know there`s a Wodehouse-related thread ongoing in the Humour group ? It`s good fun.

Did the rest of you know that Wodehouse wrote poetry ? I didn`t. Is it any good ? A friend of mine has just published a book containing a Wodehouse poem - a collection of sporting poetry called Not Just A Game - details from Ross, e-mail info@fiveleaves.co.uk

Bob, I believe a group picture would attract more members.

Many thanks for this tip . I see that the humour group is dormant- that is sad; if ever there was a time when we need to share what makes us laugh...

I greatly enjoyed the highly intelligent range of views on Wodehouse. Members express eloquently what I feel about PGW but I would not say it so well! I have been reading and re-reading his books since my teenage years and they are one of the great delights of my life.

I am pleased that this group has managed to survive in fits and starts( like many another LT group)

The humour group may be dormant, but so (at the moment) is The Drones Club. Ain't there enough topics to revive it?

A post is all it takes to revive either.

This novel of a couple years ago has been compared to PGW: The Gentleman by Forrest Leo. I'd say Wodehouse + James Branch Cabell + Professor Challenger.
It wasn't GREAT but it was pretty good.

It looks like my local library has a copy available ... when they reopen. Sounds fun!

>7 Crypto-Willobie:

I've just bought it on my Kindle. Looks interesting.Thanks.

I'm assuming the thread referred to is the Why Wodehouse? thread.

>9 John5918:

I've now read it and I certainly enjoyed it, so thanks for the tip, but to be honest I didn't find it very Wodehousian.

>11 John5918:
The Wodehouse hype was primarily from the publisher. Posh Edwardian setting + omniscient butler?

And hype comparing it to Cabell would likely be met with blank stares.

I've always loved P.G. Wodehouse, both the books and occasional TV showings. But I would implore Wodehouse fans to take a look at novels by E.F Benson, especially the "Mapp and Lucia" series. To me the humour is very reminiscent of Wodehouse and I enjoy it more. The edition I have is "Make Way For Lucia" and contains the six books of the Lucia series - "Queen Lucia," "Mapp and Lucia," "Miss Mapp," "Lucia in London," "Lucia's Progress," and "Trouble For Lucia." I think that Wodehouse fans would really enjoy them. Years ago PBS presented a series on the book "Mapp and Lucia" which some of you might remember.

>13 bolero: I’m sure you’re right that the Lucia stories appeal to a lot of people who like Wodehouse (me included!), but I think of it as a completely different type of humour. Wodehouse has a lot more sympathy for (most of) his characters — he lets funny things happen to them rather than watching with glee as they make fools of themselves, as Benson spends most of his time doing. And Benson doesn’t have anything like the clever games Wodehouse plays with different registers of language.

Were those the Prunella Scales/Geraldine McEwan TV shows? They were fabulous. Nigel Hawthorne camping it up delightfully as Georgie...

I’ve been trying to read Miss Mapp and it’s been a real slog. I love Wodehouse and couldn’t understand why I didn’t like Benson. It now strikes me that it’s because all the characters are unlikable and not someone you would like to know, whereas it would be great fun to spend an afternoon with Bertie and his pals.

I like Benson's 'Lucia' novels very much. He pins down British provincial snobbery so deliciously. However he could never replace Wodehouse in my affections. The joy of that strangely innocent world he creates never fades and surely he has no equal in his playful use of the English language.

This made me dig out the old Mapp & Lucia series and watch them all again. A real pleasure! Such extraordinary things Geraldine McEwan does with her voice. And all those fabulous thirties costumes, and Rye looking lovely...

This series is new to me! Thanks for mentioning! I'll give it a whirl.