The tranquillity of Lord Emsworth’s life at Blandings is constantly under threat throughout the series: from oily villains (like Smooth Lizzie and Eddie Cootes) regrettable relatives (such as Lady Constance Keeble and younger son Freddie Threepwood) supercilious staff (Rupert Baxter) and invited guests (the revolting Duke of Dunstable).Īt an earlier point in this chronicle, we have compared the aspect of Rupert Baxter, when burning with resentment, to a thunder-cloud, and it is possible that the reader may have formed a mental picture of just an ordinary thunder-cloud, the kind that rumbles a bit but does not really amount to anything very much. The volume also includes some fine non-Blandings short stories.

Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend (1928).

The stories are among Wodehouse’s best, and include: Blandings Castle should be read before Summer Lightning to avoid spoilers.

The early novels have a different atmosphere to the Blandings that emerges in Blandings Castle, in which Lord Emsworth’s prize-winning pig, the Empress of Blandings is introduced.īlandings Castle is a short-story collection containing several classic Blandings stories, mostly written before Summer Lightning. Wodehouse continued to write about Blandings for another 60 years (he was working on Sunset at Blandings when he died). The first Blandings novel Something Fresh, written in 1915, is one of my favourites and a great place to start. The much loved Blandings series features the absent-minded Lord Emsworth, his prize-winning pig the Empress of Blandings, and a changing cast of relations, staff, guests and imposters. Every enthusiast knows its rose garden, the terraces overlooking the lake, the steps down to the lawn where Gally sips a thoughtful whiskey, the gardens presided over by McAllister, the cottage in the West Wood suitable for concealing diamond necklaces or Berkshire pigs, and the hamlet of Blandings Parva which adjoins the estate. A Pelican at Blandings (1969 US title: No Nudes is Good Nudes)īlandings Castle has joined Narnia, Brideshead and 221B Baker Street as a hallowed setting of English literature.Galahad at Blandings (1965 US title: The Brinkmanship of Galahad Threepwood).Service with a Smile (1961) featuring Uncle Fred.Uncle Fred in the Springtime (1939) featuring Uncle Fred.Summer Lightning (1929 US title Fish Preferred).Something Fresh (1915 US title Something New).We start with a Blandings reading list, followed by notes on the series. A reading list for the Jeeves and Wooster stories.A Wodehouse Reading Guide (with suggestions for new readers) and.This is a guide for readers wanting to discover the joys of P.G.

It was like listening to some grand saga of the exploits of heroes and demigods. The sister copped Angus McAllister on the shin with stones, the brother bit Constance in the leg.

He had not supposed that in these degenerate days a family like this existed.

Leave it to wodehouse