Blandings Castle & Elsewhere by P.G. Wodehouse
Although the ivied walls of Blandings Castle have rarely shone as brightly as in these magnificent tales, snakes lurk in the sprawling grounds, waiting to nip Clarence, the oblivious Ninth Earl of Emsworth, when he least expects it.
To begin with, the Empress of Blandings, who is competing for first place in the Fat Pigs Class at the Shropshire Agricultural Show, has abandoned her food and can only be persuaded to return by a summons in her own tongue. Then there is the conflict with Head Gardener McAllister, which Clarence’s sister, the dreadful Lady Constance, is helping to foment, and the scary prospect of the summer fête—twin issues that are resolved by the entrance of a charmingly rebellious young girl from London.
But first, there is the contentious issue of the pumpkin’s possession.
Wodehouse also gives us some riveting tales of excess from the gigantic Golden Age of Hollywood, skipping an ocean and a continent in the process.
Blandings Castle & Elsewhere by P.G. Wodehouse
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This is a collection of short stories that features the fantastic tale “Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend.” This book has a great short tale titled “Monkey Business,” in which the author portrays Hollywood as a surreal wonderland where nothing is as it seems. The protagonist of the tale is a gorilla impersonator. In the 1930s, gorilla pictures were all the rage. Similar to Evelyn Waugh’s book The Loved One, it is delightfully rich in cultural subtleties.
Wodehouse, like many other writers of the day, visited Hollywood. He didn’t produce much, and he felt that his little pay was far too high. Like many others in his circumstances, he was shocked by the studios’ wastefulness in spending astronomical sums of money hiring numerous authors to work on a single screenplay, many of whom, like Wodehouse himself, had only a hazy understanding of what screenplay writing entailed. These stories illustrate Wodehouse’s perspective on everything. In particular, the final narrative, “The Castaways,” departs from reality to offer a somewhat surrealist perspective on the oddities of Golden Age Hollywood. It was the best Mulliner story I had read in this collection, in my opinion.
Wodehouse has such a quirky knack for putting things into words. His writings are all enjoyable to read, and I believe you would find his funny turns of phrase to be amusing. If you enjoy sardonic comedy, I would suggest reading this book.
