Wodehouse on Wodehouse by P. G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton
Three non-fiction publications by Wodehouse are included in this collection. One of them, Bring on the Girls, tells the story of Wodehouse’s time in Hollywood as a lyricist and working with Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern. It also includes Over Seventy, his autobiography, in which he discusses his Victorian upbringing. He used to go to the big houses, but he was so shy. The servants’ hall, which was populated by “kind footmen and vibrant parlour maids,” would serve as his haven. The third section, Performing Flea, is a collection of Wodehouse’s letters to his friend Bill Townend, largely about the technique of writing. The title is satirical. Wodehouse was referred to as “English literature’s performing flea” by a journalist during the conflict.
Wodehouse on Wodehouse by P. G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton
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A real biography was never written by Wodehouse. He claimed that he couldn’t see why someone would be curious about a writer’s life, yet he was also described as being fairly secretive, reserved, and amiable. The closest he came was Bring on the Girls, Performing Flea, and Over Seventy (included here as Wodehouse on Wodehouse).
Wodehouse was imprisoned by the Nazis while residing in occupied France during World War II. Over the course of 18 months, he was imprisoned in three different locations; Upper Silesia, currently in Poland, was where he spent the most time. Before relocating to occupied Paris, he was freed but required to remain under close watch in Berlin.
The Nazis advised him to broadcast some comedic remarks he had prepared shortly after being freed in order to stay in touch with his American followers. Wodehouse wasn’t aware that the message was in the medium and that by speaking on German radio, he was being painted as a Nazi supporter. Although he was exonerated of all suspicions of collusion, he called it “a dreadful blunder” and it damaged his reputation. It’s quite interesting—and upsetting—to view this through Wodehouse’s eyes in the letters from this time period, set against the backdrop of WWII Berlin and Paris.
