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The Swoop! and the Military Invasion of America
P.G. Wodehouse is recognized as the greatest English comic writer of the twentieth century, rightly admired throughout the world and translated into more than thirty languages. Launched on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death, this series presents each Overlook Wodehouse as the finest edition of the master’s work ever published—beautifully designed and faithful to the original.
This season, Overlook is pleased to offer the latest two hilarious volumes. The first collects Wodehouse’s stories of Kid Brady, a boxer from Wyoming, and Roland Bleke, a young man for whom financial success is a mixed blessing. The second collects two versions of a satirical novel about a country invaded by no less than nine aggressors.
This season, Overlook is pleased to offer the latest two hilarious volumes. The first collects Wodehouse’s stories of Kid Brady, a boxer from Wyoming, and Roland Bleke, a young man for whom financial success is a mixed blessing. The second collects two versions of a satirical novel about a country invaded by no less than nine aggressors.
- GenresFiction
144 pages, Hardcover
First published September 27, 2013
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50 people want to read
About the author
P.G. Wodehouse
1,712 books6,988 followersSir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE, was a comic writer who enjoyed enormous popular success during a career of more than seventy years and continues to be widely read over 40 years after his death. Despite the political and social upheavals that occurred during his life, much of which was spent in France and the United States, Wodehouse's main canvas remained that of prewar English upper-class society, reflecting his birth, education, and youthful writing career.
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 25, 2017
Bottom Line:
This is not good Wodehouse. The mood is light, mostly satirical, with all the edge of satire, but it is not that funny. The book being well appointed and illustrated is a strong draw in favor of this selection. Otherwise this is strictly a completer piece for the avid Woodhouse fan. Like me.
Shortly after the turn of the 20th Century a type of adventure book became trendy. Europe was feeling the first of the sabre rattling that would later become World War I. Emerging technologies filled imaginations with notions of new machines making new kinds of sneaky things possible.
The new kind story in England was the invasion story. How might the Germans or someone go about invading England. The most famous of these was . Considered the first modern spy novel,The Riddle of the Sands it is credited with changes made in the British Navy. A major base was established in case Childer’s plot was prophetic.
It was into this moment that PG Wodehouse wrote The Swoop! and a later adaptation for the American reader called : the Military Invasion of America . Both of these texts are included in this volume.
This is a handsomely printed small book, the first part is lavishly illustrated, the American version slightly less so. The original was a satirical story for inclusion in a magazine and the two texts together are right at 144 pages, much of this due to large print and the aforesaid illustrations.
In brief England (America) is successfully invaded by 9 Armies from as many directions and none expecting to find the other involved in an attack on The British Isles. The choices rage from the obvious, England, France and Germany and Russia to what was then the more whimsical: Moroccan brigands under Raisuli ( a historic figure and the center of the movie: The Wind and the Lion), the Young Turks, the Mad Mullah (looking a little too much like the much latter Ayatollah from Iran) commanding the forces of Somalialand, the Chinese under Prince Ping Pong Pang, and the Bollygollans in war canoes.
The story includes some swipes at major politicians of the time, but mostly the invasions work because the invaded either do not care or are more interested in the entertainment marching armies and competing generals may provide. Ultimately it is up to the British Boy Scouts- in both versions, employing complex animal calls to bring about the end of occupation.
This is not good Wodehouse. The mood is light, mostly satirical, with all the edge of satire, but it is not that funny. The book being well appointed and illustrated is a strong draw in favor of this selection. Otherwise this is strictly a completer piece for the avid Woodhouse fan. Like me.
Shortly after the turn of the 20th Century a type of adventure book became trendy. Europe was feeling the first of the sabre rattling that would later become World War I. Emerging technologies filled imaginations with notions of new machines making new kinds of sneaky things possible.
The new kind story in England was the invasion story. How might the Germans or someone go about invading England. The most famous of these was . Considered the first modern spy novel,The Riddle of the Sands it is credited with changes made in the British Navy. A major base was established in case Childer’s plot was prophetic.
It was into this moment that PG Wodehouse wrote The Swoop! and a later adaptation for the American reader called : the Military Invasion of America . Both of these texts are included in this volume.
This is a handsomely printed small book, the first part is lavishly illustrated, the American version slightly less so. The original was a satirical story for inclusion in a magazine and the two texts together are right at 144 pages, much of this due to large print and the aforesaid illustrations.
In brief England (America) is successfully invaded by 9 Armies from as many directions and none expecting to find the other involved in an attack on The British Isles. The choices rage from the obvious, England, France and Germany and Russia to what was then the more whimsical: Moroccan brigands under Raisuli ( a historic figure and the center of the movie: The Wind and the Lion), the Young Turks, the Mad Mullah (looking a little too much like the much latter Ayatollah from Iran) commanding the forces of Somalialand, the Chinese under Prince Ping Pong Pang, and the Bollygollans in war canoes.
The story includes some swipes at major politicians of the time, but mostly the invasions work because the invaded either do not care or are more interested in the entertainment marching armies and competing generals may provide. Ultimately it is up to the British Boy Scouts- in both versions, employing complex animal calls to bring about the end of occupation.
October 12, 2024
The Swoop! Or, How Clarence Saved England is a 1909 short satirical novel with nine countries separately but simultaneously invading Britain, ultimately being outdone by Boy Scout Clarence MacAndrew Chugwater, Boy of Destiny. Six years later, for Vanity Fair, Wodehouse trimmed the book to short-story length while moving the action to New York City, lowering the number of invading forces to two (Germany and Japan), and giving our hero the new middle name of Breamworthy. This 1915 story is “The Military Invasion of America.”
The latter is pretty much unnecessary, but The Swoop!, though very early Wodehouse, is worthwhile for PGW diehards and completists, providing a couple of indications of what fans could expect in his following ninety-ish books. The original illustrations by C. Harrison in The Swoop! are a real treat.
The latter is pretty much unnecessary, but The Swoop!, though very early Wodehouse, is worthwhile for PGW diehards and completists, providing a couple of indications of what fans could expect in his following ninety-ish books. The original illustrations by C. Harrison in The Swoop! are a real treat.
November 11, 2013
At the turn of the twentieth century there was, as there always seems to be in this country, a political debate about military spending. Many thought it was too low, that Britain was leaving itself exposed to what was seen as an inevitable attack from Germany. One of the effects of this debate was a vogue for what is now known as "invasion literature", novels which explored different scenarios of what could happen were Britain to be invaded. Most of these are now forgotten, although ironically their most famous offshoot is also their least realistic - in the form of Wells' War of the Worlds.
Wodehouse's contribution to the genre is also somewhat less than sincere, being a send-up of the genre rather than an alternate view of what could be. We are presented with a view of a totally complacent Britain, where the nation's invasion by half a dozen foreign powers simultaneously is regarded as less important than the cricket news, and where salvation falls to a group of boy scouts, led by Clarence Chugwater. The result is a fast and very silly read, one with moments of glory, but which is mostly forgettable.
The Everyman edition comes coupled with "The Military Invasion of America" which is a shortened retelling of the story, but this time set in America. Perhaps because Wodehouse was less familiar with America at this point, much of the shortening of the US version comes from a lack of social colour - there is no comparison with the complacency of the cricket-obsessed English, for example - and with certain passages literal copies of the original story it comes across as something requested for the American market rather than something Wodehouse had much emotional investment in. One for completists only.
Wodehouse's contribution to the genre is also somewhat less than sincere, being a send-up of the genre rather than an alternate view of what could be. We are presented with a view of a totally complacent Britain, where the nation's invasion by half a dozen foreign powers simultaneously is regarded as less important than the cricket news, and where salvation falls to a group of boy scouts, led by Clarence Chugwater. The result is a fast and very silly read, one with moments of glory, but which is mostly forgettable.
The Everyman edition comes coupled with "The Military Invasion of America" which is a shortened retelling of the story, but this time set in America. Perhaps because Wodehouse was less familiar with America at this point, much of the shortening of the US version comes from a lack of social colour - there is no comparison with the complacency of the cricket-obsessed English, for example - and with certain passages literal copies of the original story it comes across as something requested for the American market rather than something Wodehouse had much emotional investment in. One for completists only.
November 19, 2017
I didn't see the point of this other than it would appeal to an American audience. It is the same as Swoop other than being shorter, set in America and 2 armies instead of 9. Many of the sentences are the same. The English version has more nuances because it is longer. If you are going to recycle the idea at least be more creative with it than reproduce it with just a few changes. The only saving grace is that is shorter than the British version.
February 21, 2026
This volume contains both The Swoop and the Military Invasion of America, this review will concern itself with the former. The latter being merely a overly simplified retelling of the former, condensed for the American popular press.
Wodehouse is where I often turn when I desire a comic entertainment to lighten the spirits. It with with such an intent I embarked upon re-reading The Swoop. It succeeded it said aims admirably.
It is, however, a slightly difficult volume to review, as whilst doubtless the occasional reader would appreciate Wodehouse‘s fine wit (which is plainly apparent in these pages, though perhaps not quite to such a degree as might be found in his better known works), it is a work of satire. Satire of a genre that is utterly forgotten to the current age, namely that of invasion fiction. It is as such a satire that this work truly comes into its own, the way it parodies the absurdity of the genre, the overly serious nature, and the hack writing that so characterised it.
Overall the work is short enough that I wouldn’t hesitate in my recommendation, as on balance of probability most should find it amusing (particularly given the excellent comic illustrations found in my particular edition), whether or not they are aware of the broader context of the piece. I would, however, also suggest that a brief introduction to invasion fiction as a genre would heighten the value of the read.
4 stars as it is not quite to my mind at the same level of complexity and wit that some of his later works achieve, but eminently worth reading.
Wodehouse is where I often turn when I desire a comic entertainment to lighten the spirits. It with with such an intent I embarked upon re-reading The Swoop. It succeeded it said aims admirably.
It is, however, a slightly difficult volume to review, as whilst doubtless the occasional reader would appreciate Wodehouse‘s fine wit (which is plainly apparent in these pages, though perhaps not quite to such a degree as might be found in his better known works), it is a work of satire. Satire of a genre that is utterly forgotten to the current age, namely that of invasion fiction. It is as such a satire that this work truly comes into its own, the way it parodies the absurdity of the genre, the overly serious nature, and the hack writing that so characterised it.
Overall the work is short enough that I wouldn’t hesitate in my recommendation, as on balance of probability most should find it amusing (particularly given the excellent comic illustrations found in my particular edition), whether or not they are aware of the broader context of the piece. I would, however, also suggest that a brief introduction to invasion fiction as a genre would heighten the value of the read.
4 stars as it is not quite to my mind at the same level of complexity and wit that some of his later works achieve, but eminently worth reading.
March 6, 2022
We see P.G. continuing to play with different styles here. I actually quite enjoyed this book due to its irreverence and the satire it was going for. This is the type of humor that gradually evolved in the UK and led to The Goonies, Monty Python, etc. No, there is no fish dance here, but a lot of fun is poked at the expense of governments, officials, the military, and so on. It could well have been called The Spoof, rather than The Swoop.
The first story deals with the invasion, by no less than 9 separate nations, of England. This goes swimmingly at first due to the fact that the Army and Navy had been disbanded and their replacements had withered away until there was nothing left but the Boy Scouts. The resistance, such as it is, if ably led by a young mand named Clarence Chugwater. It is his passion for his native land and all things England that allows him to coordinate a resistance to shoo out the conquering hordes.
The second, briefer story, is a retelling of the same tale, but this time in the United States of America. There is not much difference as the theme and plot points remain the same, it is just shorter.
Overall I liked the humor, especially the diplomatic interchanges between the invading generals. This was funny in the book, but would look terrific on stage. A delightful title and a fun shot at something completely different.
The first story deals with the invasion, by no less than 9 separate nations, of England. This goes swimmingly at first due to the fact that the Army and Navy had been disbanded and their replacements had withered away until there was nothing left but the Boy Scouts. The resistance, such as it is, if ably led by a young mand named Clarence Chugwater. It is his passion for his native land and all things England that allows him to coordinate a resistance to shoo out the conquering hordes.
The second, briefer story, is a retelling of the same tale, but this time in the United States of America. There is not much difference as the theme and plot points remain the same, it is just shorter.
Overall I liked the humor, especially the diplomatic interchanges between the invading generals. This was funny in the book, but would look terrific on stage. A delightful title and a fun shot at something completely different.
November 1, 2022
One of the worst Wodehouse stories I've read. Let me put that another way - one of the few truly bad Wodehouse stories. "The Swoop" was written when he was in his mid or late 20s and is very long, not funny, and apparently a parody of a class of books popular at the time. It is also very, oh what's the word I want? Provincial? Topical? Neither serves my meaning exactly. The point is the book may have been amusing at that one point in time to the folks of that specific era and geography (Londoners just before World War I, it seems), but doesn't age well or translate satisfactorily for us here and now. This is unlike all the other stories of his I've read over the years which are still amusing today and deal with universal characters and human behavior.
If you are going to read it, though, be sure to read the second title in this book which is the same story but much improved, shortened, and set in America. Fans of the man will see his rapid improvement and skill in the re-written version: distilling the story down to its essence and lightening the touch a bit.
If you are going to read it, though, be sure to read the second title in this book which is the same story but much improved, shortened, and set in America. Fans of the man will see his rapid improvement and skill in the re-written version: distilling the story down to its essence and lightening the touch a bit.
March 2, 2021
A fine satire of the then popular literary style of invasion fiction, in which the Boy Scouts lead by one Clarence Chugwater liberates England after if has been over run by a bizarre coalition of foreign army's. This edition includes the original black and white drawings by C. Harrison and Wodehouse's American version of the story as well. This is not P.G Wodehouse's finest story but given his mastery of the written word it is still a fantastic read
September 19, 2019
Not a traditional Wodehouse but actually a great read, just a little dated in parts.
February 19, 2025
~2.5 Stars~
September 8, 2015
I think "genial romp" might be my default description of Wodehouse stories. A Homeric epithet, if you will, like "wine-dark sea" or "rosy-fingered Dawn." His stories are genial, and more often than not are romps, so there you are.
The Swoop was a parody of the invasion literature that was popular at the turn of the last century. In Wodehouse's scenario, England finds itself suddenly overwhelmed by nine invading armies, including the Swiss, Germans, Chinese, Russians, Turks, a force from Monaco, and brigands from Morocco. Eventually the Europeans kick the non-Europeans out, but quickly fall out amongst themselves.
You know the invasion is going to go badly for the invaders when the German captain and his aide-de-camp knock on the door of the Chugwater residence, and, while there to announce the invasion, wind up buying insurance and tickets to a local charity ball. The Chugwater residence is key, for one of its residents is Clarence Chugwater, 14-years-old and Boy Scout extraordinaire. A true patriot, he bands together his fellow Scouts and repels in the invasion.
Much of the amusement derives from how Clarence turns the Russian and German commanders against each other. Far from being greeted hostilely, they are met with shrugs and indifference. The British have better things to do, after all. Things like going to the theater. The Russian and German commanders become dance hall attractions where they give lectures on their exploits. But once it comes out that one of them gets paid more than the other, well, honor most be defended. And Clarence and his fellows are there to make sure it is.
The book is silly and funny and full of contemporary references which I'm sure I missed. Everyone is a caricature, even Clarence, who comes off as something of a prig and nerd. There's a great line in it about how the newspapers made sure to get the opinions of people who knew nothing about what was going on so they asked celebrities. It's that kind of novel. Everyone gets sent up: the army, the Germans, the theater world, the press, the English. Why was there no major loss of life when London was bombarded? Because it was August, and no one's in town then.
This edition also includes a truncated version of the story in which the action is translated to America. It's a curio. It keeps the details, but you know everything that's been cut out, and many of those details are what makes Wodehouse's take on invasion literature such a fun, albeit very brief, read.
Posted Tuesday 9/8/15
The Swoop was a parody of the invasion literature that was popular at the turn of the last century. In Wodehouse's scenario, England finds itself suddenly overwhelmed by nine invading armies, including the Swiss, Germans, Chinese, Russians, Turks, a force from Monaco, and brigands from Morocco. Eventually the Europeans kick the non-Europeans out, but quickly fall out amongst themselves.
You know the invasion is going to go badly for the invaders when the German captain and his aide-de-camp knock on the door of the Chugwater residence, and, while there to announce the invasion, wind up buying insurance and tickets to a local charity ball. The Chugwater residence is key, for one of its residents is Clarence Chugwater, 14-years-old and Boy Scout extraordinaire. A true patriot, he bands together his fellow Scouts and repels in the invasion.
Much of the amusement derives from how Clarence turns the Russian and German commanders against each other. Far from being greeted hostilely, they are met with shrugs and indifference. The British have better things to do, after all. Things like going to the theater. The Russian and German commanders become dance hall attractions where they give lectures on their exploits. But once it comes out that one of them gets paid more than the other, well, honor most be defended. And Clarence and his fellows are there to make sure it is.
The book is silly and funny and full of contemporary references which I'm sure I missed. Everyone is a caricature, even Clarence, who comes off as something of a prig and nerd. There's a great line in it about how the newspapers made sure to get the opinions of people who knew nothing about what was going on so they asked celebrities. It's that kind of novel. Everyone gets sent up: the army, the Germans, the theater world, the press, the English. Why was there no major loss of life when London was bombarded? Because it was August, and no one's in town then.
This edition also includes a truncated version of the story in which the action is translated to America. It's a curio. It keeps the details, but you know everything that's been cut out, and many of those details are what makes Wodehouse's take on invasion literature such a fun, albeit very brief, read.
Posted Tuesday 9/8/15
July 19, 2019
I love Wodehouse... but man, this book was a slog to get through. First off, it came right after the two Mike books, which represent the best of early Wodehouse. Secondly, it relies quite heavily on racial stereotypes of the kind common in the early 20th century, but which are cringeworthy and even insulting today. Thirdly, it is actually the same story twice -- written once in full for an English audience, and then again, in condensed form, for the U.S. audience. The second telling, if anything is harder to get through than the first.
Whereas most of Wodehouse's prose is written in a world just a step away from our own, The Swoop! and its American cousin are fully farcical. People do not behave like people. The behave like vehicles for the delivery of jokes. Some of those jokes are rather clever, but not consistently enough to carry the whole thing.
In short, the stories read more like extended selections from Punch magazine, rather than novellas. This book is not recommended for the casual Wodehouse fan, although it does have some value for the completionist.
Whereas most of Wodehouse's prose is written in a world just a step away from our own, The Swoop! and its American cousin are fully farcical. People do not behave like people. The behave like vehicles for the delivery of jokes. Some of those jokes are rather clever, but not consistently enough to carry the whole thing.
In short, the stories read more like extended selections from Punch magazine, rather than novellas. This book is not recommended for the casual Wodehouse fan, although it does have some value for the completionist.
December 26, 2014
With the spate of "invasion fiction", Wodehouse added his entry. England, having disarmed, leaves only the Boy Scouts to oppose the landing of the Germans, the Russians, the Chinese, the Swiss, the Monegasques, the Mad Mullah, and Raisuli. (You know, the one where Roosevelt demanded "Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead.") It sounds like the gravest crisis since the Roman invasion! And the response of the English (chagrin at being dragged away from cricket and a struggle to book the generals for music hall appearances) leaves the invaders in shock. How will Clarence Save England?
This volume also includes the later "Yankified" version transferring the story to the US. I was nonplussed to read that "a powerful army of Germans had established itself at Kew Gardens." Where would we have room for them?
This volume also includes the later "Yankified" version transferring the story to the US. I was nonplussed to read that "a powerful army of Germans had established itself at Kew Gardens." Where would we have room for them?
May 7, 2014
I am a huge fan of P. G. Wodehouse, but I have to rate this one as just so-so. The first and second story is the same, only in the first England is invaded by Germany and Russia. In the second America is invaded by Germany and Japan. In both scenarios the Boy Scouts save the day. Many of the passages from the first book are reproduced in the second. I suppose one could think Wodehouse was prescient considering when these stories were written, but that might be like thinking Catch-22 was written before World War II.
May 1, 2016
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.
September 8, 2015
An excellent reflection by the master of indifference of the society and how money and fame drives everything.
November 8, 2015
renewed respect for the boy scouts
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews