The Gem Collector

by P.G. Wodehouse

The action begins with playboy bachelor Jimmy Pitt in New York; having fallen in love on a transatlantic liner, he befriends a small-time burglar and breaks into a police captain's house as a result of a bet. The cast of characters head to England, and from there on it is a typically Wodehousian romantic farce, set at the stately Dreever Castle, overflowing with imposters, detectives, crooks, scheming lovers and conniving aunts.

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Classics, Ebooks, British Literature, Historical Fiction, Comedy

184 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1909

About the author

Sir 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).

Reviews

[david · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. PG had set a very high bar for himself.

One of my favorite authors.

The hijinks and commingling of English aristocracy and their hired hands during the 1900's.

This one was not his best, but still enjoyable.

[More Books Than Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Finding a new PG Wodehouse novel is like Christmas all over again. Hoopla offers many obscure Wodehouse books now as do Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I got The Gem Collector from Hoopla. It's a bit more serious and even a trace dark compared to many Wodehouse comedies.

Please see my full review here: http://www.morebooksthantime.com/wow-...

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a very detailed or complex plot; but it was a fun, short read with an interesting male lead.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Jeeves is more entertaining, although this story was good. It just wasn't as funny as others I've read by Wodehouse.

[Surreysmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the quintessential airplane read - free in e-version, ephemeral and amusing, and just long enough to take one from one side of the continent to the other. It's relatively early Wodehouse. This is the version of a story published in the American literary magazine Ainslee's in 1909; it was republished - and possibly revised/expanded - as A Gentleman of Leisure (UK) or The Intrusion of Jimmy (US) the following year. I would describe it as droll rather than flat-out funny in the way Wodehouse sometimes is in the Jeeves books a couple of decades later.

Jimmy is a jewel thief who has attained a British aristocratic title by inheritance, but plenty of other people in this book are also suppressing a less than pristine past, and the humour largely resides in the contrasts between the manners expected of certain nations (especially US/UK) and certain classes and the actual thoughts and actions of the principals. I couldn't tell you what exactly happens with the extravagant necklace of the title (tempting people to theft), but I'm pretty sure there must be a paste duplicate in there somewhere...

[JamieS · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those considering reading this as their intro. to PGW, I recommend you put it aside and read his inter-war books first. Those really show his genius at its height. If you like or love them, then his pre-WW1 books seem all the more wonderous, as you get to see all stages of his literary development that lead to the flowering of the PGW world. I happen to like the school stories, as my schooling was such that I 'understood' them, but I can see how some (especially in the USA) might not get them at all. Just a year or two later, The Gem Collector (1909 I think) is an example of Plums eventual writing style just starting to get into its stride. A much simplified version of his later classics, but you can see the elements falling into place. A light breezy read.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally serialized - maybe once I finish all the Wodehouse works I will read the updated version.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great authors. This was an enjoyable short work typical of the early style. Definitely a taste of the brilliance to come in his later books.

[Brooke A Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed several times

Navigating through the...I'm assuming it's nearly a century of time between publication and me reading this now, I found some bright gems (no pun intended) of absolute hilarity.
So the name Wodehouse is often linked to Pratchett. And I'm like "I love Pratchett. I'll try Wodehouse."
Not fantasy. But goodness.
This also was not my first choice in my introduction to Wodehouse but I liked it well enough that further reading of what is recommended will probably delight me.
What's funny about this is I got a couple of chapters in and was struck by how similar this is to Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson. Only, instead of the nobleman having a past as a lawman, the nobleman has a past as a crook.
This book is prim and proper and snortworthy.
Literally has all of the qualities to make something uproariously funny. Think Importance of Being Earnest.
Looking forward to reading more by this guy.

[MH · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most Wodehouse stories have a chap and a girl, then a delightful series of coincidences, misunderstandings, and schemes, followed by everyone living happily ever after (insofar as they can if their aunts are still alive). Unfortunately this story really skips the middle bit. Not one of his better works.

[Patrick Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the intrusion of Jimmy

Similar but different book to the Intrusion of Jimmy which I found to be a much better story. Same characters but with different changes to the story line here. I don't think this one works quite as well. It is still an ok story just not as good.

[Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was surprisingly unpredictable in a way. A short story grown long, and yet not too long. In a delightful way, it was a comforting tale of the knave that wins the girl and redeems himself at the end.

[Richard Ahrens · Rating 2 out of 5]

I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY GOOD ABOUT IT

[Anna Mussmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wodehouse is always fun.

[Nancy Cook-senn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Intrusion of Jimmy redux.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, i didn't expect the thieving.
Reformed thief kind of plot, love interest.
Predictable, short, but funny!

[Mare · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters and settings in Mr. Wodehouse's stories are always entertaining.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short Wodehouse novel, not one of his better ones, but worth a read for a fan.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not PG's best, but not his worst either. A gentle piece that mixes New York criminals and minor English aristocrats together to see who gets the girl. The best of Wodehouse creates comic tension in one of two ways: either he throws so many obstacles in the way that you read to the end to delight in the genius it takes to unscramble the problems, or he has so many plot lines going at once, that you wonder how all of them will be resolved together, in time, and without too much reaching. This book has only one plot line worthy of the name, without many complications, so it's not PG's finest. But still a pleasant read.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Wodehouse -- Kindle allows you do download them for free so I did -- again, I am impressed with Wodehouse's stories, as well as his characters. A common burglar in NYC returns home to England, a baronet on the death of his uncle -- and is tempted by a pearl necklace worth $40,000 -- should he or should he not? The house where he is invited is owned by a former NYC policeman -- the verbal battles these two have, complicated by the romance of the cop's daughter and the new baronet, are enlightening! Again, a happy ending :)

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jimmy is a burglar who tries to reform after inheriting a vast fortune from his uncle. He returns to London from New York City only to re-discover the girl he loves, the daughter of a corrupt police officer, has moved to Britain as well.

It doesn't have the typical Wodehouse humor. Also, one of the characters is written in a tedious Brooklyn-style accent that is hard to understand and becomes annoying very quickly. The pace is also slow.

[Susan Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

More fun with Wodehouse. Jimmy Pitt has inherited a baronetcy and an estate in England so he returns from America, where he was sent as a young man, to claim his inheritance. He finds there the girl he was in love with in New York, whose father was a New York policeman who has recently married a titled English lady. Jimmy was a cracksman in New York and the cop wasn't entirely honest, so there is a stand off, of course. Complications and mistaken identities ensue of course.
Fun read.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

First version of Wodehouse's The Intrusion of Jimmy. I will say it's very confusing to read this book right after The Intrusion of Jimmy, until you figure out this is obviously another version of the same story. I think he improved on it in the second version, since I like that one much better.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was hoping for, but not a bad book

This was the first Wodehouse book I read. I had heard such wonderful things about his writing that I was a little disappointed. I didn't think this work was particularly stellar, but it was a nice little read that is certainly worth reading.

[Namitha Varma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very straight-forward story, enjoyable, and funny in parts. While Wodehouse's trademark humourous writing style remains, this is not the Wooster or Blandings kind of hilarity that we typically associate with PGW.

[Rollie Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am waiting on this review, because right behind it I started "The Intrusion of Jimmy" which seems to be a very similar plotline with a few important changes, and I am having trouble finding out how the two fit together.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wodehouse novella. Charming ex-burglar trying to go straight. What's not to like?

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was like a mini-book with a shallow plot. Could have been a lot better with a more complex plot and better character development. Writing style was nice.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice little story about a reformed thief in olden times.. quick good read.

[Kelly Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cutesy and easy to read....not bad for a free download!