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The Drones Club
Eggs, Beans And Crumpets
Alternative cover edition of ISBN 9780140033519 which can be found here
This is a collection of stories in which Bingo Little and his wife encounter trouble in Monte Carlo; Oofy Prosser, the pimpled millionaire of the Drones club, is saved from a fate worse than death, and Freddie Fitch-Fitch finds romance and hypochondria at Droitgate Spa.
This is a collection of stories in which Bingo Little and his wife encounter trouble in Monte Carlo; Oofy Prosser, the pimpled millionaire of the Drones club, is saved from a fate worse than death, and Freddie Fitch-Fitch finds romance and hypochondria at Droitgate Spa.
190 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1940
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792 people want to read
About the author
P.G. Wodehouse
1,680 books6,930 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 - 30 of 139 reviews
August 15, 2023
A funny collection of shorts perfect for any fan of P.G. Wodehouse.
The first half of the stories revolve around Bingo Little's close scrapes with trouble. And by trouble, I mean his wife Rosie. Because as much as Bingo loves her, he just can't seem to stop himself from betting money he doesn't have on a sure thing.
Like what? Well, anything really.
Up to and including betting that his baby is uglier than his bookie's baby.
Freddie Fitch-Fitch & Mr. Mulliner each have a short, and the last few all revolve around Ukridge and Corky's misadventures. So all in all, you have a nice selection of Drones Club favorites to listen to. <--especially if you grab the audiobook narrated by Jonathan Cecil!
Recommended!
The first half of the stories revolve around Bingo Little's close scrapes with trouble. And by trouble, I mean his wife Rosie. Because as much as Bingo loves her, he just can't seem to stop himself from betting money he doesn't have on a sure thing.
Like what? Well, anything really.
Up to and including betting that his baby is uglier than his bookie's baby.
Freddie Fitch-Fitch & Mr. Mulliner each have a short, and the last few all revolve around Ukridge and Corky's misadventures. So all in all, you have a nice selection of Drones Club favorites to listen to. <--especially if you grab the audiobook narrated by Jonathan Cecil!
Recommended!
December 29, 2019
Wodehouse may be the most comic writer from his time. This book, in a consummately British, very moist audiobook reading, was constantly hilarious. This author's use of similes might be unequaled. The wordy acrobatics he pulls off juxtaposes a mundane setting for bumbling characters. The prevalent theme is money, and how it is variously lost and gained, in relatively trifling amounts by people who just can't resist themselves. Featuring lost Pekinese, stamp collections and top hats. Don't expect earth-shattering dramatic panoplies but endlessly entertaining small-time antics. Even if many situations are interchangeable, they are wonderfully wild.
February 9, 2025
After a tremendous start, this became a mixed collection for me. The four Bingo Little stories are wonderful: we see Bingo, blissfully married to Rosie M. Banks yet constantly in the soup, whether for gambling, for having mislaid one of her Pekes, or for getting embroiled with an American authoress. Charming but hapless, and a friend of Bertie Wooster, Bingo is one of my favourite characters in the Wodehouse universe. I wish he'd featured in all the stories.
The Mr Mulliner was amusing but I didn't like the way it was told by a character who seems a bit of a pub bore. This is followed by a standalone featuring the usual nephew needing money to marry and is brightened up by the stage magician and his constant magic tricks.
But the final three Ukridge stories lost me: his whingeing, storytelling, and general air of being hard done by didn't appeal to me at all.
So 3.5 stars but rounding up to 4 for Bingo and Rosie.
The Mr Mulliner was amusing but I didn't like the way it was told by a character who seems a bit of a pub bore. This is followed by a standalone featuring the usual nephew needing money to marry and is brightened up by the stage magician and his constant magic tricks.
But the final three Ukridge stories lost me: his whingeing, storytelling, and general air of being hard done by didn't appeal to me at all.
So 3.5 stars but rounding up to 4 for Bingo and Rosie.
January 22, 2021
Laughter, I think, can be a better medicine than any recent vaccine against the malaise that has afflicted us. Especially the kind of laughter that this fine gentleman named Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, in the fine tradition of fellow men of his British isles - Saki, Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh, John Mortimer, Graham Greene, Kingsley Amis and so on - serves along characters as crisp as toast and wit as scrumptious as marmalade and with as much warmth as you feel when you drink down a nice cup of tea along with it.
And so, "Eggs, Beans and Crumpets" is just what the title promises - a hearty breakfast of delightfully absurd, anarchic and downright hilarious proportions. Even as Wodehouse abandons, with all his reckless brilliance, the idea of three eponymous specimens of club gentlemen narrating seemingly serious stories with such stakes as of life, death, love, marriage and loss of livelihood, halfway into the book, that really does not diminish the compulsively enjoyable quality of this volume or even the stealthy and uproarious way in which the punch of these elaborate and elegantly orchestrated farces hits us out of the blue.
Elegant hilarity or a polished style of absurdism is then Wodehouse' trademark gift and as I read story after story, chuckling to myself blissfully at the believably preposterous nature of the comic incidents presented in each one of them and then laughing raucously as each story either ended with bright smiles and chortles or with bemused, tickled sadness, I understood then that it is subtlety that distinguishes Wodehouse from other comic writers. At heart, these are simple, effortlessly to read stories, with no room for subversion, satire or even post-modernism; just purely entertaining comedies in the fashion of those quotable, nutty Ealing films that we used to enjoy so much for their dazzling wit and riotous charades. And like those Ealing films, these delectable comic stories too are clever without being too risque, overblown or desperately funny. And the laughs that will come will all be well-earned.
There is also a terrific cast of characters to be found alongside the dotty eggs, beans and crumpets of the title - there are well-intentioned, hapless young men perennially bereft of "capital" and whose run-ins with failed gambles and reluctant creditors generate some of the biggest guffaws, there are quaint old men, including those bestowed with knighthoods or those who lounge with other hypochondriacs at Droitgate Spa, prim, old dames and dowagers who are hilariously outraged at all the shenanigans that unfold in these stories and most memorably, there are the younger, more sparkly damsels who are also wittier and cleverer than the men on occasions.
There are kleptomaniacs, illusionists, mediocre editors, bestselling authors, Pekingese dogs, babies, bookies and all thrown in together into this crazy, colourful ensemble and yet not even one of them is merely a caricature. Even as Wodehouse is writing a lark, he ensures that each and every one of his characters is worth rooting for, even believing in a bemused way at times. And as always with him, these delightful tales of comedy, misfortune, misadventure, romantic entanglements and hair-breadth escapes, making for more fun than any other pulp novel, are also spiced and seasoned with his trademark gift of prose, of writing sentences that can alone evoke the heartiest of laughs and most gorgeous of giggles even before the actual punchline has landed or the actual gag has taken place.
Tie up your handkerchiefs then, dear ladies and gentlemen, and be prepared to feast on comic stories that are lovely to eat, even easier to digest and most delightful to think of.
And so, "Eggs, Beans and Crumpets" is just what the title promises - a hearty breakfast of delightfully absurd, anarchic and downright hilarious proportions. Even as Wodehouse abandons, with all his reckless brilliance, the idea of three eponymous specimens of club gentlemen narrating seemingly serious stories with such stakes as of life, death, love, marriage and loss of livelihood, halfway into the book, that really does not diminish the compulsively enjoyable quality of this volume or even the stealthy and uproarious way in which the punch of these elaborate and elegantly orchestrated farces hits us out of the blue.
Elegant hilarity or a polished style of absurdism is then Wodehouse' trademark gift and as I read story after story, chuckling to myself blissfully at the believably preposterous nature of the comic incidents presented in each one of them and then laughing raucously as each story either ended with bright smiles and chortles or with bemused, tickled sadness, I understood then that it is subtlety that distinguishes Wodehouse from other comic writers. At heart, these are simple, effortlessly to read stories, with no room for subversion, satire or even post-modernism; just purely entertaining comedies in the fashion of those quotable, nutty Ealing films that we used to enjoy so much for their dazzling wit and riotous charades. And like those Ealing films, these delectable comic stories too are clever without being too risque, overblown or desperately funny. And the laughs that will come will all be well-earned.
There is also a terrific cast of characters to be found alongside the dotty eggs, beans and crumpets of the title - there are well-intentioned, hapless young men perennially bereft of "capital" and whose run-ins with failed gambles and reluctant creditors generate some of the biggest guffaws, there are quaint old men, including those bestowed with knighthoods or those who lounge with other hypochondriacs at Droitgate Spa, prim, old dames and dowagers who are hilariously outraged at all the shenanigans that unfold in these stories and most memorably, there are the younger, more sparkly damsels who are also wittier and cleverer than the men on occasions.
There are kleptomaniacs, illusionists, mediocre editors, bestselling authors, Pekingese dogs, babies, bookies and all thrown in together into this crazy, colourful ensemble and yet not even one of them is merely a caricature. Even as Wodehouse is writing a lark, he ensures that each and every one of his characters is worth rooting for, even believing in a bemused way at times. And as always with him, these delightful tales of comedy, misfortune, misadventure, romantic entanglements and hair-breadth escapes, making for more fun than any other pulp novel, are also spiced and seasoned with his trademark gift of prose, of writing sentences that can alone evoke the heartiest of laughs and most gorgeous of giggles even before the actual punchline has landed or the actual gag has taken place.
Tie up your handkerchiefs then, dear ladies and gentlemen, and be prepared to feast on comic stories that are lovely to eat, even easier to digest and most delightful to think of.
February 28, 2019
I smiled.
I chuckled.
I laughed.
I should mention that my copy came from the local library system and is a 1940 edition. While reading it, something seemed different from Jeff Crompton's (a GR friend and just plain friend) review. I checked and the U.S. edition added a few stories and omitted a couple of others. I passed this on to Jeff and he remarked that Wodehouse evidently got a variation of the treatments that the Beatles and Hendrix were to receive years later.
Here's Jeff's review. It's a good one: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I chuckled.
I laughed.
I should mention that my copy came from the local library system and is a 1940 edition. While reading it, something seemed different from Jeff Crompton's (a GR friend and just plain friend) review. I checked and the U.S. edition added a few stories and omitted a couple of others. I passed this on to Jeff and he remarked that Wodehouse evidently got a variation of the treatments that the Beatles and Hendrix were to receive years later.
Here's Jeff's review. It's a good one: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
February 26, 2022
Anecdotes about those two stalwarts of the Drones Club: the perpetually short on funds Bingo Little, and the also perpetually short on funds Stanely Ukridge. There is a story about Bingo and his new baby, who is so ugly that he tries to win fifty pounds off a bookie for having the World's Ugliest Baby, and later uses his son and heir to terrify a hungover friend, that might be one of the funniest Wodehouse stories I've ever read.
February 4, 2008
An Egg eagerly rushed into the bar of The Drones Gentlemen’s Club and addressed all the various Beans, Crumpets and Piefaces not engaged with throwing food around whilst their trust funds robbed the widow and orphan ‘I say, have you heard, Wodehouse has published a collection of short stories about that ass Bingo Little?’
‘Surely not!’ exclaimed a Bean whom was wondering why he was struggling the read the newspaper he was holding upside down ‘I mean to say as a minor character in the stories about Bertie Wooster and his man, Jeeves, he could hold his own but he has no star quality!’
‘Fear not,’ said a comforting Crumpet, ‘I read the volume whilst I stopped drinking to suit the Doctor and some nonsense about renal failure and the book is a winner. Bingo’s attempts to win out over his wife leave one with a smile plastered all over ones visage. Also Bingo only Drives four of the nine stories, with one supplied by Wodehouse regular Mr Mulliner and a further three about our favourite rogue Ukridge.’
‘I say,’ said the Bean whom was in no mood to be offering concessions to Crumpets from minor public schools, ‘Pater bought me a degree in Maths at ‘varsity and you have only accounted for eight of the stories.’
‘You are, of course, correct,’ continued the Crumpet, ‘the other story concerns a ‘Romance at Droitgate Spa’ and I cannot help but think it is the greatest short story Wodehouse has ever written.’
‘I see’ concluded the Bean whose attention span had been exceed some time ago, ‘bet you five pounds I can hit the wine waiter with this Bread roll.’
‘You’re on’.
‘Surely not!’ exclaimed a Bean whom was wondering why he was struggling the read the newspaper he was holding upside down ‘I mean to say as a minor character in the stories about Bertie Wooster and his man, Jeeves, he could hold his own but he has no star quality!’
‘Fear not,’ said a comforting Crumpet, ‘I read the volume whilst I stopped drinking to suit the Doctor and some nonsense about renal failure and the book is a winner. Bingo’s attempts to win out over his wife leave one with a smile plastered all over ones visage. Also Bingo only Drives four of the nine stories, with one supplied by Wodehouse regular Mr Mulliner and a further three about our favourite rogue Ukridge.’
‘I say,’ said the Bean whom was in no mood to be offering concessions to Crumpets from minor public schools, ‘Pater bought me a degree in Maths at ‘varsity and you have only accounted for eight of the stories.’
‘You are, of course, correct,’ continued the Crumpet, ‘the other story concerns a ‘Romance at Droitgate Spa’ and I cannot help but think it is the greatest short story Wodehouse has ever written.’
‘I see’ concluded the Bean whose attention span had been exceed some time ago, ‘bet you five pounds I can hit the wine waiter with this Bread roll.’
‘You’re on’.
February 4, 2019
My copy of Eggs, Beans and Crumpets was purchased in London 22 years ago. Amazon (and e-commerce in general) was in its infancy, and much of Wodehouse's output was simply unavailable in the United States. So one of my goals for that first trip to England was to pick up as many of those non-US titles as possible. The used bookstores of Charing Cross Road yielded a few, but I struck the mother lode at Hatchard's, where I walked out with twenty or so volumes, including an orange-spined Penguin paperback copy of this one.
I read the best Wodehouse books multiple times, and had read Eggs, Beans and Crumpets so many times in the first 15 years I owned it that I took a several-year break. I remembered it as being one of the very best collections of Plum's short stories, and this reading confirmed that. It's nearly perfect, within expected Wodehousian limits, of course. The four Bingo Little stories all have more or less the same plot - but that's okay, because the pleasure is in the details. Mr. Mulliner tells one of his tall tales at the bar of the Angler's Rest, and there's a one-off story about Freddie Fitch-Fitch, who, if he is not a member of the Drones Club, should be one.
That leaves three excellent stories about that disreputable scoundrel Stanley Ukridge. The title of one of them, "A Bit of Luck for Mabel," is the punch line to a joke that doesn't reveal itself until the very last sentence of the story. You'll have to read it yourself to find out what the joke is.
I read the best Wodehouse books multiple times, and had read Eggs, Beans and Crumpets so many times in the first 15 years I owned it that I took a several-year break. I remembered it as being one of the very best collections of Plum's short stories, and this reading confirmed that. It's nearly perfect, within expected Wodehousian limits, of course. The four Bingo Little stories all have more or less the same plot - but that's okay, because the pleasure is in the details. Mr. Mulliner tells one of his tall tales at the bar of the Angler's Rest, and there's a one-off story about Freddie Fitch-Fitch, who, if he is not a member of the Drones Club, should be one.
That leaves three excellent stories about that disreputable scoundrel Stanley Ukridge. The title of one of them, "A Bit of Luck for Mabel," is the punch line to a joke that doesn't reveal itself until the very last sentence of the story. You'll have to read it yourself to find out what the joke is.
April 21, 2019
Typical Wodehousian vignettes about the idle rich young men infesting the Drones club - the scrape they get themselves into, and how they get out. Bingo Little and his wife Rosie M. Banks (the famous novelist) feature in quite a lot of them. For a change, Bingo gets out of scrapes without Jeeves' help!
Worth reading and re-reading ad infinitum, especially when one is in the dumps emotionally.
Worth reading and re-reading ad infinitum, especially when one is in the dumps emotionally.
December 10, 2020
This collection of short stories features members of the Drones Club. There are 6 stories about Ukbridge, 3 about Bingo Little, 2 about Freddy Widgeon and some miscellaneous characters I don't remember reading about before. The editor of this book chose to put the stories out of chronological order and it made the Bingo Little stories a bit confusing.
The majority of these characters are idle young men who will do anything for money except hold down a job. The exception is Bingo Little. I always liked him. He not only has a job, he has a wife and in one story, a baby. I believe I may have read one of his stories already but I enjoyed reading more about him. Ukbridge annoyed me but my favorite story was "Ukbridge and the Home from Home". He turns his aunt's home into an airbnb without her permission or knowledge. This is the most classic Wodehousian screwball story of them all. It made me laugh. My second favorite story was "Bingo and the Peke Crisis" which is very zany and funny. I also liked "Sunny Boy" involving Bingo Little's baby. I did not enjoy the last two stories in the collection. One is about a stamp collection and whether or not to commit insurance fraud. The final story is a Mr. Mulliner golf story. I HATE golf and had no idea what the characters were talking about and didn't care.
Many of the stories feature "soppy" romances/star-crossed lovers with many misunderstandings and confusion. If you're new to P.G. Wodehouse, start here. This is a good sample of the idle artistocrat stories he was known for. Thank you P.G. Wodehouse for spreading "sweetness and light". This is just the sort of light distraction that's perfect for right now.
The majority of these characters are idle young men who will do anything for money except hold down a job. The exception is Bingo Little. I always liked him. He not only has a job, he has a wife and in one story, a baby. I believe I may have read one of his stories already but I enjoyed reading more about him. Ukbridge annoyed me but my favorite story was "Ukbridge and the Home from Home". He turns his aunt's home into an airbnb without her permission or knowledge. This is the most classic Wodehousian screwball story of them all. It made me laugh. My second favorite story was "Bingo and the Peke Crisis" which is very zany and funny. I also liked "Sunny Boy" involving Bingo Little's baby. I did not enjoy the last two stories in the collection. One is about a stamp collection and whether or not to commit insurance fraud. The final story is a Mr. Mulliner golf story. I HATE golf and had no idea what the characters were talking about and didn't care.
Many of the stories feature "soppy" romances/star-crossed lovers with many misunderstandings and confusion. If you're new to P.G. Wodehouse, start here. This is a good sample of the idle artistocrat stories he was known for. Thank you P.G. Wodehouse for spreading "sweetness and light". This is just the sort of light distraction that's perfect for right now.
May 8, 2025
Funny, but I prefer Wodehouse's longer stories because the more chaotic and complicated his stories are allowed to get, the better they are!
April 9, 2019
What fun this short story collection is. The first four stories read like scenes in the ongoing saga of lucky layabout fop Bingo Little, as told by members of his elite club of rich layabouts, the Drones. Although the language and references are so founded in an earlier era, and a British one, that they sound like a foreign language to an American, I had no trouble catching on. I found myself smiling the whole time I was reading. Bingo Little is a scamp who gets embroiled in seemingly hopeless schemes, only to be bailed out at the last moment by the hand of fate. The twists were such that I found myself gasping and yelling, “Oh god!” a lot—as well as belly-laughing.
The last five stories about other layabout con artists are not quite as funny, but they’re wonderful social satire full of unexpected twists.
Thanks to Paul Secor for reviewing this one. For a complete escape from present-day gunk and a good laugh, I recommend it—but it would probably be best to read a story every now and then, rather than reading all the stories straight through, as I did. (Originally published in 1940, the 2000 edition I read was published by Everyman and procured by New York Public Library’s interlibrary services department from Northwestern University Library.)
The last five stories about other layabout con artists are not quite as funny, but they’re wonderful social satire full of unexpected twists.
Thanks to Paul Secor for reviewing this one. For a complete escape from present-day gunk and a good laugh, I recommend it—but it would probably be best to read a story every now and then, rather than reading all the stories straight through, as I did. (Originally published in 1940, the 2000 edition I read was published by Everyman and procured by New York Public Library’s interlibrary services department from Northwestern University Library.)
April 16, 2015
I've got an old paperback copy of Eggs, Beans and Crumpets and it is falling apart. The reason it is falling apart is simple, it has been read a few times. It is among my favorite Wodehouse short story collections that doesn't feature Jeeves and Wooster.
I begins with four stories about a well known Wodehouse character, Bingo Little. I really like these stories, I think they may be among the best Wodehouse wrote. They are at least among my favorites. Next we get a romantic romp that only Wodehouse could come up with. Typical for the author but still quite funny. Then comes one story about Freddie Fitch-Fitch (only Wodehouse could come up with a name like that) which involves love, money (or lack there off) and an aging uncle. The result is highly entertaining romantic entanglements. The last three stories feature Urkridge which is a character which has never been one of my favorite in the Wodehouse world, but still these stories are fairly good.
All in all, I would say this was a good introduction into Wodehouse. It is at least a book that I have had much enjoyment out of, and will most probably read yet again someday.
I begins with four stories about a well known Wodehouse character, Bingo Little. I really like these stories, I think they may be among the best Wodehouse wrote. They are at least among my favorites. Next we get a romantic romp that only Wodehouse could come up with. Typical for the author but still quite funny. Then comes one story about Freddie Fitch-Fitch (only Wodehouse could come up with a name like that) which involves love, money (or lack there off) and an aging uncle. The result is highly entertaining romantic entanglements. The last three stories feature Urkridge which is a character which has never been one of my favorite in the Wodehouse world, but still these stories are fairly good.
All in all, I would say this was a good introduction into Wodehouse. It is at least a book that I have had much enjoyment out of, and will most probably read yet again someday.
September 12, 2022
"Fate (said Ukridge) is odd. Rummy. You can't say it isn't. Lots of people have noticed it. And one of the rummiest things about it is the way it seems to take a delight in patting you on the head and lulling you into security and then suddenly steering your foot on to the banana-skin. Just when things appear to be going smoothest, bang comes the spanner into the machinery and there you are." (209-210)As usual, I snuck in some Wodehouse to offset heavier stuff. Eggs, Beans and Crumpets is a collection of nine stories (the composition of included stories differs, apparently, between UK and US editions—this is the latter), with most of the stories centering on Bingo and the Drones Club or Ukridge:
1. All's Well with Bingo
2. Bingo and the Peke Crisis
3. The Editor Regrets
4. Sonny Boy
5. Anselm Gets His Chance
6. Romance at Droitgate Spa
7. A Bit of Luck for Mabel
8. Buttercup Day
9. Ukridge and the Old Stepper
I wrote out the titles primarily for my own administrative purposes. The stories are often quite silly, but fun. Not Wodehouse's best—but definitely enjoyable.
February 22, 2024
Bingo Little, Mr Mulliner, Ukridge, and some other cove.
May 9, 2023
ENGLISH: It's the third time I've read this book. Four stories starring Bingo Little, with one or more Pekinese dogs as supporting actors; three stories with Ukridge as the main character, which happen long before the first novel published about him (Love Among the Chickens) and before his marriage to Emily; plus two additional stories: one about Mr. Mulliner, and one about love and hypochondria. Here are two quotes from those two:
[He] said that he had always thought that a philatelist was a man who was kind to animals. 'No.' said Mr. Mulliner, 'a stamp collector. Though many philatelists are, I believe, also kind to animals.
Of all the uncounted millions who in their time have listened to bands playing “Poet and Peasant”, few can ever have listened with such a restless impatience as did Frederick Fitch-Fitch on this occasion. Time was flying. Every second was precious. At any moment disaster might befall. And the band went on playing as if it had taken on a life-job. It seemed to him an eternity before the final oom-pom-pa.
ESPAÑOL: Es la tercera vez que leo este libro. Cuatro cuentos protagonizados por Bingo Little, con uno o más perros pequineses como actores secundarios; tres cuentos con Ukridge como personaje principal, que tienen lugar mucho antes que la primera novela que se publicó sobre él (Amor y gallinas) y antes de su matrimonio con Emily; y dos cuentos más: uno sobre el Sr. Mulliner, y el otro sobre amor e hipocondría. Aquí hay dos citas de estos dos:
[Él] dijo que siempre había pensado que un filatélico era un hombre amable con los animales. 'No,' dijo el Sr. Mulliner, 'es un coleccionista de sellos. Aunque creo que muchos filatélicos son también amables con los animales.
De todos los millones que en su tiempo han escuchado bandas tocando "Poeta y Aldeano", pocos pueden lo habrán escuchado con una impaciencia tan inquieta como la de Frederick Fitch-Fitch en esta ocasión. El tiempo volaba. Cada segundo era precioso. En cualquier momento podía ocurrir un desastre. Y la banda siguió tocando como si hubiera asumido un trabajo de por vida. Le pareció una eternidad antes del oom-pom-pa final.
[He] said that he had always thought that a philatelist was a man who was kind to animals. 'No.' said Mr. Mulliner, 'a stamp collector. Though many philatelists are, I believe, also kind to animals.
Of all the uncounted millions who in their time have listened to bands playing “Poet and Peasant”, few can ever have listened with such a restless impatience as did Frederick Fitch-Fitch on this occasion. Time was flying. Every second was precious. At any moment disaster might befall. And the band went on playing as if it had taken on a life-job. It seemed to him an eternity before the final oom-pom-pa.
ESPAÑOL: Es la tercera vez que leo este libro. Cuatro cuentos protagonizados por Bingo Little, con uno o más perros pequineses como actores secundarios; tres cuentos con Ukridge como personaje principal, que tienen lugar mucho antes que la primera novela que se publicó sobre él (Amor y gallinas) y antes de su matrimonio con Emily; y dos cuentos más: uno sobre el Sr. Mulliner, y el otro sobre amor e hipocondría. Aquí hay dos citas de estos dos:
[Él] dijo que siempre había pensado que un filatélico era un hombre amable con los animales. 'No,' dijo el Sr. Mulliner, 'es un coleccionista de sellos. Aunque creo que muchos filatélicos son también amables con los animales.
De todos los millones que en su tiempo han escuchado bandas tocando "Poeta y Aldeano", pocos pueden lo habrán escuchado con una impaciencia tan inquieta como la de Frederick Fitch-Fitch en esta ocasión. El tiempo volaba. Cada segundo era precioso. En cualquier momento podía ocurrir un desastre. Y la banda siguió tocando como si hubiera asumido un trabajo de por vida. Le pareció una eternidad antes del oom-pom-pa final.
December 30, 2022
Although Ukridge and Mulliner make appearances in this collection of shorts, it's Bingo Little who is the main attraction. And what's more, we see a progression of time within one character. Only Wodehouse fanatics will likely care about that, but it is significant. Usually Wodehouse wrote about one character and the shenanigans they get up to over the course of a few days, weeks at the most. But in Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets Bingo goes from fancy free bachelor to exuberant fiancé to timorous husband and father. The story of him being broke and looking for a bit of ready cash to gamble with remains rigid throughout, as per usual, but I've never seen the saga technique utilized by Wodehouse before. After you've read fifty books by the same author, who was known for recycling his plots, these are the things that excite.
October 13, 2023
Delightfully silly escapism
March 9, 2025
A collection of 9 Drones Club stories, featuring Bingo Little, Ukridge and Anselm Mulliner:
1. All’s Well With Bingo – Carefree Bingo is married to bestselling author Rosie Banks, author of a series of lucrative popular novels. She asks Bingo, who relies on her income for finances, to go to Monte Carlo to help get local colour for her next novel. She is unaware of Bingo’s gambling tendencies and Bingo needs to figure out how else to get money to finance his gambling needs, because who can possibly go to Monte Carlo and not gamble.
The events and hijinks in this one were only moderately entertaining. Since, unlike Bertie Wooster, Bingo does not attract much of my sympathy, my level of story enjoyment almost entirely on the amount of humor created and only minimally on his successfully getting out of the fix he habitually puts himself in. This one evoked mild smiles and a moderate interest level. 3.7 stars.
2. Bingo and the Peke Crisis –Another Bingo story when Rosie leaves Bingo in charge of her six Pekinese dogs. Of course Rosie is nuts to do so, but then she did marry him. Also, due to Rosie’s efforts, Bingo had become editor of “Wee Tots” magazine, It’s Publisher Purkiss share’s his subordinate Bingo’s tendency to need to hid some of his actions from his wife. He is involved in the events of this story. I thought the hijinks were quite funny as was the denouement. I enjoyed it very much. 4.3 stars
3. The Editor Regrets – Bingo the editor makes a faux pas with an American authoress that Purkiss seeks to sign, risking both his position and his standing with Rosie. Bingo’s method to prevent disaster before Rosie finds out were clever and humous and actually had me writhing my hands in diabolical glee. Once again, Purkiss becomes involved with similar motivations toward his wife as Bingo. This was as good as the Peke crisis. I did want see one more scene at the end, though, but I guess P.G. knew such a scene would be anticlimactic. 4.3 stars.
4. Sonny Boy –Fairly average story with most of the humor coming from the fact that these clubmen and even a policeman are so ready to find their own babies, the same creatures their wives believe to be gorgeous, to be hideous looking things. Another story involving Bingo’s efforts to get money off of Oofy to replenish funds from Rosie that he misdirected from her intended destination. A bit overdone on the shallow men who probably don’t think much of any babies but evokes some laughs and smiles anyway. 3.7 stars.
5. Anselm Gets His Chance – It’s Mr. Mulliner time as Mulliner addresses the custom of vicars hogging the coveted summer evensong sermon slot for themselves relegating their curates to the less receptive audiences of the morning slot through the story, of course, of his cousin Rupert’s son Anselm, a curate in a Hampshire parish. Of course, romance is involved as Anselm is seeking a way to impress his intended’s all-business father. Mulliner stories are generally not as good as Bertie or Bingo ones, so I have less expectations. I thought this one’s plot was clever and sufficiently humorous to warrant 4 stars. A solid Mulliner
6. Romance at Droitgate Spa –Young Freddie Fitch-Fitch seeks his uncle/trustee Major-General Bastable’s release of his capital so he can marry Annabel Purvis. Uncle Bastable is at the ‘spa’ due to his gout but does not encourage his nephew’s romance with a ‘conjuror’s assistant. Freddie’s scheme to get money and win over Annabel involve a romantic competitor, the revelation of a hierarchy within the invalid class, Annabel’s nursing skills and her uncle’s surprisingly impressive status. Some entertaining plot elements but Freddie is a rudimentary Woodhouse hero. 3.7 stars.
7. A Bit of Luck for Mabel – This story, the first of three Ukridge ones, involves him dressing to the nines, including a top hat for the races at Ascot, in order to seek the hand of fair maiden Mabel. Ukridge takes the Bingo Little mode of making money, borrowing it, and does have some entertaining ways of obtaining a top hat. Moderately entertaining 3.7 stars
8. Buttercup Day – Ukridge is again explaining to his friend and mark Corky about an adventure at his Aunt Julia’s where he was left in charge of monitoring a charitable fundraising bizarre. I was impressed by Ukridge’s creative fundraising efforts and Wodehouse’s humorous satire on charitable fundraising in general. A good effort. 4 stars.
9. Ukridge and the Old Stepper - this Ukridge story, once again told from the perspective of Corky, has Ukridge actually paying for lunch with Corky, but only after engaging in some prior ‘borrowing’ of course, to explain the whys and where of his giving the cold shoulder to a step-step-uncle of his from Australia, an outward-looking successful amiable harmless gentleman. With this story we get a tale where tables are turned on young Ukridge, so it is a very satisfying tale indeed. A solid Ukridge story that often had me smiling. 4 stars.
Overall, while the stories were of varying quality, all were at least moderately entertaining. Not a bad one among them. While the best were the two middle of the four Bingo stories, even the last two Ukridge stories were very satisfying, ending the collection of a good note. The individual story ratings result in 3.93 stars, so an overall rating needing to be rounded only slightly up to 4 stars. A solid effort.
1. All’s Well With Bingo – Carefree Bingo is married to bestselling author Rosie Banks, author of a series of lucrative popular novels. She asks Bingo, who relies on her income for finances, to go to Monte Carlo to help get local colour for her next novel. She is unaware of Bingo’s gambling tendencies and Bingo needs to figure out how else to get money to finance his gambling needs, because who can possibly go to Monte Carlo and not gamble.
The events and hijinks in this one were only moderately entertaining. Since, unlike Bertie Wooster, Bingo does not attract much of my sympathy, my level of story enjoyment almost entirely on the amount of humor created and only minimally on his successfully getting out of the fix he habitually puts himself in. This one evoked mild smiles and a moderate interest level. 3.7 stars.
2. Bingo and the Peke Crisis –Another Bingo story when Rosie leaves Bingo in charge of her six Pekinese dogs. Of course Rosie is nuts to do so, but then she did marry him. Also, due to Rosie’s efforts, Bingo had become editor of “Wee Tots” magazine, It’s Publisher Purkiss share’s his subordinate Bingo’s tendency to need to hid some of his actions from his wife. He is involved in the events of this story. I thought the hijinks were quite funny as was the denouement. I enjoyed it very much. 4.3 stars
3. The Editor Regrets – Bingo the editor makes a faux pas with an American authoress that Purkiss seeks to sign, risking both his position and his standing with Rosie. Bingo’s method to prevent disaster before Rosie finds out were clever and humous and actually had me writhing my hands in diabolical glee. Once again, Purkiss becomes involved with similar motivations toward his wife as Bingo. This was as good as the Peke crisis. I did want see one more scene at the end, though, but I guess P.G. knew such a scene would be anticlimactic. 4.3 stars.
4. Sonny Boy –Fairly average story with most of the humor coming from the fact that these clubmen and even a policeman are so ready to find their own babies, the same creatures their wives believe to be gorgeous, to be hideous looking things. Another story involving Bingo’s efforts to get money off of Oofy to replenish funds from Rosie that he misdirected from her intended destination. A bit overdone on the shallow men who probably don’t think much of any babies but evokes some laughs and smiles anyway. 3.7 stars.
5. Anselm Gets His Chance – It’s Mr. Mulliner time as Mulliner addresses the custom of vicars hogging the coveted summer evensong sermon slot for themselves relegating their curates to the less receptive audiences of the morning slot through the story, of course, of his cousin Rupert’s son Anselm, a curate in a Hampshire parish. Of course, romance is involved as Anselm is seeking a way to impress his intended’s all-business father. Mulliner stories are generally not as good as Bertie or Bingo ones, so I have less expectations. I thought this one’s plot was clever and sufficiently humorous to warrant 4 stars. A solid Mulliner
6. Romance at Droitgate Spa –Young Freddie Fitch-Fitch seeks his uncle/trustee Major-General Bastable’s release of his capital so he can marry Annabel Purvis. Uncle Bastable is at the ‘spa’ due to his gout but does not encourage his nephew’s romance with a ‘conjuror’s assistant. Freddie’s scheme to get money and win over Annabel involve a romantic competitor, the revelation of a hierarchy within the invalid class, Annabel’s nursing skills and her uncle’s surprisingly impressive status. Some entertaining plot elements but Freddie is a rudimentary Woodhouse hero. 3.7 stars.
7. A Bit of Luck for Mabel – This story, the first of three Ukridge ones, involves him dressing to the nines, including a top hat for the races at Ascot, in order to seek the hand of fair maiden Mabel. Ukridge takes the Bingo Little mode of making money, borrowing it, and does have some entertaining ways of obtaining a top hat. Moderately entertaining 3.7 stars
8. Buttercup Day – Ukridge is again explaining to his friend and mark Corky about an adventure at his Aunt Julia’s where he was left in charge of monitoring a charitable fundraising bizarre. I was impressed by Ukridge’s creative fundraising efforts and Wodehouse’s humorous satire on charitable fundraising in general. A good effort. 4 stars.
9. Ukridge and the Old Stepper - this Ukridge story, once again told from the perspective of Corky, has Ukridge actually paying for lunch with Corky, but only after engaging in some prior ‘borrowing’ of course, to explain the whys and where of his giving the cold shoulder to a step-step-uncle of his from Australia, an outward-looking successful amiable harmless gentleman. With this story we get a tale where tables are turned on young Ukridge, so it is a very satisfying tale indeed. A solid Ukridge story that often had me smiling. 4 stars.
Overall, while the stories were of varying quality, all were at least moderately entertaining. Not a bad one among them. While the best were the two middle of the four Bingo stories, even the last two Ukridge stories were very satisfying, ending the collection of a good note. The individual story ratings result in 3.93 stars, so an overall rating needing to be rounded only slightly up to 4 stars. A solid effort.
March 3, 2020
Very entertaining.
May 26, 2024
'Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets' by P.G. Wodehouse.
Rating:
First Read [25th May to 26th May 2024]: Rating: 4.25/5. Read the three stories involving Ukridge contained within this collection. Shall update the rating of the entire collection once I get acquainted with the other Wodehouse characters and decide to revisit this collection.
Review:
I had no intention of picking up another P.G Wodehouse book immediately after finishing his Ukridge collection – not because I didn't like his writing, but because I simply wanted to read something else and return to Wodehouse's works as a comfort read. But, as it turns out, I couldn't get enough of Ukridge's devious schemes! After learning that there were other short stories featuring Ukridge in Wodehouse's other books, the completionist within me wanted to devour them all at the earliest. And thus, after finishing Lord Emsworth and Others, a collection that contained three Ukridge short stories, I jumped on to yet another of his short story collections, Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets.
This book contains three stories featuring Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge, namely 'A Bit of Luck for Mabel', 'Buttercup Day', and 'Ukridge and the Old Stepper'. Although a definite chronological order is never mentioned, it can be ascertained from the references and callbacks to the previous stories that the narration of three short stories takes place after the events of the short stories contained within the Ukridge collection.
'A Bit of Luck for Mabel' (Rating: 4.5/5) is a hilarious recollection of Ukridge's attempts to impress Mabel, the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Although Ukridge narrates the story to Corky after the events of the stories contained in the Ukridge collection, the actual incidents that he narrates seem to have happened sometime before he met his wife, Millie. It was a thoroughly humorous read and, in my opinion, the best of the three Ukridge short stories in this collection.
In 'Buttercup Day' (Rating: 4.25/5), Ukridge attempts to earn quick money by employing a young girl to ask for donations on the occasion of "Buttercup Day", a fictional event that he randomly organises. As usual, when things are working well for Ukridge, misfortune often comes searching for him. And this time around, it comes in the form of a fraudster who ends up swindling Ukridge, Corky, and Aunt Julia. It was a fun little adventure, marred only by the fact that it ended on a downer for all characters involved.
In the final story in the collection, 'Ukridge and the Old Stepper' (Rating: 3.75/5), Ukridge narrates his first meeting with the husband of his stepmother's step-sister. The events within Ukridge's narration seem to have taken place before his marriage to Millie since it involves him trying to impress yet another girl belonging to an affluent family. It contains some great humorous incidents, especially towards the end, that had me laughing out loud and brought out strange looks from the onlookers. Nonetheless, just like the previous short story, it ended with yet another downer of an ending.
All in all, I had a wonderful time reading these three short stories featuring Ukridge. I do plan to get back to the rest of the stories contained within this collection once I get acquainted with the other Wodehouse characters.
And now, Corky, as you will no doubt have divined, I was, so to speak, at the crossroads. The finger-post of Prudence pointed one way, that of Love another. Prudence whispered to me to conciliate this bloke, to speak him fair, to comport myself towards him as towards one who held my destinies in his hand and who could, if well disposed, give me a job which would keep the wolf from the door while I was looking around for something bigger and more attuned to my vision and abilities.
Love, on the other hand, was shouting to me to pinch his coat and leg it for the open spaces.
It was the deuce of a dilemma.
Rating:
First Read [25th May to 26th May 2024]: Rating: 4.25/5. Read the three stories involving Ukridge contained within this collection. Shall update the rating of the entire collection once I get acquainted with the other Wodehouse characters and decide to revisit this collection.
Review:
I had no intention of picking up another P.G Wodehouse book immediately after finishing his Ukridge collection – not because I didn't like his writing, but because I simply wanted to read something else and return to Wodehouse's works as a comfort read. But, as it turns out, I couldn't get enough of Ukridge's devious schemes! After learning that there were other short stories featuring Ukridge in Wodehouse's other books, the completionist within me wanted to devour them all at the earliest. And thus, after finishing Lord Emsworth and Others, a collection that contained three Ukridge short stories, I jumped on to yet another of his short story collections, Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets.
This book contains three stories featuring Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge, namely 'A Bit of Luck for Mabel', 'Buttercup Day', and 'Ukridge and the Old Stepper'. Although a definite chronological order is never mentioned, it can be ascertained from the references and callbacks to the previous stories that the narration of three short stories takes place after the events of the short stories contained within the Ukridge collection.
'A Bit of Luck for Mabel' (Rating: 4.5/5) is a hilarious recollection of Ukridge's attempts to impress Mabel, the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Although Ukridge narrates the story to Corky after the events of the stories contained in the Ukridge collection, the actual incidents that he narrates seem to have happened sometime before he met his wife, Millie. It was a thoroughly humorous read and, in my opinion, the best of the three Ukridge short stories in this collection.
In 'Buttercup Day' (Rating: 4.25/5), Ukridge attempts to earn quick money by employing a young girl to ask for donations on the occasion of "Buttercup Day", a fictional event that he randomly organises. As usual, when things are working well for Ukridge, misfortune often comes searching for him. And this time around, it comes in the form of a fraudster who ends up swindling Ukridge, Corky, and Aunt Julia. It was a fun little adventure, marred only by the fact that it ended on a downer for all characters involved.
In the final story in the collection, 'Ukridge and the Old Stepper' (Rating: 3.75/5), Ukridge narrates his first meeting with the husband of his stepmother's step-sister. The events within Ukridge's narration seem to have taken place before his marriage to Millie since it involves him trying to impress yet another girl belonging to an affluent family. It contains some great humorous incidents, especially towards the end, that had me laughing out loud and brought out strange looks from the onlookers. Nonetheless, just like the previous short story, it ended with yet another downer of an ending.
All in all, I had a wonderful time reading these three short stories featuring Ukridge. I do plan to get back to the rest of the stories contained within this collection once I get acquainted with the other Wodehouse characters.
February 13, 2023
PG Wodehouse read by Jonathan Cecil, A perfect combination, especially when it is stories I haven't read before.
August 30, 2020
No Jeeves and Wooster here, but a variety of quite funny stories featuring Bingo Little and his enterprising wife, Ukridge, and other zany characters.
September 3, 2025
Nine amusing stories. Bingo Little and his wife esteemed novelist Rosie M Banks with three stories. Bingo’s four stories all have him escape punishment from his hopeless gambling. Pekinese kidnapping, Bingo becomes an editor for Wee Tots and Bingo’s ugly baby son nets him a windfall thanks to Oofy Prosser’s narrow escape from matrimony.
My Mulliner of the Angler’s Rest tells the story of stamps and a brilliant sermon. Freddie Fitch-Fitch convinces his hypochondriac Uncle to give him his inheritance and marry Annabel. Lastly, the reprobate Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukbridge finds himself in trouble with his long suffering Aunt Julia. Losing out on love because of a Top Hat he acquired for Ascot and when his Step Uncle from Australia turned out to be a scrounger extraordinaire.
Very funny stories.
My Mulliner of the Angler’s Rest tells the story of stamps and a brilliant sermon. Freddie Fitch-Fitch convinces his hypochondriac Uncle to give him his inheritance and marry Annabel. Lastly, the reprobate Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukbridge finds himself in trouble with his long suffering Aunt Julia. Losing out on love because of a Top Hat he acquired for Ascot and when his Step Uncle from Australia turned out to be a scrounger extraordinaire.
Very funny stories.
May 2, 2011
Don't get me wrong; I love PG Wodehouse. However, in short story form and without Jeeves, it develops a feeling of sameness that makes it hard to keep plowing through. I chuckled a decent bit, so I'm happy.
September 1, 2018
Nine short stories involving Bingo Little, Oofy Prosser, Freddie Fitch-Fitch, and Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge. Amusing as usual.
Side note: From the Inspector Lynley TV series I learned that Featherstonehaugh is pronounced Fanshaw. I don't see how but that's how it is pronounced.
Side note: From the Inspector Lynley TV series I learned that Featherstonehaugh is pronounced Fanshaw. I don't see how but that's how it is pronounced.
June 3, 2016
The Stories 'Buttercup Day' and 'Ukridge and the Old Stepper' are phenomenal. The Bingo Little stuff is okay and the other stories forgettable. I think Bingo comes out on top too easily for my liking. He just falls into it. Whereas Stanley Featherstone Ukridge is a straight up vagrant who dreams big but whose plans always fall through.
This one's a bit long but it shows how masterful Wodehouse is with Ukridge:
On Australians:
On wooing:
On scrounging:
This one's a bit long but it shows how masterful Wodehouse is with Ukridge:
On Australians:
On wooing:
On scrounging:
January 8, 2024
Eggs, Beans, and Crumpets had its moments, but it really put the lazy, reprehensible, skiving, greedy, indolent Wodehouse character on display. Bertie Wooster can at least afford his life, but Bingo Little, married to a popular female novelist, is so sad it's not funny. He has a gambling problem and whether it's a modern eyeballs, go join Gamblers' Anonymous, this is a deeply sad, or a ha ha, gambling problem, foibles, Bingo is so irresponsible with his money that he can't do simple tasks like set up a bank account for his baby or go on a research trip without trying to gamble all the money his wife has given him, losing it, and having some stroke of luck that allows him to hide all the past happenings from his wife. There are definitely funny lines and an aura of jollity, but it's kind of one joke, not actually funny, and the stories about the other men are even worse.
December 10, 2020
The prose is as ever a joy, but there’s a sameness about the stories, especially the Bingo Little and Ukridge ones, that diminishes the pleasure somewhat. Better taken in small sips than one gulp; it’s what knocked this down to three stars for me. It’s also made manifest that Ukridge is Bingo’s unlucky twin; they’re essentially the same character except that things always work out for Bingo and they never work out for Ukridge.
August 14, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyable read as usual with Wodehouse. Very good and clever short stories which introduced me to the character Ukridge. Also stories with Bertie Wooster's friend Bingo Little cvsych good fun and hard to put down.
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