Mike and Psmith

Psmith #1

by P.G. Wodehouse

An early Wodehouse novel, this is both a sporting story and a tale of friendship between two boys at boarding school. Mike (introduced in Mike at Wrykyn) is a seriously good cricketer who forms an unlikely alliance with old Etonian Psmith ('the P is silent') after they both find themselves fish out of water at a new school, Sedleigh. Full of entertainment, the plot reaches a satisfying conclusion as the pair eventually overcome the hostility of others and their own prejudices to become stars. Even readers uninterested in cricket are likely to be gripped by descriptions of matches, but the real meat of the book is to be found in the characters, especially the elegant Psmith, one of Wodehouse's immortal creations, who features in three of his later novels.

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

148 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

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When ace cricketer Mike Jackson is pulled from Wrykyn by his father for a bad report, Mike has the misfortune of being sent to Sedleigh. Fortunately for him, this is where he meets Psmith...

Some days, you just want to read about a guy wearing a monocle that calls everyone "Comrade" and generally stirs the pot.

Mike and Psmith is an early P.G. Wodehouse novel about Mike Jackson's tenure at Sedleigh and his befriending of one Rupert Eustace Psmith. The P is silent, as in Psychotic and Pteradactyl. Since it's an early Wodehouse, it feels more akin to the school stories that were popular in Britain in the early 20th century than Wodehouse's "musicals without the music" comedies later on in his career, when he was in mid-season form.

While he was clearly still finding his footing, Wodehouse still supplied some comedic gold in Mike and Psmith, chiefly in Psmith, the whole reason I nabbed this book in the first place. It was here that Wodehouse saw the potential he had in Psmith, who would later go on to overshadow Mike Jackson time and time again in Psmith, Journalist, Psmith in the City, and Leave It to Psmith.

Mike and Psmith was originally written as a serial and the book feels that way. Mike and Psmith go from one episode to another, involving secretly playing cricket, a painted dog, the Archaeology club, making enemies, etc.

The parts featuring Psmith were by far the most interesting but it's hard to look away when that monocle-wearing socialist is on stage. Psmith makes me want to call everyone Comrade and tell outrageous lies with a straight face. He's the spiritual ancestor of Wodehouse's other smooth operators like Galahad Threepwood and the Earl of Ickenham, Uncle Fred.

For historical significance and all the fine Psmithery, I'm giving it a three but it lacks some of the fun of later Wodehouse novels.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The character of Psmith ... is the only thing in my literary career which was handed to me on a plate with watercress round it, thus enabling me to avoid the blood sweat and tears inseparable from an author's life. Lord Emsworth, Jeeves and the rest of my dramatis personae had to be built up from their foundations, but Psmith came to me ready-made.

A cousin of mine ... happened to tell me one night of Rupert D'Oyly Carte ... a schoolmate of his. Rupert was long, slender, beautifully dressed and very dignified. His speech was what is known as orotund, and he wore a monocle. He habitually addressed his fellow Wykehamists as 'Comrade', and if one of the masters chanced to inquire to his health, would reply 'Sir, I grow thinnah and thinnah.'

This was in 1908, when I was not the man of lightening intelligence I have since become, but even in 1908 I was able to realize that I had been put on to a good thing. I was writing a serial for a boy's magazine called The Captain at the time, and to remove the character I had planned and put Psmith in his stead was, as the fellow said, with me the work of a moment. The results, I am glad to say, were excellent. At a dozen public schools throughout the country, boys started wearing monocles and calling one another 'Comrade', and The Captain doubled my price, always a pleasant thing to happen in those days of tight money." – P. G. Wodehouse

Wodehouse's Mike and Psmith (1909) reads sort of like a first draft of the Jeeves & Wooster novels that would spring from the author's mind a decade later. Although Mike is no Bertie Wooster, it's hard not to hear Jeeve's voice in the carefully wrought lines of Psmith. This is a very pleasant, quick read with a simple plot held together with plenty of high-jinx, all seasoned with just a dash of moral fiber. If you enjoyed Harry Potter but grew tired of all the Dungeons & Dragons, you may enjoy Wodehouse's early stories of public school life. Bone up on your cricket, though, before embarking!

[Jenny Maloney · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I don't know that much about cricket. You could quiz me all day long and I wouldn't be able to tell you, definitively, what a wicket is. There is a ton of cricket in this book. I struggled with the cricket bits.

But sports, practical jokes, sticking up for friends, and wit are universal enough that I loved this book.

For the time that I read this book (it only took a couple days, it's a super-quick read) I was swept away. Psmith is charmingly witty, and Mike charmingly stoic. The plot moves fast and furious. It's like a crazed Tom Sawyer--and the practical jokes are very Sawyerish. Painted dogs, midnight fire-alarm-pulling, and cricket, of course, weave in and out. There's even a tiny mystery thrown in for good measure.

I was also impressed by Wodehouse's ability to draw characters, especially in comparison to his other two magnificent characters, Jeeves and Wooster. Wodehouse can capture the attitudes and foibles of very dissimilar characters, bring them together, and BAM! it's alchemy. I'm sure of it. Psmith reminded me of a witty, intelligent Wooster, and Mike reminded me of a stoic, well-meaning-but-not-as-observant Jeeves. Or vice-versa. What I mean to say: put Psmith and Mike together, or Jeeves and Wooster, and you've got a great story as they bungle along through the world. Yay Wodehouse!

~Jenny
Place For The Stolen
Under Ground Writing Project

[Márta Péterffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wodehouse ennél sokkal jobbakat írt! Voltak benne azért vicces helyzetek, és a /szerintem/ jó fordítás miatt a humoros szófordulatok is jól sikerültek, azonban sokszor úgy éreztem, az író nosztalgiázik és emlékezik középiskolás korára.
Akinek a sokadik könyve már a szerzőtől, annak azért érdekes lehet, aki még csak ismerkedne vele, annak semmiképp nem ajánlom.

[Steven R. Kraaijeveld · Rating 3 out of 5]

"There is only one thing to be said in favour of detention on a fine summer's afternoon, and that is that it is very pleasant to come out of. The sun never seems so bright or the turf so green as during the first five minutes after one has come out of the detention-room. One feels as if one were entering a new and very delightful world." (99)

Apparently, Mike and Psmith is composed of two novels—an early one called Mike (1908) and a later one called Enter Psmith (1935)—which were united and partly rewritten in 1953 to form this edition. The mixture tells: the first third or so of Mike and Psmith is rather rough, in that it does not feel quite like the familiar-beloved Wodehouse of his later masterpieces, while, as the story progresses, the magic starts to seep in and one even begins to feel that this is quintessential Wodehouse. You might say that, as in the cricket game Sedleigh v. Wrykyn, after a shaky start, Plum eventually hits midseason form to bring the thing home.

[Harry Collier IV]

This was an OK book where moments of brilliance mingled with moments of mediocrity. Thankfully, no one invited boredom to the party and so it did keep me reading.
I believe that Psmith would go on to star in a few more books while not much was heard of Mike Jackson again. This makes sense to me as Mike never really developed into anything memorable. He was just your average, ordinary, guy.

[[ J o ] · Rating 4 out of 5]

A humorous book full of cricket? I might actually be in love with P.G. Wodehouse. Aside from the occassional reference to bails in Hitchhiker's Guide, I have failed utterly to find any other books that are amusing, great reads that include a plethora of cricket. Until now.

I think it was Stephen Fry who first made me want to read P.G. Wodehouse. I had no clue that cricket was so prominent in these books, though if Mr. Fry liked them so much I should have guessed.

Anyway, my massive cricket fetish aside, this book was such a great read because it encapsulated a lot of very British things altogether, and simultaneously propelled them to the heightes of great tradition and also mocked them openly in a way that even Dickens would be impressed with. Possibly also a good reference book for knowing what little boys get up to at public schools, with certain things left out, of course. Like buggery for one.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know next to nothing about cricket and I still loved this book.
That's how good Wodehouse is.
Psmith is one of the most delightful characters I've met in a long time. I cannot wait to follow his adventures in the next few books.
The story has Wodehouse's characteristic comedic style with a boarding school vibe that gives it an old fashioned flavor. Lovely.

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

In which Wodehouse says hello to Psmith and goodbye to schools - two excellent developments.

[Grace*dnfing books since 2022* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mike and Psmith are both in the same boat, both kicked out of their public (private) schools and put into some half-rate school for scholarly young men. Mike is feeling particularly out of sorts because he had been expecting to make cricket captain next year at his old school, but a first day meeting with Psmith, setting up their lifelong friendship and serial adventures, makes him feel less alone.

This is a book about friendship and hazing and boyhood and dealing with schoolmasters and above all, lots and lots of cricket. I'm told that this book had less cricket than its predecessor, Mike. That's really good that I started with this one, because I have very little idea how cricket is played and had to draw equivalents in my head with baseball. Then I did a google search for cricket to peruse the pictures and found that it looks nothing like baseball (what are the wickets for?). Anyway, it doesn't detract from the wholesome and comedic nature of the book.

As the author himself said in the foreword, Psmith is a darling gift from the writing gods and he takes center stage in every scene he enters, not least of which was the scene in which he finally reveals part of the reason he was sent down from Eton. This is a flamboyant young man, keen on his appearance, but not any the less rowdy and boyish for any of that. In fact, his loyalty to Mike is one of the reasons that he's so loved by readers.

Mike the protagonist was somewhat overshadowed by Psmith's entrance on the pages. He's not super introspective and he comes off sullen at times; most of all, he's just cricket-mad and wants to play it so badly it becomes like a itch with him. Nevertheless, he's bound by his initial promise to himself not to play for this rival, two-bit school and so he initially feels even more conflicted. He's an interesting protagonist to read about, on account of his lack of bright ideas and his singlemindedness on cricket, but somehow Wodehouse made him a sympathetic character as well. I particularly liked the scene after he fights with the cricket captain. In only a paragraph or two, Wodehouse clearly delineates the difference to a boy's viewpoint after a good fight clears the air.

There's wholesomeness in every part of the book and that makes it a thoroughly feel-good, fun book to while away the day. There's one or two mysteries involved in the story and those are engaging as well. In all, it's an older book but it clearly withstands the test of time and reads quickly in a few hours.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my continuing effort to cocoon and read things that take my mind off the news, I picked up this very early Wodehouse. It is apparently the last half of a novel about Mike (a public-school boy who is indifferent at studies but a star at cricket); it stands alone quite well, and it introduces Psmith, who Wodehouse realized had taken over his novel. Unfortunately it is full of not-very-funny schoolboy pranks and a lot of cricket, a game that is opaque to me. At one point Psmith brags that he once went seven for thirteen on a hard wicket. Wow, I guess.

[Saket Vaibhav · Rating 5 out of 5]

A better humorist doesn't exist

[Shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first PG Wodehouse novel I’ve ever read. Light hearted and really posh; not really my style, and the characters would all almost certainly be incredibly annoying in real life, but I did laugh at some of the jokes. I’d be happy to try another one or two, but doubt I’ll ever be a huge fan.

[Emma Fritz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I prorated my rating to account for the 100+ years of humor evolution. Basically it’s like if Harry Potter stripped out the magic and the Voldemort plot line and was just about the classroom antics of boarding schools students and their teachers but with cricket instead of quidditch.

[Carol Bakker · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the world was getting crazier, my husband picked up this book and read a few chapters to me each night. We giggled, but more often snorted.

I find it hard to write my response when I've only listened to the book. I will be back with more more thoughts soon.

[Amy T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Leave it to Psmith, so I thought I would start at the beginning of the Psmith series. This one was not nearly as good. I am a mom to a teen boy, so I didn't find reading about the antics of teen boys particularly funny.

[Nikki Keating · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sequel to Mike at Wrykyn- another lovely tale of friendship and loyalty, with a lot of cricket thrown in. I found it an interesting education on life at English boarding school in the early 20th century. Sweet novel.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, more Wodehouse. My wife bought me lovely hardcover editions of Wodehouse's four Psmith books for Christmas. I had never read any of them before either! A lovely surprise! Anyway, this was a very enjoyable read, and especially moreso in that I understand the rules of cricket so the chapters featuring the sport were fully understandable. Psmith is quite the character. I found myself laughing repeatedly over the goings-on at the school. Recommended!

[Marco Etheridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

PG Wodehouse was one of the most famous authors of humorous novels during the Twentieth Century. He was also one of the most prolific. During the early part of his writing career, he was know for his Public School stories; tales based on his own experiences at the preparatory schools of England

PG Wodehouse introduced the characters Mike and Psmith to the world ten years before the appearance of the more famous characters Jeeves and Wooster. "Mike and Psmith" is the first appearance for the tall and stylish Psmith, and the second for the cricket-playing ace Mike. The novel was published in 1909, a scant 110 years ago.

Mike is the good-hearted sportsman, simple and straightforward. Psmith is wise beyond his years, fearless, and the devil's own trouble maker when it comes to authorities. The young duo are set against school bullies, nasty headmasters, and conflicted loyalties. The plot seems relatively simple, right up until the point where the reader realizes that it is not simple at all. Which brings us to the 'Wodehouse Method.'

PG Wodehouse had an interesting way of writing. When asked about the nuts and bolts of writing, he claimed that the devil was in the plot. When crafting a novel, he would first write a short plot outline. The second step in his method was a bare-bones novel, without dialogue or descriptions. These would typically run from twenty to thirty thousand words. This 'pilot' novel might take a year or more to complete. Once he was satisfied as to the lack of plot holes and whatnot, he would dash the thing off in short order. He often had three of four of these 'pilot' novels going simultaneously.

I feel I must add a caution at this point: There is a great deal of cricket in these novels. Readers from the Left Side of the Pond (The USA) may struggle a bit. Read on, read on, it is only a game. One will pick up some great cricket slang which may come in handy at a party or gathering. It is well to keep in mind that, even to this day, there are lands where cricket is closer to a religion than a sport. Try to do any sort of actual business in India or Pakistan when the national teams are playing and you will quickly find out the truth of it.

I wanted to broaden my horizons with regard to PG Wodehouse's work and this novel did not disappoint. I admit that I could not stick it with "Mike," simply because it was almost entirely devoted to cricket. Wodehouse himself mentions that in the preface to this volume. I have rollicked on with the second volume of Psmith, and I find them as engrossing and entertaining as the Jeeves and Wooster series. If a reader is interested in some of the other members of the Wodehouse menagerie, this is a very good place to start.

Brew up a nice pot of tea, settle in, and enjoy a well-crafted bit of time travel courtesy of this lovely novel. I am willing to bet most readers will be tempted to venture on into the next volume. Tally-ho!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially, Mike and Psmith is about old chums, old school ties, and cricket. Sounds like it could be dreadful, no? But it isn't, because P.G. Wodehouse could even make something out of tiddly-winks. Our heroes, Mike Jackson and the inimitable Psmith, his roommate and bosom pal. Both are at Sedleigh, a second-rank school, instead of Wrykyn and Eton respectively, from which the two have been "sent down."

At first, the two stand apart from the pull of the new school, but get drawn into tussles with Downing, the headmaster of another house, and Adair, Sedleigh's cricket captain.

Because this is a Wodehouse novel, all ends well. Along the way, there are some great laughs and some wonderful humor, such as this realization by the villainous Downing:

There was almost a wail in the headmaster's voice. The situation had suddenly become too much for him. His brain was swimming. That Mike, despite the evidence against him, should be innocent, was curious, perhaps, but not particularly startling. But that Adair should inform him, two minutes after Mr. Downing's announcement of Psmith's confession, that Psmith, too, was guiltless, and that the real criminal was Dunster—it was this that made him feel that somebody, in the words of an American author, had played a mean trick on him, and substituted for his brain a side order of cauliflower.

This is by no means one of Wodehouse's better-known outings, but it is definitely worth a read and a few giggles.

[Harish Challapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book of Mr. Wodhouse's, i read!! I came across his works in "Humor" section of Flipkart and thought of giving a try!! In goodreads i saw that he wrote 3 series of which Psmith series is the smallest with 4 books!! Thats how i chose this book!! And i can say its a "Jolly" good opening and i want to proceed further


Enjoyed reading this book!! The author is successful in making the reader to turn the pages eagerly!! The character of Psmith is very interesting!! I am looking forward to further works for his character!!

Humor and cricket can be termed as the theme of this book!! Many parts of this book reminded me of Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone, i enjoyed reading the book and i never felt bored!! I recommend this book to those who wants to read a jolly humorous book with no tension of what might happen next and etc. To term it in a filmy way , "A feel good Book"

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always fun.

[Julesmarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never struggled so much with a Wodehouse book. I adore Wodehouse, I recommend him to people, I've even read a biography or two. But this one... the cricket killed me. I'm so glad I didn't give up, though! The bits after the last of the cricket matches are classic Wodehouse witty, and so worth getting to!

Some Favorite Quotes:
Mike said nothing, which was a good deal better than saying what he would have liked to have said.

Mike, when masters waxed sarcastic toward him, always assumed an air of stolid stupidity, which was as a suit of mail against satire.

he had confused the unusual with the impossible, and the result was that he was taken by surprise.

"Did--you--put--that--shoe--there, Smith?" he asked slowly.
"Yes, sir."
"Then what did you MEAN by putting it there?" roared Mr. Downing.
"Animal spirits, sir," said Psmith.
"WHAT?"
"Animal spirits, sir."

Yoiks! Also tally-ho! This really was beginning to be something like business.

"You're absolutely certain you didn't paint that dog? Didn't do it, by any chance, in a moment of absent-mindedness, and forgot all about it? No? No, I suppose not."

[John Frankham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both a late Wodehouse school story and an early Wodehouse novel. Written before the First World War, this is both a school story with lots of ragging, escapades, breaking of bounds, etc, but it also, as so often with Wodehouse, has more to it than that - really quite a sensitive look at friendship, self-determination and growing up. And very funny, too!

The GR blurb:

‘An early Wodehouse novel, this is both a sporting story and a tale of friendship between two boys at boarding school. Mike (introduced in Mike at Wrykyn) is a seriously good cricketer who forms an unlikely alliance with old Etonian Psmith ('the P is silent') after they both find themselves fish out of water at a new school, Sedleigh. Full of entertainment, the plot reaches a satisfying conclusion as the pair eventually overcome the hostility of others and their own prejudices to become stars. Even readers uninterested in cricket are likely to be gripped by descriptions of matches, but the real meat of the book is to be found in the characters, especially the elegant Psmith, one of Wodehouse's immortal creations, who features in three of his later novels.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had my doubts about this one since it's very early Wodehouse and I, moreover, dislike boarding school stories. But it was as joyful and witty as any Wodehouse, albeit written in a very different style to the Jeeves books. And what a character Psmith is! I can't wait to see him all grown in the Blandings Castle series, because he's already a very elegant, supremely condescending enfant terrible terrorizing his school mates and masters with irreproachable manners and a criminal mind only tempered by a good heart. Mike is a great foil for him, a likable if unassuming boy who you can't help but cheer for.

'Mike nodded. A sombre nod. The nod Napoleon might have given if somebody had met him in 1812 and said, "So, you're back from Moscow, eh?”'

As a side note, there is a lot of cricket in this book. I have never seen cricket, don't know anything about it, etc. but still found this readable. I think you can still understand the general plot/character dynamics that arise from the cricket matches, even if the actual mechanics elude you.

[Mike Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Psmith is the perfect complement to Mike’s world (I am a bit biased regarding the combination). The elevated spirit of contention with Mike starting out offended by rather than timidly learning his place leads to greater drama and thus, more opportunity for sarcastic British wit. And the cricket conflicts become more personal, about spirit and honor, instead of being more consumed by technical growth. And Psmith is his own master of evading discipline, far more direct and entertaining than the fun, but fatalistic Wyatt. On to greater adventures for these too!

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read Psmith #4, I knew I had to go back to the beginning of the series and see what I had missed. P.G. Wodehouse does an excellent job of bringing Psmith and Mike to life in this jovial book about their time spent at Sedleigh School for Boys. I will admit, the amount of cricket jargon in this book made it very difficult to get through, but the clever comedy and detailed descriptive content still made it a joy to read. Overall, it isn’t my favourite book of Wodehouse’s, but it was worth reading.

[Rohit Kunal · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I started this book a d went about half way, I thought "Here is a Wodehouse's that I don't like" but the second half changed the feeling. I would certainly not place it amongst other bests but find it a nice, leisurely, heartwarming story. It doesn't have aspects of mistaken identities nor the same humor that others of his have, but it is nice warm story. Bear in mind that there is a bit of too much cricket and if one doesnt like it, they'd find it boring

[Swathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Psmith is easily my favorite character across Wodehouse's books, and one of my favorites ever. There is something about the disarming, all assuming nature with which he struts around that consistently charms me and makes me fall in love and total adoration. I have loved him since I first met him in Psmith in the City, and it is with immense bitter sweetness that I completed my last first time read of a Psmith novel through this book.

[MarilynLovesNature · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Wodehouse character! (although I do love Jeeves a lot). This was great, both humorous and touching. There are two more stories about him, Psmith in the City and Psmith, Journalist. Wodehouse wrote a preface to his novel explaining where he got the idea for the character, from a real person that was described to him. I am rereading these stories and also listening to them on Librivox, where they are well read. Highly recommended.