The Head of Kay's

School Stories

by P.G. Wodehouse

The fourth school novel from the British master of comedic complications. Newly designed and typeset in a modern 6-by-9-inch format by Waking Lion Press.

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

148 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1905

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

[Evan Leach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Head of Kay’s is the fifth of Wodehouse’s school stories, and his sixth published work overall. Like the other early school stories, these are simple, relatively short novels that were probably intended for younger readers. The action takes place at the fictional public school of Eckleton, where one of the houses (Kay’s) has a reputation for unruly behavior, due in large part to its incompetent and unpopular master. Over the course of the school year the house faces changes in administration, takes place in a number of sporting events, and experiences the joy of early 20th century summer camp.



Wodehouse was a prolific writer, and this is one of his earlier works. However, his skills improved notably between the earliest school story and this novel. The humor is strong (although this book is actually a bit less “laugh out loud” funny than some of Wodehouse’s earlier work), and the plot is simply better than the ones featured in earlier stories. It’s much more focused and engaging, and the description of school sporting events never threatens to take over the book, a problem with some of the other school stories.

While Wodehouse’s best was certainly still to come, this is an entertaining, quick read by a true master of English humor. 4.0 stars, recommended!

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning of his writing career Wodehouse produced several books about youngsters at boarding schools. The focus was (as is also the case in this book) on youn man taking responsibility (good) versus loafers (bad), understanding teachers (good) versus teachers who do not understand young boys (bad) and sports. With a lot of attention on cricket, which make these books as hard to understand as the beastly game itself.
Misunderstandings and sarcasm rule but not on the level (yet) which will make Wodehouse the greatest humorous writer of all times.
Still these books are worth reading and re-reading (for the fans at least).
Be prepared for a journey back in time, where caning by prefects (older students) was common practice, respect from students for teachers and parents was normal and the combination of sports and study was believed to producte "a healthy mind in a healthy body".

[Shannon (That's So Poe) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story had some interesting characters who were dealing with a rather unfair headmaster (Kay) and a pretty rowdy house of boys. They get into a lot of scrapes and have to pull together and unite in order to make their house a better place. I enjoyed that part of the story, although there are quite a few sports scenes in this that just put me to sleep. Overall it was okay, but not something I'll likely remember for long.

[Illiterate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Beaks, prefects, swots, and fags. Corps, dorms, prep, and rags. All that rot.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Wodehouse's "School Stories", this book takes place at a minor public school named Eckleton's and deals with the difficulties faced by the boy who is the head of Kay's house (mostly caused by the "beastly" behaviour of Kay himself).

I found this story to be less outrageously funny than many of Wodehouse's books and more of a straight-forward 'boy at school' book. I enjoyed it but I doubt that I will ever reread it.

[Farseer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of people give Wodehouse's school books low scores because they want something like Jeeves and this is not it. Wodehouse is famous for his humorous writing, after all, and this is not humorous. It's just a straightforward public school story for young readers, in the Victorian/Edwardian tradition of Thomas Hughes, Talbot Baines Reed and others. There was a market for it at the time, and the young Wodehouse delivered to that market.

I enjoyed this novel. It was a fast, entertaining read. Wodehouse is a very skilled writer, even if this is not the witty style that would make him famous later, he really knows his sport stuff and the plot is focused and much tighter than in other of his school novels.

The novel begins at a boarding school called Eckleton, with the final of the cricket inter-house cup, a competition between the different houses of the school. The finalists are Blackburn's House and Kay's House. Blackburn's is a model of what a proper house should be like in a public school. It is well-run, with a good house master and a good head boy, ably helped by competent prefects. Morale is high there and they have a rather competent team, where the different players do their best for the house. Kay's is the complete opposite. That house is a disaster area, plagued by indiscipline, low motivation, prefects who would break the rules rather than uphold them, an odious house master... The only thing working properly there is their head boy, Fenn, but his efforts are wasted because he is constantly undermined by Mr. Kay, the house master.

In the cricket inter-house cup, no one expected Kay's to achieve anything, since they never do, but they got to the final. It wasn't on the strength of a well-rounded team, but on the strength of a single player, the head boy Fenn, who is an exceptional bowler and batter and seems on his way to win the cup single-handedly.

The final game gets to its second day, and only an inning for Kay's House remains. If they score 78 points they'll win, and it's very likely they will, because Fenn hasn't personally scored less than 80 on any single inning on any of his appearances in the house cup. However, their chances are spoiled because of a punishment by Mr. Kay, which leads to more indiscipline, and eventually to Fenn's removal as head of the house on Mr. Kay's request.

Kennedy, a senior boy from Blackburn's House, to his dismay is sent to Kay's House to be the new head. Fenn and he are friends, or used to be, but Fenn does not take this latest humiliation too well and, although he will not undermine Kennedy, neither will he help him against an hostile, undisciplined house.

And that's the setup. Will Kennedy, steady but tenacious, be able to whip Kay's House into shape, hindered by Mr. Kay himself and most of the senior and junior boys? Will his friendship with Fenn survive? There are also some side plots involving a holidays camp, and also a burglary and an unauthorized escapade to town by Fenn, which could end up with him expelled if discovered. These plots are tied up perhaps a bit too easily.

Even though I have enjoyed this story, I have read several Talbot Baines Reed school novels recently, and they seem to me more enjoyable than this one by Wodehouse. Reed is a fine writer, but it's not a problem of skill, an area where Wodehouse obviously is not lacking. It's a matter of Reed's novels being fun, while this one is competent and professional, but not fun. After reading a Reed novel I feel as if going to that school would be fun, while in The Head of Kay's, being at Kay's House seems a rather miserable experience, at least for most of the book.

[Larry Shackley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe it was a mistake to re-read the PGW school books all in a row, but by this fourth one they all just seem to blend together in a boring morass. PGW knew this scene well, having spent several (happy) years in a similar institution, but it's hard for outsiders to get excited about plots revolving around pranks and sports. Do boys ever actually LEARN anything at these schools? They're always trying to escape, or plotting against bad teachers or unsporty fellow students. School masters who don't like sports are BAD - those who are involved in sports are GOOD. This plot revolves around a lad who is moved against his will into another house with a BAD house master, and has to cope with boys who don't like the 'new broom.' Lengthy descriptions of games are tedious for those who don't know (or care about) the difference between the 'fifteen' and the 'eleven,' etc. There are a couple of references to music in this volume, including a short scene of a school concert, which might be a foretaste of the hilarious performances of the Bertie Wooster era. The lead character has a brother who has written an opera - but he's only used as a pretense for another "escape from school" episode. By all means, skip these school books unless (like me) you are a PGW devotee who can't help but read everything by the Master.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've now read half a dozen of these school boy type books as I work through a complete read of The Master. I've given up looking for The Master in The Apprentice and I'm just in it for survival. Really aside from a complete read of all the works of Wodehouse I can see little to recommend this book to anyone not infatuated with Britian's turn of the century schools and 100 year old play by play descriptions of sports like Cricket and Rugby.

As I read this massive public domain e-book of Wodehouse, I can't help fearing that folks will try this and give up the author as a bad read. Please trust me when I say that something like 'Joy in the Morning' (Jeeves & Wooster) or 'Uncle Fred in the Springtime' (Blandings) is where you want to start. For short stories, try 'Blandings and Elsewhere' or The 'Inimitable Jeeves'.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilariously funny. This is my first Wodehouse novel, but I am sure it won't be my last!

[Andrew Fish · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Head of Kay’s marks a turning point for Wodehouse. Not the last school story he would write, but the last of a continuous run from the beginning of his literary career. Kay’s tells the tale of an undisciplined house and of a boy, Kennedy, who is given the task as its new head boy of turning its fortunes round. Naturally, for an early Wodehouse, the benchmark for this is sporting rather than academic success.

One thing which I’ve observed consistently with Wodehouse’s school stories is that they tend to be drier and less witty than the novels for which he is rightly lauded. Characters are well-observed, but tend to be more grounded than a Bertie Wooster or an Ukridge. There’s very little of the literary allusion and a lot less general silliness. This makes them more historical curios than genuine treats. What does make them interesting, however, is Wodehouse’s clear passion for sport – something which he subsumed in his later novels, despite never losing his passion for the subject (Jeeves and Wooster are both named for cricketers). Here, the love of sport is fulfilled by the description of a boxing match between two of the story’s antagonists, and whilst not being a fan of sport myself I can admire the craftmanship of a man who knew his subject.

Ultimately, however, these moments of strength do little to redeem a book which is basically going through the motions. Wodehouse was clearly tiring of the school genre, and his next book would mark his parting brass rags with it, as well as establishing one of his favourite characters in his first literary breakthrough.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oops. It was my intention to read Wodehouse's novels in chronological order and that lasted for precisely one book! By mistake I picked up the Head of Kay's rather than The Prefect's Uncle. Oh well, what is done is done, but there was a distinct advantage to my error. Jumping ahead to the 5th novel (Not counting his Children's book about William Tell) saw a distinct change in the author's writing style. This was not so chock full of miscellaneous characters, his use of foreshadowing with appropriate payoffs was much improved, and there was more to the plot.

What goes on in this book is at the Boy's School of Eckleton, there is a distinct sports rivalry between the various houses, headed up by the leads of the story, but one house has a master, Mr. Kay, who is a bit of a drudge. The current boy who is head of house, Fenn, gets demoted after standing up to Mr. Kay and his unreasonable demands. This goes on at the same time as various sporting contests, some heated rivalries between members of the houses, a burglary and a little AWOL excursion. All of these events are dealt with in a satisfactory manner heralding the beginnings of Wodehouse's trademark style.

Not a masterpiece by any stretch, but entertaining and fun. I have to say though, parenting in some quarters appears to be very lack-luster. Many of the boys go from boarding at the school to a military-style camp for the summer, then back to school again. Yikes! Different times and different morals I suppose. Anyway, a fun book and enjoyable to read.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kay’s is the worst house at Eccleston public school, mostly because of Mr Kay, whose constant ridiculous criticisms drive Fenn, House Captain, so crazy that he behaves in a way that results in his demotion. Enter the new Head of Kay’s, Kennedy, sent to the house with a mission to buck it up. Will he succeed, and will his friendship with Fenn survive?

As ever, Wodehouse in this school story creates an attractive group of characters in the senior boys who have to run the school and who are decent without being overly pious. The early readers who encountered them in The Captain must have wanted to befriend them, and I’m giving this one extra star for reminiscence of how much I enjoyed this when I first read it as a teenager. Today I can see the effect of the serial publication on the plot, which has at least one major crisis that deflates instead of leading to resolution. Jimmy Silver, given to rhetorical exuberance while concerned for his friends’ welfare in the ghastly Kay’s, gives a hint of where Wodehouse is going to go as a writer, and in general this is a charming read.

[S. Suresh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eckleton. That’s the public school where the adventures of the unruly bunch belonging to the house of Kay’s unfold. The Head of Kay’s is an early Wodehouse novel, published in 1905. When Kennedy is tasked with bringing order to Kay’s as its head, things start taking a turn for the better in the most rambunctious house in Eckleton.

Laced with hints of Wodehouse’s classic humor, this turned out to be more fun than I expected from an early work by the maestro. Take this for example: “Nobody knows for certain the feelings of the camel when his proprietor placed that last straw on his back. The incident happened so long ago. If it had occurred in modern times, he would probably have contributed a first-hand report to the Daily Mail.” Who can resist chuckling when reading that paragraph?

Thanks again to Project Gutenberg, I am one single step away in my quest to read every published novel of Wodehouse. When I read his very first novel, The Pothunters, I would’ve achieved that goal.

[Vibhuti Bhandarkar · Rating 3 out of 5]

What with Cricket craze having taken India by the sweep, I've picked up this book.

P.G. Wodehouse's " The Head of Kay's" is one of his earliest books. And I can clearly see the illustrious style of storytelling that evolved later with the Wooster & Jeeves series, or the stories of Blandings Castle is definitely missing here. Also, was this meant for young readers?
For a die-hard Wodehousian, this book might come as a shock.
I sorely missed the rib-tickling sense of humor and his signature loquacious style of writing. Although, I must confess, this is my first book on Cricket in ages, and I'm quite enjoying the hit of nostalgia. Reading ball by ball descriptions of a match took me back to my gully-cricket days, metaphorically speaking.
Also, for the writer in me, this is good proof that only through a lot of lesser books can an author reach the high rung of quality publishing.
Till then, keep reading and keep writing >>> Note to self!!!

[Ric Cheyney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very quick and easy, enjoyable read in a nostalgic vein. This was my first Wodehouse, one of his earliest. He has a reputation as an elegant humorist, so I was expecting a more crafted piece of work, but for the first half it was quite dull, uncrafted expression. As the second half progressed, however, I did encounter some clever, witty, elegant phrases that perhaps show him just getting into his stride and beginning to find a more refined style. I still enjoyed the story even when it was fairly blunt and direct in its phrasing, and there was a moment of conciliation in one chapter that I found very pleasing and heartwarming, exactly what I was looking for in a book of this nature.
I certainly intend to sample some of his other school stories, but I will avoid the Jeeves/Wooster material as I fear it reflects a millieu that has no appeal for me.

[Shannon Cooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty standard, by-the-book example of turn-of-the-century school fiction. The characters are clearly drawn, and we can easily pick out our protagonists from our antagonists. The former are all athletic stars who maintain respect by being willing to beat up anyone who disagrees. The latter are low, underhanded dogs who don’t respect the protagonists... and I’m not sure quite why else.

But this is not the sort of story for thinking about too much. The adventures of these school boys as they navigate dormitory life and summer camp is fun to follow. And if their methods are far different than one would observe in a school today, it’s a fascinating glimpse into the history of the educational system.

[Gláucia Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Publicado em 1905 é o quinto volume da série "School Stories" e não é muito diferente dos demais: o cenário é uma escola pública inglesa e já estou habituada a toda a hierqrquia que guia as casas dentro dessas instituições, a importância dos esportes, as traquinagens, picuinhas, etc.
P.G. ainda nos primórdios.



Histórico de leitura
18/08/2020

"When we get licked tomorrow by half-a-dozen wickets, said Jimmy Silver, tilting his chair until the back touched the wall, don't say I didin't warn you."

[Brian G · Rating 4 out of 5]

PG Wodehouse is really finding his form in this.
Again set in school and centred around sport Cricket, rugby and Athletics all feature heavily. but this novel has a good plot behind it. A large complicated you come to expect from a blandings novel
It follows 2 boys who become head boy of Kay's House and there attempts to keep order. Throw in a burglary and a late night escapade and this short novel zips along
Pure Joy If you like English sports

[Samyuktha jayaprakash · Rating 5 out of 5]

First school based book of wodehouse I am reading. While I have read a lot of all girls school book this is the first all boys book I've read and it was fun! :D it felt like I could finally connect to a boy's brain :P Cricket , football , sports , breaking the rules , headmasters and jam - this books makes me yearn for the boarding school I never attended 💓

[Keshav Prasad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good school story

Read everything by Wodehouse. His early efforts are really good public school stories. Explanations of the more esoteric practices among English public schools a century ago are delivered in so smooth a manner that there is very little in terms of overt exposition that one can recognize. A good read.

[Drinkinwookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not the place to start with Wodehouse. It was written in his early twenties and is clearly apprentice work. Still- it's an enjoyable read. I happen to have read a book written only a year prior, The Gold(en?) Bat, and this one seems better by leaps and bounds. Wodehouse seems to have already begun aggressively refining his craft.

[Amrith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The master, much like the early part of the innings of an aggregator of great scores, keeps things mostly subtly, unfussy-ly ticking along, with a touch of a flourish here and there, showing flashes of what is to come.

[Knut Sigurd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tung start med mykje sport, og avslutninga var no BERRE sport, men innimellom der var det ein del moro. Skal ikkje seie at eg kjem til å greie å skilje denne frå The Gold Bat og Tales of St. Austin's om tre-fire månader, men det var gøy og hyggeleg medan det stod på.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining listening 🔰😀

Another will written British school story adventure novel by P. G. Wodehouse with lots of cricket and soccer ⚽ play. This novel is not my style but you may enjoy. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or 🎶 listening to books 📚2021🏰👑

[Chet Makoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Head of Kay's is a novel by English author P. G. Wodehouse. The novel was published on 5 October 1905 by A & C Black. The Head of Kay's was first published as a serial in The Captain from October 1904 to March 1905. Wikipedia

[Olly Colluphid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wodehouse definitely in his stride by this one. Not (naturally) as good as his very best but smooth well written prose. The characters are what you'd expect from a school story, the plot entirely predictable, but an enjoyable easy read.

[Savannah Marks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for my thesis. A very meh book with some interesting moments. I just reallyyyy don't care for sports, which this book was full of. The other Wodehouse school story "Mike" was funnier and a better read in general.

[Priyanka Vavilikolanu · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book about the (mis)adventures of a group of boys in a posh boarding school. Wodehouse's style is clearly a work in progress here, so the jokes hit at a much lower rate. The rotating carousel of protagonists with little to distinguish between them also doesn't help.