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Wodehouse
Accessible and affordable illustrated biography
- GenresNonfictionBiography
148 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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November 14, 2009Good short biography of Wodehouse.
March 4, 2015
An excellent short biography, enhanced by copious photographs. Good for the uninitiated, and a useful aid to the reading of the oeuvre.
January 16, 2018
"Just writing one book after another, that's my life," explained PG Wodehouse. But they were wonderful books. Wodehouse was one of the most popular humorists of the 20th century. He was prolific to say the least, publishing almost 100 books, as well as short stories and collaborations on musicals with none less than Jerome Kern. Perhaps his best known series is Jeeves and Wooster. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading them, you might have seen the BBC series starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.
Though hardly interested in politics, Wodehouse managed to become a center of controversy at least twice in his life: Once when he naively told a reporter that MGM was overpaying him for doing very little at all, and once, much more seriously, when, as a civilian prisoner of war, he broadcast from behind German lines. Never mind that the broadcast was innocent and, predictably, void of political content: English memories of Lord Haw Haw and the general emotional and militant atmosphere of World War II lent themselves to a universal intolerance of anyone who even seemed to be obliging toward the enemy. Wodehouse's unique and easygoing reaction to being held prisoner, moved around from prison to prison, and forced to subsist on a diet of bread, water and debatable "soup" gives us some insight into his lighthearted and imperturbable approach to even the most difficult circumstances:
"I'm bound to say the whole thing puzzles me a bit, too. Why Germany should think it worth while to round up and corral a bunch of spavined old deadbeats like myself and the rest of us is beyond me to imagine. Silly horseplay is the way I look at it."
Exiled to America after the war, Wodehouse continued his remarkable output, often working on more than one writing project at a time. Though knighted in 1975, he never returned to England, feeling himself too old to make the journey by the time it was legally safe to do so. He continued to depict an idealized Edwardian society throughout his career.
Michael Connolly, a humorist himself, captures the spirit and at times even the tone of Wodehouse's writing, managing, to borrow a phrase from the biography, to "jolly along spiffingly." I think Bertie Wooster would have approved.
Though hardly interested in politics, Wodehouse managed to become a center of controversy at least twice in his life: Once when he naively told a reporter that MGM was overpaying him for doing very little at all, and once, much more seriously, when, as a civilian prisoner of war, he broadcast from behind German lines. Never mind that the broadcast was innocent and, predictably, void of political content: English memories of Lord Haw Haw and the general emotional and militant atmosphere of World War II lent themselves to a universal intolerance of anyone who even seemed to be obliging toward the enemy. Wodehouse's unique and easygoing reaction to being held prisoner, moved around from prison to prison, and forced to subsist on a diet of bread, water and debatable "soup" gives us some insight into his lighthearted and imperturbable approach to even the most difficult circumstances:
"I'm bound to say the whole thing puzzles me a bit, too. Why Germany should think it worth while to round up and corral a bunch of spavined old deadbeats like myself and the rest of us is beyond me to imagine. Silly horseplay is the way I look at it."
Exiled to America after the war, Wodehouse continued his remarkable output, often working on more than one writing project at a time. Though knighted in 1975, he never returned to England, feeling himself too old to make the journey by the time it was legally safe to do so. He continued to depict an idealized Edwardian society throughout his career.
Michael Connolly, a humorist himself, captures the spirit and at times even the tone of Wodehouse's writing, managing, to borrow a phrase from the biography, to "jolly along spiffingly." I think Bertie Wooster would have approved.
November 22, 2021
Perhaps because I read this hard on the heels of Robert McCrum's excellent book or it could have been due to the style the author adopted, but I found this book to be quite average. There are plenty of photos and a tremendous bibliography of all P.G. Wodehouse's published works, but the content was lacking and presented in a manner which appeared to be imitating Wodehouse's form, while actually doing anything but.
True, there are lots of details in here about the author's life, but some I found questionable when compared to other works. There was plenty of sarcasm and flippant remarks which work well in fiction, or perhaps in a verbal account, but on the page I found them distracting, rather than informing. This read more to me like a children's or young adult's book (And perhaps that was the intended audience), but if you are looking for a scholarly look at the creator of the finest comic fiction, perhaps ever, keep searching (EG: Wodehouse, by Robert McCrum). If you are looking instead for something you can toss off in an afternoon, here it is.
True, there are lots of details in here about the author's life, but some I found questionable when compared to other works. There was plenty of sarcasm and flippant remarks which work well in fiction, or perhaps in a verbal account, but on the page I found them distracting, rather than informing. This read more to me like a children's or young adult's book (And perhaps that was the intended audience), but if you are looking for a scholarly look at the creator of the finest comic fiction, perhaps ever, keep searching (EG: Wodehouse, by Robert McCrum). If you are looking instead for something you can toss off in an afternoon, here it is.
March 1, 2020
A light and breezy biography with plenty of black-and-white photos (not all of which are of any great relevance to the text). There’s not much substance here but it’s a decent enough introduction. Contains a complete Wodehouse bibliography with notes for collectors.
December 9, 2019
A most enjoyable and well-illustrated biography of Pelham Grenville Wodehouse. Connolly even captures the Wodehouse humor in his own writing at times. Gonna go read me some Lord Emsworth now!
September 16, 2021
A charming biography done in the style of the master. The approach could have backfired in less talented hands but is nicely balanced between information and adulation.
October 3, 2021
At times, his narration sounds almost like Wodehouse himself. A delight to read.
April 16, 2016
*3.5 stars.
"P.G., though, was no laurel rest-uponer" (26).
“The Mark Twain medal...given to P.G. in 1936 in recognition of his ‘outstanding and lasting contribution to the happiness of the world’” (82). *What an honor. Or honour, considering he's British.
“Within the cell, in addition to the bed, there was a tap, a latrine, and a chair chained to the wall, though where a prisoner might have been disposed to take the thing, God knows” (84). *Indeed.
*I love this photo caption: “Sir Ralph Richardson as Lord Emsworth with Jack Radcliffe as McAllister and some unidentified sow as the Empress” (121).
“He saw out the sixties by writing books and seeing to the P.G. Wodehouse Center which he had set up on Long Island--a sanctuary for dogs and cats, financed by himself. Next to Life, he loved animals” (127). *Makes me like him all the more.
"P.G., though, was no laurel rest-uponer" (26).
“The Mark Twain medal...given to P.G. in 1936 in recognition of his ‘outstanding and lasting contribution to the happiness of the world’” (82). *What an honor. Or honour, considering he's British.
“Within the cell, in addition to the bed, there was a tap, a latrine, and a chair chained to the wall, though where a prisoner might have been disposed to take the thing, God knows” (84). *Indeed.
*I love this photo caption: “Sir Ralph Richardson as Lord Emsworth with Jack Radcliffe as McAllister and some unidentified sow as the Empress” (121).
“He saw out the sixties by writing books and seeing to the P.G. Wodehouse Center which he had set up on Long Island--a sanctuary for dogs and cats, financed by himself. Next to Life, he loved animals” (127). *Makes me like him all the more.
July 31, 2015
Another in the Thames and Hudson Literary Lives series. Hugely enjoyable, partly because the author lapses into Wodehousian style on occasion. Deals with his whole career and life, including a section on televised adaptations of the books, which naturally does not include the 1990s adaptation. If nothing else, it will inspire you to read the books - again!
September 17, 2015
Interesting insight on one of my favorite writers.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews