阅读P·G·伍德豪斯 P. G. Wodehouse在小说之家的作品!!! | |||
作为公认的英文散文大家，伍德豪斯受到很多与他同时代的和后来的现代作家的钦佩，前者如海莱尔·贝洛克 、伊夫林·沃 ，以及吉卜林，后者如道格拉斯·亚当斯 ，萨尔曼·鲁西迪 以及特里·普拉切特 。肖恩·奥凯西 形象地称伍德豪斯是“英国文学表演的跳蚤市场”（English literature's performing flea），伍德豪斯在写给朋友Bill Townend的一系列信中，以此作为标题。
除了最负盛名的《Jeeves》系列和《布兰丁斯城堡》系列小说及短篇小说外，伍德豪斯当过编剧，参与创作了15部剧本，还给三十几个歌舞喜剧片写过250首歌词。比如1934年，他与科尔·波特合作过歌舞剧《双圆争辉》 。作曲家杰罗姆·克恩 、盖伊·博尔顿也常与他合作，例如他给杰罗姆·克恩的《画航璇宫》 （1927）中的热门歌曲《Bill》写了歌词，给格什温 与龙伯格 的歌舞剧《罗莎莉》（1928）作词，与鲁道夫·弗里姆尔 合写了改编自《三个火枪手》的歌舞剧。（1928年）。
早期生活
佩勒姆·伍德豪斯，亲朋好友都叫他“梅子”（把Pelham 快点念，很容易读成Plum），他母亲埃莉诺（Eleanor）还在格德郡串门时，他就提前出世了。他父亲亨利（1845年－1929年）是驻香港的英国法官。几个世纪以前，伍德豪斯家族就开始世世代代住在诺福克郡。伍德豪斯的名字 Pelham ，是继承他祖父老佩勒姆的。
三岁时，伍德豪斯就被带回英格兰，由奶妈抚养。15岁以前，他辗转于多个寄宿学校，跟父母相处的日子加起来不到六个月。他跟他哥哥阿米恩（Armine）十分亲近，二人都热爱艺术，时常交换心得。伍德豪斯用不间断地写作来填补生活的空虚。学校放假时，他大多数时间是跟他这个或那个姑妈在一起，所以很可能他对“一群叽叽喳喳的姑妈”的恐惧，是从这里开始的，反映在小说里是Bertie Wooster吓人的姑妈Agatha和姑妈Dahlia，是《布兰丁斯城堡》中对侄子侄女特别严厉的康斯坦斯·基伯夫人。
伍德豪斯中学就读于伦敦市郊的达利奇学院（Dulwich College），一所著名的私立寄宿男校，后来这所学校的图书馆也以他的名字命名。在达利奇的生活很得意，他既是出色的学生，在体育方面也有特长。他是古典文学六级成员（只有最杰出的学生才有资格加入），任学生会长，负责编辑校刊《The Alleynian》，多次在音乐剧和舞台剧上当男主角，参加了第十一届板球比赛，和第十五届英式橄榄球比赛，给学校争了光，他还代表学院参加拳击比赛（后来因为视力不好没去成），代表小组参加田径项目。
伍德豪斯的哥哥阿米恩（Armine），获得牛津大学的古典文学奖学金（后来毕业拿到一等学位）。佩勒姆本来计划像他哥哥一样上牛津，但由于印度卢比贬值，他爸爸的工资缩水，迫使他放弃这个想法。爸爸给他在“香港上海银行”（就是现在的汇丰银行）找了份工作，在伦敦干了两年以后，他被派往海外支行。但是，伍德豪斯对银行的差事丝毫不感兴趣，也知道自己不是那块料。在银行上班的时候，他就利用空余时间来写作。1902年，成为《环球》（如今停刊了）的记者，后来刚好有个朋友离任，伍德豪斯就接管了他的幽默小品专栏。他定期给《潘趣》杂志投稿，还给男生看的杂志《队长》、《公学》写故事，这些文章后来结集出版，成为他第一本小说集。1909年，他在格林威治时，卖给《大都会》和《科利尔》杂志两部短篇小说，赚了500美元，比他以前赚的多。于是他辞掉《环球》的工作，留在纽约，他定期给创刊不久的《名利场》杂志撰稿（用的是许多不同的笔名）。但钱还是不够花，1915年，还没等《星期六晚邮报》连载他的《Something New》，他就迎来了“首次破产”。在这前后，他开始与盖伊·博尔顿，杰罗姆·克恩合作（最后达到18部）歌舞喜剧片。
三十年代，他在好莱坞当过两次短期的编剧，自称待遇不菲。 他也有许多小说也在《星期六晚邮报》和《海滨》等杂志上连载，稿费也不少。
1914年，伍德豪斯娶了Ethel Wayman为妻，妻子带过来一个女儿Leonora。伍德豪斯没有亲生的孩子。可能是因为他青春期的时候得了腮腺炎，导致他不能生育。
远离英国的日子
虽然伍德豪斯和他的小说都公认为属于典型的的英国风格，但1914年以后，他就在英国和美国两头跑。1934年，在英美两国对他作品双重课税的压力下，他选择定居法国。他也对政治和国际局势极其冷淡。1939年二战爆发，他仍留在法国的勒图凯（Le Touquet）海边的家里，没有回到英国，显然他没有认识到国际冲突的严重。随后他在1940年，被德国监禁，拘留了一年，起初在比利时，后来转往上西里西亚（现在波兰境内）的Tost（即现在的托谢克，Toszek）。他曾说，“如果上西里西亚都这样，很难想象下西里西亚该是什么地步。”
在托斯特，为了活跃气氛，他常给狱友们讲幽默段子。出狱以后，在他还有几个月就要过六十岁生日的时候，纳粹怂恿他以狱中的幽默段子为基础写了一系列广播剧，听众对象是美国。伍德豪斯认为自己在监禁期间还能保持乐观顽强，这一点很值得钦佩。然而，战时的英国，人们没有开玩笑的闲情逸致，而且这个广播让他遭受许多非难，人们指责他站在纳粹这边，出卖祖国。有的图书馆甚至取缔了他的书。批评他最严重的人是A.A.米尔恩，《维尼熊》的作者。作为反击，伍德豪斯以荒诞人物Timothy Bobbin作为主角，写了一系列打油诗，戏仿了米尔恩写的儿童幽默诗歌。伍德豪斯的维护者中有伊夫林·沃和乔治·奥威尔。英国安全局军情5局的一项调查支持奥威尔的观点，即伍德豪斯人是幼稚可笑，但决不是叛国贼。1980年代解密的文件显示，在巴黎居住期间，纳粹支付了伍德豪斯生活费。但1999年，军情5局根据英国公共档案馆的档案资料，证明他是清白的。
种种批评迫使伍德豪斯和夫人搬去纽约，永久定居下来。伍德豪斯被德国监禁期间，Leonora去世了，除了Leonora，他们没有第二个孩子了。1955年，他成为美国公民，再没回到祖国，在纽约长岛的Remsenburg度过余生。
晚年
在他93岁去世前不久，被封为得（第二等）高级英帝国勋爵士。之所以这么晚才得到勋位，是因为受“德国广播事件”的牵连。在接受BBC采访时他说，自己已经得到爵位，又在杜莎夫人蜡像馆里有自己的蜡像，他已经别无所求了。考虑到健康状况，医生建议他不要去伦敦，勋位是他妻子后来向英国领事代领的。
2000年，为了纪念伍德豪斯，以他的名字命名的“波灵格大众伍德豪斯奖”（Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize）成立了，该奖每年颁发给英国最佳幽默作品。
创作态度
伍德豪斯对自己的作品很谦虚，1957年，在《年过七十》（Over Seventy）中，他自云： “我从事所谓的轻文学，干这一行的人，有时被称为幽默家，常为知识分子所不齿。”
文学品位及影响
在一篇文章里，伍德豪斯提到了几个当代他十分敬重的幽默家。其中包括弗兰克·沙利文 ，A. P.赫伯特 ，和亚历克斯·阿特金森 ，伍德豪斯在《年过七十》中，曾为后者健康的每况愈下感到惋惜，“我希望在每个街角看到一个A. P.赫伯特，在每个小酒馆看到一个亚历克斯·阿特金森。”他在《圣奥斯丁故事集》 中讽刺了现代文学批评。《汤姆·布朗问题》（The Tom Brown Question）戏仿了分析荷马的学者，《注解》（Notes）批评了古典文学和英国文学评论家，并且出人意外地详谈了布朗宁的意义。在《作品》（Work）中，伍德豪斯称维吉尔“生硬”，“假大空”，相反，埃斯库罗斯是“调皮鬼”。莎士比亚和丁尼生对他影响很大，在拘留期间他随身携带的正是他们的书。伍德豪斯似乎对传统的英国惊悚小说也很感兴趣，1960年代加文·莱尔 和乔治·麦克唐纳·弗雷泽 的小说一出版，他就击节称赞。后来，他爱看纳欧·马什 和雷克斯。史陶特 写的推理小说，爱看电视剧《The Edge of Night》，乐此不疲。
笔下人物
伍德豪斯笔下的人物，并不是一开始就受人欢迎，尤其是缺心眼儿的纨绔子弟Bertie Wooster。英国公共档案馆的资料透露，1967年，伍德豪斯获得名誉勋位 ，驻华盛顿的英国大使Patrick Dean爵士则认为，“伍德豪斯笔下的Bertie Wooster这种人，正是我们英国人要竭力根除的。”
伍德豪斯笔下的人物常常是怪胎，有些特殊的恋物情结，比如Emsworth勋爵迷恋猪，Gussie Fink-Nottle迷恋蝾螈，Archibald Mulliner迷恋袜子。缺心眼儿的主人公，善良温厚，与世无争，本来好心替朋友出主意，但无一例外地把事情搞得更糟。
然而，伍德豪斯笔下的贵族，许多都扮演“丑角”。他笔下经典的纨绔子弟往往是怪人，总使自己陷入麻烦的境地。
亲戚，尤其是姑妈和叔叔，通常被夸张地描绘成掌握婚姻和经济大权的角色，或者至少作为让生活充满苦难的存在。他的小说里，朋友往往不是逆境中的安慰，而是麻烦的渊薮。主人公劳其筋骨饿其体肤，只为换得朋友一笑。故事中的坏人（尤其是情敌）常常很可怕，幸好在最后大团圆式的结尾，他们都会得到应有的惩罚。
警察和治安管的形象往往是有威胁性的，但容易受骗上当的，被他们抓了很好办，只要地临时报个假名字就好了。偷警察头盔这一动机被多次提起。
伍德豪斯回到古罗马喜剧的创作手法（例如喜剧家普劳图斯 ），使用类型角色 ，他笔下的仆人远比主人有头脑得多，尤以Jeeves最甚。Jeeves无数次把Bertie Wooster从水深火热的处境中拯救出来。同样的手法也应用在精明能干的秘书Baxter与稀里糊涂的Emsworth勋爵的关系上。
情节
虽然他的情节貌似公式化，但伍德豪斯的天才在于，成功地铺设了几条复杂交错的主线，让故事的主人公麻烦重重，最后结尾毫无例外地都是皆大欢喜。一般，主人公的亲戚或朋友遇到什么难题，强迫主人公趟这趟浑水，最后看似不可能完成的任务都漂亮地解决了。长篇的作品线索铺设得很巧妙，往往故事发展到一半时主人公身陷多重困境。杰出的例子是《The Code of the Woosters》，多数章节里，故事的最后一句发生戏剧化的转折，把主人公推向更棘手的处境。
订婚是他的小说中常见的主题，男人常常因为某种阻碍不能跟心爱的女人订婚，恰好在这时候，他不知道怎么就跟一个他不爱的女人订婚了，需要找个理由抽身，但又不能直接取消婚约（有悖绅士精神）。例如《Something Fresh》中的Freddie，他跟Peters小姐的婚事告吹，因为她跟George Emerson私奔了。女朋友把白痴的未婚夫蹬了，跟朝气蓬勃的男人跑了，本来该是件难过的事，但作者巧妙地把氛围处理得轻松愉快，Freddie对此一点也不当回事，他更感兴趣的是与令人尊敬的侦探小说家Ashe Marson见面。（《Something Fresh》中作者塑造的人物形象，单身男青年，毕业于牛津，当过家庭教师，在报纸上发表过侦探小说）
冒名顶替和随之而来的混乱在《布兰丁斯城堡》系列小说里尤为常见。
赌博也是常出现的情节，而且赌局的结果往往有人幕后操纵。
另一个显著的主题是酒，很多情节围绕主人公喝醉展开。伍德豪斯自己就好酒，这一点很清楚，他形容过种种醉态，被后人奉为经典：醉如失灵的指南针分不出东南西北，胃里翻江倒海如混凝土搅拌车，等等。此外，他还多次提到一种叫“五月皇后”的酒，借Fred叔叔之口，是这么形容它的，“任何一种品质上好的干香槟，兑上白兰地利口酒、雅马邑、茴香酒、黄色利口酒、烈性黑啤酒，就可以享用了。”故事里的人物常常借此壮胆，例如向心上人求婚。
作品
伍德豪斯著作颇丰，在他长达73年的写作生涯中（1902-1975），一共写了96本书，包括小说，短篇故事集，歌舞喜剧。短篇故事和长篇小说里，许多角色和场景是重复出现，贯穿始终的，读者就以此把他的作品分为几个“系列”。
《布兰丁斯城堡》系列
（后来伍德豪斯命名为《布兰丁斯城堡传奇》）小说虚构了居住在布兰丁斯城堡的乡村贵族的生活。主要角色有怪胎Emsworth勋爵，特别迷恋他那头得奖的猪——“布兰丁斯皇后”，一度也同样迷恋获奖的南瓜——“布兰丁斯希望之星”。
《无事忙俱乐部》系列
讲的是伦敦一家闹哄哄的俱乐部里，一群无所事事的有钱人的那点破事儿。无事忙俱乐部的故事出自Jeeves系列小说，也因为一系列短篇故事而自成一系。代表人物如俱乐部成员Freddie Widgeon 和Bingo Little，以及多次出现的小角色百万富翁Oofy Prosser。
《高尔夫球和Oldest Member》系列
故事是围绕沃德豪斯最感兴趣的事物——高尔夫球展开的，故事中的人物都把高尔夫球当作毕生追求的事业。主人公没有名字，他是高尔夫球俱乐部资格最老的成员，所以人称The Oldest Member。
《Jeeves和Wooster》系列
是以有钱而没大脑的Bertie Wooster的口吻叙述的。他和他的朋友们常把自己陷入荒谬又倒霉的困境，而他足智多谋的男仆Jeeves总有办法拯救他们于危难之际。《Jeeves和Wooster》系列，或简称《Jeeves》系列小说，是伍德豪斯最著名的作品。它的价值还在于，里面有很多二战前英语俚语。比如Bertie 常说的"What ho!", "pipped", "bally"，等等。这一点，伍德豪斯之于英国文学，与达蒙·鲁尼恩之于美国文学有类似之处。
《Mulliner先生》系列
主人公Mulliner，喜欢在酒吧里滔滔不绝地讲述他们Mulliner家族的奇谈怪事。有时听众会对他的长篇大论感到厌倦，有意思的是，听众的身份不用名字，而是用他们喝的饮料表示，例如“热苏格兰威士忌加柠檬”，或者“双份威士忌加水”。
校园系列
伍德豪斯的早期创作，相对写实。虚构了圣奥斯丁公学和Wrykyn公学。
《The Psmith》系列
主人公是个万事通，举止优雅，魅力非凡。最后一部Psmith小说《交给Psmith》中，《布兰丁斯城堡》故事有交叉——Psmith住在布兰丁斯城堡，为Emsworth勋爵工作，还和Emsworth的次子Freddie Threepwood交了朋友。Psmith这个人物首次出场，是在校园系列小说《Mike》中。
《The Ukridge》系列
主人公Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge是一个有魅力但没有原则的人，总是想法设法骗朋友的钱花。
《Fred叔叔》系列
主人公是一个古怪的伯爵，住在Ickenham，总想法设法逃脱妻子的控制，妻子一不在旁边，他就闹腾得天翻地覆，而自己觉得这样“轻松甜蜜”。顽皮大胆，喜欢恶作剧，比如经常乔装打扮成别人。他的这些故事由侄子和朋友Reginald "Pongo" Twistleton的视角展开的，他在布兰丁斯城堡中也表演过他的“乔装戏”。
作品改编
和他数量颇丰的著作相比，根据他原著改编的作品却为数不多。他不愿意看到别人把Jeeves系列拿去改编：
“像Jeeves这样的博学多才的人，过人之处就在于他最起码的人格不允许自己为了金钱而出卖艺术。这些年来，有人要我为了商业利益，把他出卖给剧院老板，电影巨头，喜剧制片人，甚至一家美国报纸的编辑打算用他的形象来搞连环画。尽管合同很有诱惑力，但只要听到Jeeves暗示反对的咳嗽声，和他低声说“我并不赞同，先生。”我就良心发现了。Jeeves知道自己的位置，只在书的封面和封底之间。”（1967，摘自《Jeeves的世界》全集中的引言）
就算由他自己把作品改编成电影，他也不感兴趣。1930年，米高梅电影制片公司把他聘请来，却很少用到他：“他们每星期付给我2000美金……却找不到事让我干。”后来1937年，他回到米高梅，创作电影剧本《罗莎莉》，每星期拿2500美元的报酬，舒舒服服地住在好莱坞，但即便这样，他还说“我对这样的生活并不满意，我不喜欢搞电影这套东西。”
然而，他跟伊恩·海伊（Ian Hay）合作很愉快，1928年，海伊把伍德豪斯的《困苦中的年轻女人》（A Damsel in Distress）改编成舞台剧，由海伊，伍德豪斯和A.A.米尔恩共同投资制作。伍德豪斯和海伊一起去苏格兰度假，发现彼此有很多共同爱好。1929年，伍德豪斯继续于海伊合作，把海伊的小说《咩咩小黑羊》搬上舞台，1930年，二人又合写了剧本《交给Psmith》。
1937年，由伍德豪斯编剧的歌舞片《困苦中的年轻女人》上映，弗雷德·阿斯泰尔 ，乔治·伯恩斯 ，格雷西·艾伦 ，和琼·芳登 主演，格什温兄弟创作词曲。1962年，改编电影《The Girl On The Boat》，由诺曼·温斯顿，米利森特·马丁，以及理查德·布赖尔斯主演。
布兰丁斯城堡系列和Jeeves系列小说都被BBC改编过电视剧：Jeeves系列被改编过两次，一次是在1960年代的电视剧《Wooster的世界》，由伊恩·卡迈克尔扮演Bertie Wooster，Dennis Price 扮演Jeeves；第二次是在1990年代的电视剧《万能管家》（Jeeves and Wooster），休·劳瑞扮演Bertie Wooster，史蒂芬·弗莱扮演Jeeves。另外，戴维·尼文 和阿瑟·特雷彻也分别演过Bertie和 Jeeves，在1930年代的短篇电影《谢谢，Jeeves》，对原著改动很大的。续集《加把劲儿，Jeeves》在没有Bertie 的情况下，特雷彻单独演了Jeeves。
1975年，安德鲁·劳埃德·韦伯 创作了一处出音乐剧，原名叫《Jeeves》，1996年，重新修改后的剧本更名为《By Jeeves》，大受欢迎，后来在百老汇上演，演出还录制了电影版，电视台也放映过。
1995年，BBC拍了电影《Heavy Weather》，彼德·奥图 饰演Emsworth勋爵，理查德·布赖尔斯，（之前演过《The Girl On The Boat》）饰演Emsworth的哥哥Galahad Threepwood。
1936年，《Piccadilly Jim》首次拍成电影，由罗伯特·蒙哥马利 主演。2004年，Julian Fellowes写了另一个版本的剧本，由Sam Rockwell主演，不过电影并不成功。
1975年，BBC播出了一部题为《伍德豪斯剧场》的电视剧，该剧主要根据是“Mulliner”系列故事拍的，主演是John Alderton 和Pauline Collins。第一集是伍德豪斯亲自介绍的，想来很不同寻常，那时他93岁高龄了，就在电视剧播放的当年他去世了。 由Dudley Moore 和 John Gielgud主演的《亚瑟》及其续集《亚瑟2：On the Rocks》，也是根据“Bertie和Jeeves”系列中的人物改编的，虽然没有正式承认，但电影中的很多台词和情节，包括跟订婚有关的情节，都直接受伍德豪斯人物的影响。
想知道更多世界范围内受伍德豪斯影响的电影电视作品，可参考Brian Taves写的人物史《伍德豪斯于好莱坞：编剧，讽刺与改编》（P.G. Wodehouse and Hollywood: Screenwriting, Satires, and Adaptations）McFarland, 2006。
注释
^ 海莱尔·贝洛克 Hilaire Belloc(1870~1953)，20世纪早期的最多产的英国诗人、史学家和散文作家。1894年入牛津大学，以优异成绩毕业。早期作品有：《韵文和14行诗》（Verses and Sonnets, 1895）、《坏孩子的动物故事书》（The Bad Child's Book of Beasts）。对政治有很多一针见血又幽默讽刺的评论。
^ 伊夫林·沃 Evelyn Waugh（1903-1966）英国作家。著有《重返布莱兹海德庄园》，《一把尘土》，《荣誉之剑》，《邪恶的躯体》等。
^ 道格拉斯·亚当斯 Douglas Adams（1952—2001）英国著名的科幻小说作家，也是幽默讽刺文学的代表人物、第一个成功结合喜剧和科幻的作家。不过，他并不把自己定位为科幻作家，而是喜剧作家，只是把科幻当成喜剧的一种表现方式。同时他也是一位广播剧作家和音乐家。他尤其以《银河系漫游指南》系列作品出名。这部作品以广播剧起家，后来发展成包括五本书的“三部曲”，拍成电视连续剧。亚当斯逝世后还拍成电影。
^ 萨尔曼·鲁西迪爵士 Sir Salman Rushdie（1947年6月19日－），又译为萨尔曼·拉什迪，生于孟买，十四岁移居英国读书。其作品风格往往被归类为魔幻写实主义，作品显示出东西方文化的双重影响。作品《午夜之子》获得1981年布克奖，内容充满丰富的想像。《撒旦诗篇》（The Satanic Verse'，或译《魔鬼诗篇》）因为责骂伊斯兰教的不公平，而遭伊朗精神领袖赛义德·鲁霍拉·霍梅尼下达追杀令。
^ 特里·普拉切特 Terry Pratchett (1948-)，英国著名幻想小说家，有“幻想小说家超级巨星”之称。特里·普拉切特是当代最著名的幽默奇幻作家，同时也是英语文坛最具影响力的讽刺作家之一。被人誉为“笔锋犀利、擅于讽刺的J·R·R·托尔金”。深受读者推崇的“碟形世界”系列奇幻小说是普拉切特的代表作品，为他赢得了世界声誉。该系列从1983年《魔法的颜色》问世算起，到2006年，共出版了36部长篇小说，其中多部被改编成了漫画、动画、舞台剧、电视剧、广播剧、桌面游戏和电脑游戏等。
^ 肖恩·奥凯西 Sean O'Casey（1880～1964）爱尔兰剧作家。著有《都柏林三部曲》。1918年开始写剧本，成为和J.M.辛格前后辉映的两大爱尔兰剧作家之一。奥凯西被称为“一个来自工人阶级的粗犷的天才”，最优秀的爱尔兰剧作家之一。他的早期剧作，以都柏林为背景的三部曲，被认为是他的杰作。 道格拉斯·亚当斯 Douglas Adams（1952—2001）英国著名的科幻小说作家，也是幽默讽刺文学的代表人物、第一个成功结合喜剧和科幻的作家。不过，他并不把自己定位为科幻作家，而是喜剧作家，只是把科幻当成喜剧的一种表现方式。同时他也是一位广播剧作家和音乐家。他尤其以《银河系漫游指南》系列作品出名。这部作品以广播剧起家，后来发展成包括五本书的“三部曲”，拍成电视连续剧。亚当斯逝世后还拍成电影。
^ 《双圆争辉》，《Anything Goes》，又译《随心所欲》。
^ 杰罗姆·克恩Kern, Jerome。（1885- 1945）。美国作曲家。师从保罗·加利科。1904年写成第一首成名歌曲。作品有流行音乐喜剧多部，包括《哦，孩子》（Oh,Boy）(1917)；《萨利》（Sally）（1920）、《阳光明媚》（Sunny）(1925)；《演艺船》（Show Boat）(1927)；《空中音乐》（Music in the Air）（1932）和《罗贝塔》（Roberta）（1933）。由保罗·罗伯逊（Paul Robeson）首次演唱的《老人河》（Ol'Man River）以及《不由得不爱我那汉子》（Can't help Loving that Man of Mine）都是《演艺船》中的插曲。还作有《烟尘进入你的眼中》等流行曲调，有几首是电影插曲。
^ 《画航璇宫》，《Show Boat》，又译《演艺船》。
^ 乔治·格什温Gershwin, George（1898-- 1937）美国作曲家、钢琴家。代表作《蓝色狂想曲》（Rhapsody in Blue）。为音乐喜剧和电影创作歌曲[其中不少歌词出自他哥哥艾拉（Ira）即伊斯雷尔（Israel）的手笔]，而且也写大型作品。继1925年的钢琴协奏曲之后，《一个美国人在巴黎》（An American in Paris）、又一首《狂想曲》（Rhapsody）、《古巴序曲》（Cuban Overture）等作品接踵而至；1935年写成的《波吉与贝丝》（Porgy and Bess）至今仍是美国作曲家的歌剧中惟一能在保留剧目中立于不败之地的作品。格什温的旋律才华是不同凡响的。他的歌曲中蕴藏着20世纪20年代纽约的精髓。
^ 西格蒙德·龙伯格Romberg, Sigmund。（1887年生于匈牙利的塞格德；1951年卒于纽约）。匈牙利出生的作曲家。在维也纳师从霍伊贝格（Heuberger）。1913年定居纽约，成为美国公民。曾连续写出一系列的通俗轻歌剧，其中包括《五月时光》（Maytime,1917）、《开花时节》（Blossom Time）（根据舒伯特的旋律写成，1921）、《学生王子》（The Student Prince）（1924）、《沙漠情歌》（The Desert Song）（1926）、《新月》（New Moon）（1928）、以及《在中央公园》（Up in Central Park）（1945）。
^ 鲁道夫·弗里姆尔Friml, Rudolph。（1879年生于布拉格；1972年卒于好莱坞）。捷克作曲家。1906年定居美国。1901年以钢琴家身份初次访问美国，与扬·库贝利克（Jan Kubelik）同行。曾与纽约交响乐团合作演奏自己的钢琴协奏曲。作品有钢琴曲和室内乐。主要因其通俗国歌剧而扬名于世：《萤火虫》（The Firefly）（1912年）；《卡金卡》（Katinka）(1916)；《罗斯·玛丽》（Rose Marie）（1924年）；《流浪国王》（The Vagabond King）（1925年）。他的通俗歌曲《驴之小夜曲》(Donkey Serenade)1937年当《萤火虫》拍成电影时，是加进电影的。
^ 弗兰克·沙利文Frank Sullivan(1892-1976)美国记者，幽默家。
^ A. P.赫伯特爵士Sir Alan Patrick Herbert（1890-1971）英国幽默家，小说家，国会议员，律师。毕业于牛津，作国会议员时，主张废除娱乐税，改革离婚法和淫秽审查制度。
^ 亚历克斯·阿特金森Alex Atkinson (1916-1962)英国记者，小说家，编剧，代表作是1958年与插画家Ronald Searle合作的《The Big City or the New Mayhew》，登载在《潘趣》杂志。
^ 《圣奥斯丁故事集》《Tales of St. Austin’s》伍德豪斯的短篇小说和随笔集。1903年于伦敦首次发行，收录了先前发表在《队长》、《公学》等杂志上的文章。
^ 加文·莱尔Gavin Lyall，英国推理小说家，著有《射击脚本》Shooting Script (1966)。
^ 乔治·麦克唐纳·弗雷泽George MacDonald Fraser（1926～2008）英国畅销书作家。生于卡莱尔，18岁加入边境团，参加过二战。退伍后进入新闻业，在《格拉斯哥先驱报》报社工作，后升至副总编辑，一度担任总编辑。他撰写的电影剧本包括1973年的《三个火枪手》和10多年后007系列中的《八爪女》。他创作的12本弗拉什曼系列丛书虚构了维多利亚式花花公子哈里·弗拉什曼的冒险生涯；该系列丛书在十几岁的男孩当中很流行。弗雷泽2006年曾说，这些书能取得成功不足为奇，“人们喜欢无赖、小混混”；但批评人士认为，这些书种族色彩太浓。弗雷泽1999年在英国女王生辰日被授予英帝国军官勋章。弗雷泽是位非常谦和、低调的人，除了授勋那次，他很少出现在公开场合。
^ 纳欧·马什Ngaio Marsh（1895-1982）谋杀小说女王。新西兰人，早岁当过演员，晚年在新西兰戏剧界还很活跃，小说也多涉笔演艺，笔下著名人物是总探长 Roderick Alleyn，一九三四年到一九四七年的名著是《一个死了的男人》（A Man Lay Dead）、《Vintage Murder》、《Surfeit of Lampreys》、《羊毛袋》（Died in the Wool）和《Final Curtain》。英国皇室给她封了爵位。
^ 雷克斯。史陶特Rex Stout（1886-1975）美籍作家，创造出推理史上响当当的大侦探尼罗·伍尔富（Nero Wolfe），与贾德纳（Erle Stanley Gardner）笔下创造的派瑞.梅森（Perry Mason）并称“安乐椅神探”。
^ 名誉勋位（Order of the Companions of Honour）是英国和英联邦的一种勋章。由英皇乔治五世于1917年6月创设，用以表彰在艺术、音乐、文学、自然科学、政治、工业和宗教方面获得重大成就的人士。除君主以外，名誉勋位的数量限定65人。名誉勋位只有一等，并不属于骑士勋章，所以受勋者不可冠上“爵士”头衔，但可以在名称后冠上“CH”字样。
^ 普劳图斯Plautus古罗马最重要的喜剧作家。他的喜剧都是由古希腊新喜剧改编而成的，具有一定的现实意义。普劳图斯的许多剧本，从文艺复兴时期开始就成了欧洲各国戏剧家学习和模仿的对象，也给后人提供了希腊新喜剧的某些知识。
^ 类型角色stock characters。类型角色一般具有性格特征突出，概括性强的特点，他们的一言一行都突出地表现了其主导性格。如莫里哀笔下的《伪君子》中的答丢夫，几乎就是伪善的化身，而他的《悭吝人》中的阿尔巴贡也集中了吝啬鬼的基本特点。
^ 弗雷德·阿斯泰尔Fred Astaire（1899-1987）美国出身的电影演员、舞者、舞台剧演员、编舞家与歌手。他在舞台与大银幕上的演出生涯长达76年，在这段期间他参与了三十一部歌舞剧的演出。亚斯坦最常与金姐·罗洁丝一同提及，这两人曾搭档演出十部电影。
^ 乔治·伯恩斯George Burns（1896-）从小就在杂耍剧舞台上演出，后又成为喜剧演员。1925年他与格雷西.艾伦组成一对喜剧搭档，他们在三、四十年代合作了《无线电播音大会》、《大学生的幽默》等二十多部影片。在经过三十五年的引退后，他于1975年重返银幕，以喜剧片《阳光少年》中的精湛演出获得了第四十八届奥斯卡最佳男配角金像奖。此后他还演出了《噢，上帝》（1977）和《比布军曹的单身汉俱乐部乐队》等片。
^ 格雷西·艾伦Gracie Allen（1895-）美国电影、戏剧女演员，出身于旧金山市的歌舞杂耍艺人家庭，从小开始表演生涯。1922年和乔治·伯恩斯组织伯恩斯-艾伦喜剧演出队。1926年后成为歌舞、电影、广播、电视界著名女演员。在电影方面，格雷西·艾伦共参加演出了约二十部故事片和大量短片。主要有《无线电播音大会》（1932）、《大学生的幽默》（1933）、《多角恋爱》（1934）、《学院假期》（1936）、《格雷西·艾伦谋杀案》（1939）、《诺恩夫妇》（1942）、《双姝夺鸾》（1944）等。
^ 琼·芳登Joan Fontaine（1917-）美国女演员，代表作《蝴蝶梦》，《深闺疑云》。
^ 戴维·尼文David Niven（1910-）第31届奥斯卡影帝。生于伦敦一个贵族家庭，父亲曾任军官。少年时期就读于桑赫斯特军事学校，毕业后参加苏格兰轻骑兵团，6年后退伍，从事记者等多种职业。后到好莱坞当临时演员，因出众的才华和优雅的风度，逐渐升至一号主角。50年代是他艺术生涯的鼎盛时期，其中以《环球世界八十天》最为出名。1958年以《分离的桌子》荣鹰奥斯卡最佳男主角金像奖和纽约电影评论奖的最佳男演员奖。1981年因病去世，共拍有影片100余部，主要代表作有《孤军血战记》、《铁血忠魂》、《美满姻缘》、《彩凤朝阳》、《月亮是蓝的》、《金龟婿》、《红桃王后》、《尼罗河惨案》、《逃往雅典娜》等。
^ 安德鲁·劳埃德·韦伯Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber（1948-）生于英国伦敦，是一位非常成功的音乐剧作曲家。他的弟弟是大提琴家朱利安·劳埃德·韦伯。韦伯是20世纪晚期最受欢迎也颇有争议的剧院作曲家，他为百老汇和伦敦西区剧院创作了大量的作品。韦伯的具有代表性的歌曲有：耶稣基督万世巨星中的"I Don't Know How to Love Him"，《艾薇塔》（贝隆夫人）中的"Don't Cry for Me, Argentina"，猫中的"Memory"，歌剧魅影中的"The Music of the Night"。
^ 彼德·奥图Peter O'Toole（1932-）凭借《末路爱神》获第79届奥斯卡最佳男主角提名。
^ 罗伯特·蒙哥马利Robert Montgomery（1904-1981）美国演员，导演。演出《湖上艳尸》《史密斯夫妇》《佐丹先生出马》等。
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by modern writers such as Stephen Fry, Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith and Terry Pratchett. Journalist and writer Christopher Hitchens commented, "there is not, and never will be, anything to touch him."
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of 15 plays and of 250 lyrics for some 30 musical comedies, many of them produced in collaboration with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934), wrote the lyrics for the hit song "Bill" in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote lyrics to Sigmund Romberg's music for the Gershwin – Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
Early life
Wodehouse, called "Plum" by most family and friends, was born prematurely to Eleanor Wodehouse (née Deane) while she was visiting Guildford and he was baptised at St. Nicolas' Church, Guildford. His aunt Mary Deane was the author of the novel Mr. Zinzan of Bath; or, Seen in an Old Mirror. His father, Henry Ernest Wodehouse (1845–1929), was a British judge in Hong Kong. The Wodehouse family had been settled in Norfolk for many centuries. Wodehouse's great-grandfather Reverend Philip Wodehouse was the second son of Sir Armine Wodehouse, 5th Baronet, whose eldest son John Wodehouse, 1st Baron Wodehouse, was the ancestor of the Earls of Kimberley. His godfather was Pelham von Donop, after whom he was named.
When he was just three years old, Wodehouse was brought back to England and placed in the care of a nanny. He attended various boarding schools and, between the ages of three and 15 years, saw his parents for barely six months in total. Wodehouse grew very close to his brother, who shared his love for art. Wodehouse filled the voids in his life by writing relentlessly. He spent quite a few of his school holidays with one aunt or another; it has been speculated that this gave him a healthy horror of the "gaggle of aunts", reflected in Bertie Wooster's formidable aunts Agatha and Dahlia, as well as Lady Constance Keeble's tyranny over her many nieces and nephews in the Blandings Castle series.
Wodehouse's first school was The Chalet School, Croydon (now Elmhurst School for Boys), which he attended between 1886 and 1889, together with his two older brothers. (Richard, the youngest of the four Wodehouse brothers, was much younger and became somewhat noteworthy as a cricketer in Asia.) In 1889, the oldest brother, Peveril, was diagnosed as having a weak chest, and the three brothers were sent to Elizabeth College, Guernsey, where Peveril could benefit from the sea air. Wodehouse remained at Elizabeth College for two years, until, at age 10, it became time for him to move to a preparatory school. Wodehouse's first prep school was Malvern House, at Kearsney, near Dover, which specialised in preparing boys for entry to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. Wodehouse spent two unhappy years at Malvern House before finally persuading his father to send him to Dulwich College, where his elder brother Armine was already a student.
He enjoyed his time at Dulwich, where he was successful both as a student and as a sportsman: he was a member of the Classics VIth Form (traditionally, the preserve of the brightest students) and a School prefect, he edited the college magazine, The Alleynian, sang and acted leading roles in musical and theatrical productions, and gained his school colours as a member of the cricket First XI and rugby football First XV; he also represented the school at boxing (until barred by poor eyesight) and his house at athletics. The library at Dulwich is now named after him.
Wodehouse's elder brother, Armine, had won a classics scholarship to Oxford University (where he gained a first class degree) and Pelham was widely expected to follow in his brother's footsteps, but a fall in the value of the Indian rupee (in which currency his father's pension was expressed) forced him to abandon such plans. His father found him a position with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (now known as HSBC), where, after two years' training in London, he would have been posted to an overseas branch. However, Wodehouse was never interested in banking as a career and "never learned a thing about banking". (Some of his experiences in the bank were recounted in Psmith in the City.) He wrote part-time while working in the bank, and in 1902 became a journalist with The Globe (a now defunct newspaper), taking over the comic column from a friend who had resigned.
Wodehouse contributed items to Punch, Vanity Fair (1903–1906), Daily Express (1904) and The World: A Journal for Men and Women (1906/1907). He also wrote stories for schoolboy's magazines (The Captain and Public School Magazine) that were compiled to form his first published novels and four playlets with his friend Bertram Fletcher Robinson. During 1909, Wodehouse stayed in Greenwich Village and "sold two short stories to Cosmopolitan and Collier's for a total of $500 – much more than I had ever earned before." He then resigned from The Globe and stayed in New York, where he became a regular contributor (under a variety of pseudonyms) to the newly-founded American Vanity Fair (1913). However "the wolf was always at the door", and it was not until The Saturday Evening Post serialised Something New in 1915 that he had his "first break". Around this time he began collaborating with Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern on (eventually eighteen) musical comedies.
In 1914, Wodehouse married Ethel Wayman and gained a stepdaughter called Leonora. He had no biological children, and it is possible that he was rendered infertile after contracting mumps as an adolescent.
During the 1930s, he had two brief stints as a screenwriter in Hollywood, where he claimed he was greatly overpaid. Many of his novels were also serialised in magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post and The Strand, which also paid well.
Life beyond Britain
Although Wodehouse and his novels are considered quintessentially English, from 1914 onward he split his time between England and the United States. In 1934, he took up residence in France, to avoid double taxation on his earnings by the tax authorities in Britain and the U.S. He was also profoundly uninterested in politics and world affairs. When World War II broke out in 1939 he remained at his seaside home in Le Touquet, France, instead of returning to England, apparently failing to recognise the seriousness of the conflict. (One version says that his wife couldn't bear to leave their dog, Wonder). He was subsequently taken prisoner by the Germans in 1940 and interned by them for a year, first in Belgium, then at Tost (now Toszek) in Upper Silesia (now in Poland). He is recorded as having said, "If this is Upper Silesia, one wonders what Lower Silesia must be like..."
While at Tost, he entertained his fellow prisoners with witty dialogues. After being released from internment, a few months short of his 60th birthday, he used these dialogues as a basis for a series of radio broadcasts aimed at America (then not at war) that the Germans tricked him into making from Berlin. Wodehouse believed he would be admired as showing himself to have 'kept a stiff upper lip' during his internment. Wartime England was in no mood for light-hearted banter, however, and the broadcasts led to many accusations of collaborationism with the Germans and even treason. Some libraries banned his books. Foremost among his critics was A. A. Milne, author of the Winnie the Pooh books; Wodehouse took revenge in a short story parody in which a character based on Milne writes about his son, a ridiculous character named "Timothy Bobbin". Another critic was the playwright Sean O'Casey who, in a letter to The Daily Telegraph in July 1941, wrote: "If England has any dignity left in the way of literature, she will forget for ever the pitiful antics of English literature's performing flea." Wodehouse deflected the insult by giving the title Performing Flea to a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend. Among Wodehouse's defenders were Evelyn Waugh and George Orwell. An investigation by the British security service MI5 concurred with Orwell's opinion, concluding that Wodehouse was naïve and foolish but not a traitor. Documents declassified in the 1980s revealed that while living in Paris, his living expenses were paid by the Nazis. However, papers released by the British Public Record Office in 1999 showed these had been accounted for by MI5 investigators when establishing Wodehouse's innocence.
The criticism led Wodehouse and his wife to move permanently to New York. Apart from Leonora, who died during Wodehouse's internment in Germany, they had no children. He became an American citizen in 1955 and never returned to his homeland, spending the remainder of his life in Remsenburg, New York.
Later life
He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1975 New Year Honours, six weeks before his death at the age of 93. It is widely believed that the honour was not given earlier because of lingering resentment about the German broadcasts. In a BBC interview he said that he had no ambitions left now that he had been knighted and there was a waxwork of him in Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. His doctor advised him not to travel to London to be knighted, and his wife later received the award on his behalf from the British consul.
The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize, given annually for the finest example of comic writing in the UK, was established and named in his honour in 2000.
Writing style
Wodehouse took a modest attitude to his own works. In Over Seventy (1957) he wrote:
"I go in for what is known in the trade as 'light writing' and those who do that – humorists they are sometimes called – are looked down upon by the intelligentsia and sneered at."
However, he also lightly taunted his critics, as in the introduction to Summer Lightning.
"A certain critic—for such men, I regret to say, do exist—made the nasty remark about my last novel that it contained 'all the old Wodehouse characters under different names'. He has probably by now been eaten by bears, like the children who made mock of the prophet Elisha; but if he still survives he will not be able to make a similar charge against Summer Lightning. With my superior intelligence, I have outgeneralled the man this time by putting in all the old Wodehouse characters under the same names. Pretty silly it will make him feel, I rather fancy."
His writing style is notable for its unique blend of contemporary London clubroom slang with elegant, classically-informed drawing-room English; for example:
"I once got engaged to his daughter Honoria, a ghastly dynamic exhibit who read Nietzsche and had a laugh like waves breaking on a stern and rockbound coast."
Literary tastes and influence
In the above-mentioned article, Wodehouse names some contemporary humorists whom he held in high regard. These include Frank Sullivan, A. P. Herbert, and Alex Atkinson. Two essays in Tales of St. Austin’s satirise modern literary criticism: "The Tom Brown Question" is a parody of Homeric analysts, and "Notes" criticises both classical and English critics, with an ironic exception for those explicating the meaning of Browning. In "Work", Wodehouse calls the claim that "Virgil is hard" "a shallow falsehood", but notes that "Aeschylus, on the other hand, is a demon". Shakespeare and Tennyson were also obvious influences; their works were the only books Wodehouse took with him in his internment. He frequently quotes Kipling and Omar Khayyam. Wodehouse enjoyed the traditional English thriller: one of his characters declares that "It is impossible not be thrilled by Edgar Wallace", and he dedicated Sam the Sudden to Wallace, while Agatha Christie dedicated her Hallowe'en Party "To P G Wodehouse — whose books and stories have brightened my life for many years. Also, to show my pleasure in his having been kind enough to tell me he enjoyed my books." In the 1960s he gave important praise for the debut novels of Gavin Lyall and George MacDonald Fraser. In later life, he read mysteries by Ngaio Marsh and Rex Stout, and unfailingly watched the soap opera The Edge of Night.
Character
Wodehouse's characters, however, were not always popular with the establishment, notably the foppish foolishness of Bertie Wooster. Papers released by the Public Record Office have disclosed that when Wodehouse was recommended in 1967 for the Order of the Companions of Honour, Sir Patrick Dean, the British ambassador in Washington, argued that it "would also give currency to a Bertie Wooster image of the British character which we are doing our best to eradicate."
Wodehouse's characters are often eccentric, with peculiar attachments, such as to pigs (Lord Emsworth), newts (Gussie Fink-Nottle), antique silver (Bertie's Uncle Tom Travers), golf-collectables (numerous characters) or socks (Archibald Mulliner). His "mentally negligible" good-natured characters invariably make their lot worse by their half-witted schemes to improve a bad situation.
In many cases the classic eccentricities of Wodehouse's upper class give rise to plot complications. The very first Jeeves story ("Jeeves Takes Charge") concerns an attempt to prevent publication of an old man's memoirs, which contain embarrassing stories about aristocrats and other prestigious persons in their youth.
Relatives, especially aunts and uncles, are commonly depicted with an exaggerated power to help or impede marriage or financial prospects, or simply to make life miserable. (Bertie speaks of "Aunt Agatha getting after [someone] with her hatchet".) Several of the Jeeves stories involve helping a pal to deceive a wealthy relative on whom the pal depends financially ("The Aunt and the Sluggard", "Comrade Bingo"). When Bertie Wooster is first introduced ("Jeeves Takes Charge"), he is himself dependent upon his Uncle Willoughby, and only when this uncle hands in his dinner pail (dies) does Bertram become independently wealthy.
Children of both genders are invariably troublesome, annoying, and malicious. The most egregious is Edwin the Boy Scout, whose attempts at "acts of kindness" cause disasters of widely varying severity in several Jeeves novels and short stories.
Friends are often more a trouble than a comfort in Wodehouse stories: Bertie Wooster in particular is often obliged to put himself to trouble, and sometimes to endure considerable suffering, in order to help a friend. (The Code of the Woosters, in the novel of the same name, is "Never let a pal down.") Antagonists (particularly rivals in love) are frequently terrifying and just as often get their comeuppance in a gratifying fashion.
Policemen and magistrates are typically portrayed as threatening, yet easy to fool, often through the simple expedient of giving a false name. A recurring motif is the theft of policemen's helmets. One of the most dislikeable characters in the entire opus is a magistrate, Sir Watkyn Bassett.
In a manner going back to the stock characters of Roman comedy (such as Plautus), Wodehouse's servants are frequently far cleverer than their masters. This is quintessentially true with Jeeves, who always pulls Bertie Wooster out of the direst scrapes by means of cunning and resource, often by deceptively manipulating him (e.g. "Bertie Changes his Mind", Right Ho, Jeeves) or by convincing him to sacrifice himself. It recurs elsewhere, such as the efficient (though despised) Baxter, secretary to the befogged Lord Emsworth.
Another recurring type is the successful, square-jawed, ruthless American business executive, most notably in Thank You, Jeeves and in the golf story "The Heel of Achilles" but also in later stories about the Mulliners in Hollywood.
Big bruisers who come and go unexpectedly, muttering threats, abound in Wodehouse, including first and foremost Roderick Spode and Tuppy Glossop but also any number of bookies' henchmen, jealous lovers, nosy neighbours, burglars, and what we now call animal-rights activists.
Many stories involve a strong-willed, independent, middle-aged (or older) female troublemaker. Examples include Bertie Wooster's Aunt Agatha; Lord Emsworth's many sisters, especially Lady Constance Keeble; Headmistress Mapleton in "Jeeves and the Kid Clementina"; Lady Bassett in the Mulliner short story "Strychnine in the Soup"; and the poisonous Princess von und zu Dworniczek in Summer Moonshine. Even Aunt Dahlia, the exceptional aunt who is a "good egg", makes plenty of troublesome demands on Bertie. Most abhorrent are the female writers, young and old, such as Ukridge's Aunt Julia, Bertie Wooster's cousin (and sometime fiancée) Florence Craye, and, when the evil fit is upon her, Bingo Little's wife Rosie M. Banks.
Plot
Even if the broad outlines of his plots were typically formulaic, Wodehouse was known for his consummate skill at their detailed construction and development. This did not come immediately to him; in the early Psmith novels Psmith In The City and Psmith, Journalist, the device by which the author rescues the protagonists from their mounting difficulties is a simple infusion of cash from Psmith's father. This would soon change, and by the 1920s his novels were already showing off his genius for creating multiple layers of comedic complications that the characters must endure to reach the invariable happy ending. Typically, a relative or friend makes some demand that forces a character into a bizarre situation from which it seems impossible to recover, only to resolve itself in a clever and satisfying finale. The layers pile up thickly in the longer works, with a character getting into multiple dangerous situations by mid-story. An outstanding example of this is The Code of the Woosters where most of the chapters have an essential plot point reversed in the last sentence, catapulting the characters forward into greater diplomatic disasters. A key figure in most Wodehouse stories is a "fixer" whose genius soars above the incompetent blather and crude bluster of most of the other characters, Jeeves being the best known example. Other characters in this vein are Lord Ickenham ("Uncle Fred") and Galahad Threepwood, who perform much the same role in the Blandings Castle stories—though never both at the same time—and Psmith, who does the same thing in the stories that bear his name.
Engagements are a common theme in Wodehouse stories. A man may be unable to become engaged to the woman he loves due to some impediment such as poverty, feelings of inferiority, or a relative's objection. Just as often, a protagonist unwillingly or unwittingly gets engaged to a woman he does not love, and must find some back-door way out other than breaking it off directly (which goes against a gentleman's code of honour and renders him vulnerable to a lawsuit for breach of promise). The most widely-read case in point is Bertie Wooster's engagement to the objectionable Madeline Bassett in Right Ho, Jeeves, which recurs in several subsequent novels.
Impersonations, and resulting confusion, are particularly common in the Blandings books, but also occur in other works. Often the impersonation is discovered, but the impersonator is able to silence the discoverer by means of bribery or blackmail, as in Leave it to Psmith and Uncle Fred in the Springtime.
Gambling often plays a large role in Wodehouse plots, typically with someone manipulating the outcome of the wager.
Another subject which features strongly in Wodehouse's plots is alcohol, and many plots revolve around the tipsiness of a major character. In The Mating Season, he enumerated what many people consider as the definitive list of hangovers: the Broken Compass, the Sewing Machine, the Comet, the Atomic, the Cement Mixer and the Gremlin Boogie. Furthermore, he makes several references to a drink called the "May Queen", described by Uncle Fred as "any good dry champagne, to which is added brandy, armagnac, kümmel, yellow chartreuse, and old stout, to taste", which inspires several characters to acts of daring, such as proposing to their true loves. Sometimes, other psychoactive substances are featured, for instance in Laughing Gas and the short story "Mulliner's Buck-U-Uppo".
Writing
Main articles: List of books by P. G. Wodehouse and List of short stories by P. G. Wodehouse
Wodehouse was a prolific author, writing 96 books in his remarkable seventy-three year long career (1902 to 1975). His works include novels, collections of short stories, and musical comedies. Many characters and locations appear repeatedly throughout his short stories and novels, leading readers to classify his work by "series":
The Blandings Castle stories (later dubbed "the Blandings Castle Saga" by Wodehouse), about the upper-class inhabitants of the fictional rural Blandings Castle. Includes the eccentric Lord Emsworth, obsessed by his prize-winning pig, the "Empress of Blandings", and at one point by his equally prize-winning pumpkin ("Hope of Blandings", but, mockingly, "Percy" to Emsworth's unappreciative second son Freddie Threepwood).
The Drones Club stories, about the mishaps of certain members of a raucous social club for London's idle rich. Drones Club stories always involve unnamed club members known as "Eggs", "Beans" and "Crumpets" (after the habit of addressing each other as "old egg", "old bean" or "old crumpet"); in each story, a well-informed Crumpet will endeavour to tell an Egg or Bean of the latest exploits of another Drones Club member, most frequently Freddie Widgeon or Bingo Little. Also featured are a cast of recurrent bit players such as Club millionaire Oofy Prosser.
The Golf and Oldest Member stories. They are built around one of Wodehouse's passions, the sport of golf, which all characters involved consider the only important pursuit in life. The Oldest Member of the golf course clubhouse tells most of them, usually to unwilling listeners who would prefer to be elsewhere.
The Jeeves and Wooster stories, narrated by the wealthy, scatterbrained Bertie Wooster. A number of stories and novels that recount the improbable and unfortunate situations in which he and his friends find themselves and the manner in which his ingenious valet Jeeves is always able to extricate them. Collectively called "the Jeeves stories", or "Jeeves and Wooster", they are Wodehouse's most famous. The Jeeves stories are a valuable compendium of pre-World War II English slang in use.
The Mr Mulliner stories, narrated by a genial pub raconteur who can take any topic of conversation and turn it into an involved, implausible story about a member of his family. Most of Mr. Mulliner's stories involve one or another of his innumerable nephews. His listeners are always identified solely by their drinks, e.g., a "Hot Scotch and Lemon" or a "Double Whisky and Splash".
The School stories, which launched Wodehouse's career with their comparative realism. They are often located at the fictional public schools of St. Austin's or Wrykyn.
The Psmith stories, about an ingenious jack-of-all-trades with a charming, exaggeratedly refined manner. The final Psmith story, Leave it to Psmith, overlaps the Blandings stories in that Psmith works for Lord Emsworth, lives for a time at Blandings Castle, and becomes a friend of Freddie Threepwood. Psmith first appeared in the school novel Mike.
The Ukridge stories, about the charming but unprincipled Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge, always looking to enlarge his income through the reluctant assistance of his friend in his schemes. Besides the short stories, there is one novel about him: Love Among the Chickens.
The Uncle Fred stories, about the eccentric Earl of Ickenham. Whenever he can escape his wife's chaperonage, he likes to spread what he calls "sweetness and light" and others are likely to call chaos. His escapades, always involving impersonations of some sort, are usually told from the viewpoint of his nephew and reluctant companion Reginald "Pongo" Twistleton. Several times he performs his "art" at Blandings Castle.
The stand-alone stories. Stories which are not part of a series (although they may contain overlapping minor characters), such as Piccadilly Jim, Quick Service, Summer Moonshine, Sam the Sudden, and Laughing Gas.
Almost all of these series overlap: Psmith appears in a "School" story and a Blandings novel; Bertie Wooster is a member of the Drones Club; Uncle Fred and Pongo Twistleton appear in both the Blandings Saga and the Drones club stories; Bingo Little is a regular character in the Jeeves Stories and the Drones Club stories, etc.
Adaptation
See also: Category:Works derived from P. G. Wodehouse
Considering the extent of his success, there have been comparatively few adaptations of Wodehouse's works. He was reluctant to allow others to adapt the Jeeves stories:
"One great advantage in being a historian to a man like Jeeves is that his mere personality prevents one selling one's artistic soul for gold. In recent years I have had lucrative offers for his services from theatrical managers, motion-picture magnates, the proprietors of one or two widely advertised commodities, and even the editor of the comic supplement of an American newspaper, who wanted him for a "comic strip". But, tempting though the terms were, it only needed Jeeves' deprecating cough and his murmured "I would scarcely advocate it, sir," to put the jack under my better nature. Jeeves knows his place, and it is between the covers of a book." (from Wodehouse's introduction to the compilation The World of Jeeves, 1967)
Doing his own adaptations for film did not attract him either. He had been retained by MGM in 1930 but little used: "They paid me $2,000 a week.... Yet apparently they had the greatest difficulty in finding anything for me to do." He returned to MGM in 1937 to work on the screenplay of Rosalie, but even though he was now being paid $2,500 a week and living luxuriously in Hollywood, he said "I'm not enjoying life much just now. I don't like doing pictures."
However, he formed a warm working relationship with Ian Hay, who adapted A Damsel in Distress as a stage play in 1928, with Hay, Wodehouse and A. A. Milne all investing in the production. Wodehouse and Hay holidayed together in Scotland, finding "a lot of interests in common". Wodehouse went on to help dramatise Hay's story Baa Baa Black Sheep in 1929, and in 1930 they co-wrote the stage version of Leave It to Psmith.
Wodehouse wrote the screenplay for the musical film A Damsel in Distress released in 1937, starring Fred Astaire, George Burns, Gracie Allen, and Joan Fontaine, with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. A 1962 film adaptation of The Girl On The Boat starred Norman Wisdom, Millicent Martin and Richard Briers.
The Blandings, Jeeves, Ukridge and Mulliner stories have all been adapted for television. The Jeeves series has been adapted for television twice, once in the 1960s (by the BBC), with the title The World of Wooster, starring Ian Carmichael as Bertie Wooster, and Dennis Price as Jeeves, and again in the 1990s (by Granada Television for ITV), with the title Jeeves and Wooster, starring Hugh Laurie as Bertie and Stephen Fry as Jeeves. David Niven and Arthur Treacher also starred as Bertie and Jeeves, respectively, in a short 1930s film that had the title Thank You, Jeeves!, though neither this nor the sequel, Step Lively, Jeeves, also starring Treacher as Jeeves but without Bertie, bears any relation to a Wodehouse story.
In 1975, Andrew Lloyd Webber made a musical, originally titled Jeeves. In 1996, it was rewritten as the more successful By Jeeves, which made it to Broadway, and a performance recorded as a video film, also shown on TV.
A version of Heavy Weather was filmed by the BBC in 1995 starring Peter O'Toole as Lord Emsworth and Richard Briers, again, as Lord Emsworth's brother, Galahad Threepwood.
Piccadilly Jim was first filmed in 1919, and again in 1936, starring Robert Montgomery. In 2004, Julian Fellowes wrote another screen adaptation which starred Sam Rockwell. This version was not successful.
There was also a series of BBC adaptations of various short works, mostly from the Mulliner series, under the title of Wodehouse Playhouse starring John Alderton and Pauline Collins, which aired starting in 1975. The first series was introduced by Wodehouse himself, aged 93.
Arthur, starring Dudley Moore and Sir John Gielgud, and its sequel Arthur II: On the Rocks, were also an adaptation of the characters of Bertie and Jeeves, although not officially acknowledged, and many of the lines and incidents from the movie, including the main plot involving an engagement, were directly influenced by Wodehouse's characters.
Wodehouse's involvement with film and television from around the world is chronicled in Brian Taves, P.G. Wodehouse and Hollywood: Screenwriting, Satires, and Adaptations (McFarland, 2006).
Czech author Zdeněk Jirotka based his Saturnin novel largely on the character of Jeeves.
Major character
Lists of P. G. Wodehouse character
Characters in all Wodehouse storie
Characters in the Blandings storie
Characters in the Drones Club storie
Characters in the Jeeves storie
Characters in the Mulliner storie
Characters in the Ukridge storie
Characters in other storie
v • d • e
Major characters of primary importance
Wodehouse's work contains a number of recurring protagonists, narrators and principal characters, including:
Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves; his Aunt Dahlia and Aunt Agatha
Lord Emsworth of Blandings Castle, and his large family
Mr Mulliner, irrepressible pub raconteur of family storie
The Oldest Member, irrepressible nineteenth hole raconteur of golf storie
Psmith, monocled dandy and practical socialist
Ukridge, irrepressible entrepreneur and cheerful opportunist
Uncle Fred (Frederick Cornwallis, Fifth Earl of Ickenham), considered, in some circles, a disgrace to the Peerage. Spreading "sweetness and light" through impersonation
Major characters of secondary importance
Certain of Wodehouse's less central characters are particularly well-known, despite being less critical elements of his works as a whole.
Anatole, French chef extraordinaire, very temperamental
Galahad Threepwood, Lord Emsworth's brother, lifelong bachelor with a mis-spent youth and a kind heart
Sebastian Beach, Lord Emsworth's butler
Rupert Baxter, Lord Emsworth's efficient but annoying secretary
Major Brabazon-Plank, Amazon explorer, afraid of bonnie babie
Sir Roderick Glossop, intimidating psychiatrist
Honoria Glossop, Sir Roderick's daughter and sometime fiancée of Bertie Wooster, demanding, imperious, athletic
Tuppy Glossop, Sir Roderick's nephew, muscular rugby-player
Roderick Spode, later 7th Earl of Sidcup, amateur dictator, very tall and muscular, based on British fascist Oswald Mosley
Pongo Twistleton, Uncle Fred's nephew
Oofy Prosser, millionaire member of the Drones Club
Monty Bodkin, second richest member of the Drones Club (second to Oofy Prosser)
Bingo Little, friend of Bertie Wooster, with a complicated love-life
Rodney Spelvin, big, muscular golfer, inclined to jealousy
Agnes Flack, big, muscular, female golfer
Freddie Widgeon, member of the Drones Club
Gussie Fink-Nottle, fish-faced, socially awkward newt-fancier who cannot hold his liquor
Sir Watkyn Bassett, owner of Totleigh Tower
Madeline Bassett, daughter of Sir Watkyn, very pretty but disturbingly drippy and poetical; often voices conviction that "the stars are God's daisy-chain" and other goofy sentiment
Bobbie Wickham, attractive but ruthless red-haired girl, very demanding and fond of practical joke
Florence Craye, Bertie Wooster's cousin and sometimes fiancee, and author of the novel Spindrift
Lord Uffenham, owner and butler of Shipley Hall
Mike Jackson, Psmith's steadfast, cricket-playing friend
Archibald Mulliner, sock collector who can mimic a hen laying an egg
Extremely minor, but ubiquitous, character
Lord Knubble of Knopp, mentioned in Mulliner stories and Golf Stories and other stories as well; references to him are always so brief and inconsequential that they may not be fully catalogued. Most often mentioned in connection with other characters, without actually appearing. A thin, well-dressed, "horse-faced" man, who occasionally appears at house parties and loses at cards. Very wealthy in spite of this.