Ian Cockburn is joined by his old friend Nigel Townshend to dissect Agatha Christie's favourite Wodehouse novel The Little Nugget (1913). A tale of kipnapping at an English private preparatory school, presumably inspired by Wodehouse's time as a guest at Emsworth House school. There will be spoilers. Other Wodehouse works mentionedPiccadilly JimFull MoonThank You, JeevesThe Luck StoneThe Eighteen-Carat Kid (variant version of The Little Nugget)The Indiscretions of ArchieMuch Obliged, JeevesPsmith Journalist Also mentionedThe Beano and Dandy comicsThe BBC radio Jeeves adaptations with Richard Briers and Michael HordernAgatha Christie, Hallowe'en PartyBaldwin King-HallHerbert WestbrookKing Cophetua Harry Hershfield, Desperate Desmond (comic strip)Napoleon Bonaparte Reference works consultedmadameeulalie.orgRobert McCrum, Wodehouse: A LifeGarrison and Midkiff, Who's Who in Wodehouse volume 3Sophie Ratcliffe (ed.), P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in LettersNorman Murphy, A Wodehouse Handbook Wodehousekeeping Podcast links<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/wodehousekeeping.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wodehousekeeping on Bluesky</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/people/Wodehousekeeping/100094742356860/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wodehousekeeping on Facebook</a><a href="https://ko-fi.com/wodehousekeeping" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi</a>email: wodehousekeeping@gmail.com

The Little Nugget with Nigel Townshend

Ian is joined by Alexander Rennie once more to look at the UK version of the novel The Prince and Betty (1912). The US version has a very different plot closely based on the earlier novel Psmith, Journalist (serialised 1909-1910, book version 1915). We touch lightly on the US version but the main discussion of it will follow in the episode on Psmith, Journalist. Alexander's own podcast is <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4yeV9M0p2H4uC03pJ1tXqe?si=30893c44fa4c41a9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Forgotten Towns</a> Other Wodehouse works mentionedPsmith, JournalistThe Swoop"The Good Angel" (AKA "The Matrimonial Sweepstakes")A Gentleman of LeisurePsmith in the CityThe Prizegiving scene in Right Ho, JeevesThe Steggles stories in The Inimitable JeevesThe J. Washburn Stoker character in Thank You, Jeeves Also mentionedMills and BoonBoris KarloffEllaline TerrissSeymour HicksThe Monégasque Revolution of 1910Carry On FilmsStephen Leacock, "Gertrude the Governess"Mary Shelley, FrankensteinYes MinisterYe Olde Cheshire CheeseKigeli V Ndahindurwa of Rwanda Reference works consultedDaniel H. Garrison and Neil Midkiff, Who's Who in Wodehouse (Third Expanded Edition)<a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/ainslee/The_Prince_and_Betty-Ainslee.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Neil Midkiff's notes on the different versions at Madame Eulalie's Rare Plums</a>Norman Murphy, A Wodehouse HandbookSophie Ratcliffe, P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in Letters Wodehousekeeping Podcast links<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/wodehousekeeping.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wodehousekeeping on Bluesky</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/people/Wodehousekeeping/100094742356860/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wodehousekeeping on Facebook</a><a href="https://ko-fi.com/wodehousekeeping" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi</a>email: wodehousekeeping@gmail.com

The Prince and Betty (UK Version) with Alexander Rennie 

Ian looks at the 1997 posthumous collection of Wodehouse short school stories, Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere, featuring stories that first appeared in magazines from 1901-1911. No plot spoilers for once, except one that comes with an advance warning. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_Wrykyn_and_Elsewhere" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WIkipedia page for the book</a> Madame Eulalie's Rare Plums links:<a href="https://madameulalie.org/grp/pgwconandoyle.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">List of Doyle/Holmes references in Wodehouse's early works</a><a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/SchoolMenu.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Index to school stories viewable at Madame Eulalie</a><a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/CharacterMenu.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Guide to early series characters, and an attempted explanation of which Jackson is which</a> Other Wodehouse works mentionedAll of the school novelsTales of St Austin'sPsmith in the CityThe Prince and Betty The Luck of the BodkinsNot George WashingtonJeeves and the Feudal Spirit"Treating of Cribs""The Fifteenth Man""From a Detective's Notebook" (The World of Mr Mulliner)"The Great Sermon Handicap"The Joan Romney stories Also mentionedDaniel H. Garrison and Neil Midkiff, Who's Who in Wodehouse (Third Expanded Edition)Tony Ring and Geoffrey Jaggard, Millennium Wodehouse ConcordanceHenry Bohn's Classic Library (used as "cribs" by Edwardian schoolboys)Barry PainThe works of Sir Arthur Conan DoyleOtto Penzler (ed.) SherlockPeter Cannon, "The Adventure of the Noble Husband"Without A ClueCharles Hamilton, the Greyfriars StoriesF C Burnand, "Happy Thoughts"Sir Walter Scott, "Marmion"Lewis Carroll, "Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter Writing"Punch Wodehousekeeping Podcast links<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/wodehousekeeping.bsky.social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wodehousekeeping on Bluesky</a><a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094742356860" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wodehousekeeping on Facebook</a>email: wodehousekeeping@gmail.com

Tales of Wrykyn and Elsewhere

Ian is rejoined by his brother Josh to scrutinise "Psmith in the City" AKA "The New Fold", the second Psmith novel, serialised in 1908-9 and collected in book form in 1910. It is a highly autobiographical account of reluctantly working in a London bank. Mike and Psmith's schooldays are behind them, but Mike is still fixated on cricket and Psmith is still out to cause disruption wherever possible. There will be spoilers and a soupçon of politics. Special thanks to the website <a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/captain/new_fold_01.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Madam Eulalie's Rare Plums</a>. <a href="https://www.hoover.org/research/was-pg-wodehouse-partisan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Article</a> mentioned in the show that helped explain the reference to the Unionist party<a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/captain/images/1910-03Impressions(Bradshaw).jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bradshaw's interview with Wodehouse</a>, quoted in the episode<a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/annots/pgwbooks/pgwpscity1.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mark Hodson's annotations of the novel </a> Other Wodehouse books and stories mentionedThe Gold BatMike at Wrykyn (Jackson Junior)Mike and Psmith (The Lost Lambs)Psmith JournalistLeave it to PsmithBig MoneyNot George WashingtonOver Seventy (Autobiography)The Luck StoneThe SwoopMoney in the Bank"The Goalkeeper and the Plutocrat""L'affaire Uncle John""Comrade Bingo" Wodehouse reference books mentioned and/or consultedRichard Usborne, Wodehouse at Work to the EndRobert McCrum, Wodehouse: A LifeNorman Murphy, A Wodehouse HandbookSophie Ratcliffe, P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in Letters Also mentionedThe Fosters of WorcestershireSir Arthur Conan DoyleLeslie Havergal BradshawHall CaineManchester UnitedJimmy and Tom TurnbullJerome K Jerome, Three Men in a BoatGeorge AdeJack HobbsThe Marx Brothers

Psmith in the City with Josh Cockburn

Ian is joined by former teenage Wodehouse obsessive Gavin Bradbury to look at Plum's first country house novel, A Gentleman of Leisure AKA The Intrusion of Jimmy from 1910. The book is at once a light romantic story, an exposé of the corruption in the New York police force, a satire of "gentleman criminal" style stories, and a precurser to the Blandings novels. Ian is unable to be impartial about one of the first Wodehouse novels he ever read, whereas Gavin is more critical. We discuss the differences between the novel and the related novella "The Gem Collector", why this book was such a hit on stage and screen, changing mores in acceptable morality in early twentieth century entertainment, how Jimmy Pitt differs from our ideal Wodehouse leading man, and what's still missing from the later classic formula. Other Wodehouse books mentioned:The World of Mr MullinerThe Coming of BillSomething FreshThe Man UpstairsThe Heart of a GoofPsmith in the CityPsmith, JournalistThe Luck of the Bodkins Also mentioned:Fawlty TowersThe Young OnesThe Kenny Everett ShowCoronation StreetA Sharp Intake of BreathThe Lennie and Jerry ShowTony HancockJames CagneyPhiladelphia StoryBringing Up BabyCary GrantWodehouse TV adaptationsJohn StapletonDouglas FairbanksJohn BarrymoreTim KeyE.W. Hornung, Raffles(The real) Spike MullinsTrading PlacesAlan BennettSteve CooganMiguel de Cervantes, Don QuixoteCharles Dickens, Pickwick PapersSir Walter Scott, "Marmion"The Seven Inches, "Stop Pestering Me"

A Gentleman of Leisure with Gavin Bradbury

Ian looks at the final public school novel by Wodehouse, a lurid adventure story called The Luck Stone, first published in Chums magazine from 1908 to 1909 under the pseudonym "Basil Windham". It was first published in book form posthumously in 1997. There will be spoilers. The story can be read <a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/chums/ChumsMenu.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> Content note: national stereotyping, imperialism, racism. Other Wodehouse works mentioned:Performing FleaMike at WrykynMike and PsmithThe Head of KaysLittle NuggetPsmith Journalist"The Man Who Disliked Cats""Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch""The Metropolitan Touch"The Mating SeasonNot George Washington Other books mentionedSophie Ratcliffe, ed., P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in LettersRichard Usbourne, Wodehouse at Work to the endWilkie Collins, The MoonstoneSir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of the FourRudyard Kipling, KimF. Anstey, Baboo JabberjeeFrank Richards, The Greyfriars stories Also mentioned:Dennis the Menace/The Bash Street Kids (The Beano)William TownendHerbert WestbrookAnthony HomeLord Roberts

The Luck Stone

Ian is joined by storyteller <a href="https://somestories.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matthew Bellwood</a> to discuss Mike and Psmith, the second half of the double novel Mike, published in 1909. This is the debut of the beloved character Psmith, and the final public school novel by Wodehouse published in his lifetime. There will be spoilers. May contain knuts. <a href="https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10586/pg10586-images.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mike and Psmith at Project Gutenberg</a><a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/captain/lost_lambs_01.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Lost Lambs (magazine version) at Madame Eulalie</a> Other Wodehouse works referenced:Mike at WrykynPsmith in the CityPsmith, JournalistLeave it to PsmithSomething NewJoy in the Morning (Preface)The Globe By The Way Book"<a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/royalmag/The_Reformation_of_Study_Sixteen.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Reformation of Study Sixteen</a>""<a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/captain/Stone_and_Weed.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Stone and the Weed</a>""<a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/bott/society_gossip.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Society Gossip</a>" Also referenced:Richard Usborne, Wodehouse At Work To The EndNorman Murphy, A Wodehouse HandbookDoris Buckler, "<a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/captain/images/1908-10PoemOnPsmith.jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Thanks to Psmith</a>"Terry PratchettDouglas AdamsJane Austen, Pride and PrejudiceStella Gibbons, Cold Comfort FarmKen Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_D%27Oyly_Carte" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rupert D'Oyly-Carte </a>(the inspiration for Psmith)Sir Kreemy Knut (Sharp's Toffee mascot)E C Segar, Thimble TheaterSir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sherlock Holmes storiesF Anstey, Babboo JabberjeeCharles Dickens, David CopperfieldRudyard Kipling, Stalky and CoE W Hornung, the Raffles storiesC. J. Cutcliffe Hyne, the Captain Kettle storiesArthur Ransome

Mike And Psmith with Matthew Bellwood

Ian is rejoined by Alexander Rennie of the "<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4yeV9M0p2H4uC03pJ1tXqe?si=92e211bc414e4408" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Forgotten Towns</a>" podcast to discuss Mike at Wrykyn, the first half of the double novel Mike, published in 1909. It's a public school story focused on cricket and introduces a new series character. Other Wodehouse books mentionedMike and PsmithPsmith in the CityPsmith JournalistLeave it to PsmithVery Good JeevesRing For Jeeves (the novel where Jeeves appears without Bertie Wooster)Laughing GasThe Mating SeasonA Gentleman of Leisure Also referenced:Norman Murphy, A Wodehouse Handbook (copiously)Richard Usborne, Wodehouse at Work To The EndSophie Ratcliffe, P. G. Wodehouse, A Life in Letters (source of all the letters quoted)Alec WaughMalcolm MuggeridgeGeorge OrwellThe Foster family of WorcestershireThe Haileybury walkoutClement AtleeVarious cricketersVictoria Wood

Mike At Wrykyn with Alexander Rennie

Ian is joined by composer Peter Falconer, of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiCH-NVMfJGeSeozM_GaGJA/about" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How I Hobby</a> podcast, to look at The Swoop! or, How Clarence Saved England: A Tale of the Great Invasion (1909) a spoof of three separate Edwardian trends: <a href="https://www.theriddleofthesands.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">invasion literature</a>, the boy scout movement, and the music hall. Thanks again to <a href="madameeulalie.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">madameeulalie.org</a>. There will be spoilers. Content note: racism Other Wodehouse works mentioned:<a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/vfus/The_Military_Invasion_of_America.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Military Invasion of America</a> (US version of the story)<a href="https://www.madameulalie.org/punch/The_Next_Invasion.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Next Invasion</a>Eggs, Beans and CrumpetsThe Man UpstairsDo Butlers Burgle BanksWeekend WodehouseLove Among the ChickensOver SeventyThe Inimitable JeevesSummer LightningThe Prince and Betty Also mentionedIonicusVladimir NabokovJ R R TolkienJohn Le CarréShirley JacksonWilliam le Queux, The Invasion of 1910Alfred and Hildebrand HarmsworthSaki When William CameBaden-Powell Scouting For BoysGeorge and Weedon Grossmith Diary of a NobodyI'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (radio show)Ici on parle français (play)Ocean's Twelve (film)Big Train (TV show)Paul Hatcher, The World Stare-out Championship FinalJohn Major, My Old ManHenry LauderAndy G, "Tawny Owl"Aerated Bread CompanyNorman Murphy, A Wodehouse HandbookBart KennedyEdgar WallaceBugsy MaloneDouglas AdamsRob Grant and Doug NaylorTerry Pratchett

The Swoop with Peter Falconer

Ian Cockburn and guests discuss the work of P. G. Wodehouse, one book at a time.

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