Wodehousekeeping

Ian is joined by his old friend Sarah Humphrey to talk about The Adventures of Sally AKA Mostly Sally from 1922. A sort of sister novel to Jill the Reckless, again based on Wodehouse's experience in the world of Broadway musical comedies. The novel reflects its time with talk of financial speculation, prohibition, Spanish flu and boxing. Most notably perhaps, the independent spirit and good sense of not just the heroine but other female characters arguably reflects a spirit of feminism.  There will be plot spoilers. Next month: The Inimitable Jeeves with Tania AgnihotriYou can e-mail me at wodehousekeeping@gmail.com. Remunerate me at ko-fi (thanks awfully). You can get the stuff if they know you at our Bluesky and FacebookReference works consultedN. T. Murphy: A Wodehouse HandbookSophie Ratcliffe, ed: P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in LettersRobert McCrum, Wodehouse: A LifeDaniel Garrison and Neil Midkiff: Who's Who in Wodehouse, third editionLee Davis, Bolton and Wodehouse and KernBarry Day, The Complete Lyrics of P. G. WodehouseMadame Eulalie's Rare Plums websiteWikipediaOther Wodehouse works mentionedThe Cabaret Girl (musical, with George Grossmith and Jerome Kern)Jill the RecklessBring on the Girls (with Guy Bolton)"At Geisenheimer's"Piccadilly JimThe Luck of the BodkinsAlso mentioned Jeeves and Wooster (TV show)Naomi Wolf, The Beauty MythJerome KernGuy BoltonGeorge Grossmith JrGeorge Grossmith SrGilbert and SullivanG & W Grossmith, The Diary of a NobodyCharles Dickens, Little DorrittMartha Finley, The Elsie booksLee, Sam and Jacob ShubertAbraham ErlangerHenry James, Portrait of a LadySally (Bolton/Kern musical)Marcus AureliusSong snippetsNoel Coward, "The Stately Homes of England" and "Dear Little Café"Wodehouse/Jerome Kern, "Napoleon"Grey/Kern, "Sally"David Devant and his Spirit Wife, "Ginger" (and "Sally")

A special episode consisting of excerpts from the first ten episodes of Wodehousekeeping, introduced by host Ian Cockburn with a little background on how the show came about. This is designed for the listener who has skipped these episodes because the haven't read (or actively dislike) the books that the episodes discuss. The selections therefore have been chosen to steer clear of plot spoilers, and plot recapping generally. The emphasis is on my guests' history with Wodehouse and their general thoughts on him, plus other stuff that I think is intrinsically interesting or amusing, outside the wider context of the full podcasts.The ten episodesThe Pothunters A Prefect’s Uncle Tales of St Austin’sThe Gold Bat William Tell Told AgainThe Head of Kay’sLove Among the Chickens The White Feather Not George WashingtonThe Globe By The Way Book and the guests featuredJulia EdigerAlexander RennieJosh CockburnThom RobinsonUjjwal DebMoraGwen SheldonYou can e-mail me at wodehousekeeping@gmail.com. Help bolster the show's tottering finances at ko-fi.com/wodehousekeeping. Jolly decent of you.Drop in at the digital clubhouse at Bluesky or FacebookMain reference works consultedN T Murphy: A Wodehouse HandbookSophie Ratcliffe, ed: P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in LettersRobert McCrum: Wodehouse: A LifeMadame Eulalie's Rare Plums websiteWikipediaOther Wodehouse works mentionedVery Good JeevesSummer MoonshinePsmith in the CityThe Inimitable Jeeves"Ukridge Starts a Bank Account"A Few Quick Ones"Jeeves Takes Charge""Goodbye to All Cats""The Amazing Hat Mystery"Also mentionedArthur RansomeEnid BlytonWinker Watson in the DandyJeeves and Wooster TV showHerbert WestbrookBaldwin King-HallElla King-HallSebastian Faulks, Jeeves and the Wedding BellsFrasierAnthony Buckeridge, The Jennings booksEdward GoreyRichard AyoadeSt Stephen's College, DelhiShashi TharoorLewis CarrollSNLJonathan SwiftAlexander PopeWinston ChurchillPeter Motteaux's English translation of Miguel Cervantes's Don QuixoteRené Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, the Asterix books

Ian is joined by author Ansley Ashe to discuss The Girl on the Boat (1922), AKA Three Men and A Maid. Ansley Ashe is making a transition from wrestling/soccer mom, soccer coach, and library trustee to full fledged novelist. She has loved mysteries since she was a little girl, so when it came time to choose a genre, mystery was a natural fit. She loves everything between Sherlock Holmes and Mickey Haller aka the Lincoln Lawyer. She is reading her way through Agatha Christie and Anne Perry and read her first Wodehouse just for this podcast, now she will have to add him to her TBR list. Last year she published a series of holiday themed novelettes based on a young, female detective Charlotte "Charlie" Snow, with several novels still to come in the series. You can keep up with her on her SubstackThere will be plot spoilers. Next month: The Adventures of Sally with Sarah Humphrey.You can e-mail me at wodehousekeeping@gmail.com. Help keep the Good Ship Wodehousekeeping afloat ko-fi.com/wodehousekeeping. Our Bluesky and FacebookReference works consultedN. T. Murphy: A Wodehouse HandbookSophie Ratcliffe, ed: P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in LettersRobert McCrum, Wodehouse: A LifeDaniel Garrison and Neil Midkiff: Who's Who in Wodehouse, third editionMadame Eulalie's Rare Plums websitehttps://www.madameulalie.orgWikipediaOther Wodehouse works mentionedFrozen AssetsJill the Reckless (The Little Warrior)Something FreshHeavy Weather"Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest""Church Round the Corner"A Damsel in Distress"Sir Agravaine""The Mixer"A Gentleman of Leisure"Strychnine in the Soup"Also mentioned Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the Sherlock Holmes storiesAgatha ChristieAnne Perry Michael Connolly, the Mickey Haller/Lincoln Lawyer books Jeeves and WoosterHugh LaurieStephen Fry, Moab is My WashpotSaturday Night LiveThe Girl on the Boat film, archived hereNorman WisdomMillicent MartinBernard CribbinsSheila HancockRichard BriersAthene SeylerPhilip LockWildeAnnie BesantF Scott Fitzgerald, The Great GatsbyThe LusitaniaAlice "Billie" DoveyThomas Otway, The OrphanAlfred, Lord TennysonConstance Markievicz - first female member of UK parliamentNancy AstorFrank TinneyThe Black and White Minstrel ShowBert WilliamsSouthwick PrioryLaurence Sterne, Tristram ShandyWilliam Shakespeare, OthelloScooby DooEdgar Allen PoeSir Walter Scott, "Young Lochinvar"Mary Mestmacott, Giant's BreadMary Roberts RheinhartDorothy L SayersG K ChestertonGeorgette HeyerRaymond Chandler"Carolyn Keene", the Nancy Drew seriesAmelia EarhartMarilyn MonroeSong snippetsJonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, "(She's Gonna) Respect Me"Flanders and Swann, "Sea Fever"The Seven Inches, "Stop Pestering Me" (lyrics/vocals: me)Tindersticks, "Pinky in the Daylight"Special thanks to Radio Guest List.

Ian is joined by extra special honoured guest Elin Woodger Murphy, A legend of the Wodehouse Society (and the Wodehouse Society UK), former editor/"oldest member" of Plum Lines and Wooster Sauce and one of the organisers of this year's Wodehouse Society Convention in Garden City, NY.The book we are discussing this month is The Clicking of Cuthbert (1922), Wodehouse's first collection of golf stories, AKA Golf Without Tears. Elin also talks of her childhood spent in Port Chester and Long Island where they lived very near the Wodehouses, and of her history in Wodehouse fan circles. We also enthuse over the work of Elin's late husband, Norman Murphy.There will be plot spoilers and stymies. Next month: The Girl on the Boat with Ansley Ashe.Special thanks to Maria Jette.The Wodehouse Society website, with details of the 2026 convention in Garden City, NYMy band The Seven Inches are playing a show this month! Tickets hereYou can e-mail me at wodehousekeeping@gmail.com. Help bolster the show's tottering finances at ko-fi.com/wodehousekeeping. Jolly decent of you.Drop in at the digital clubhouse at Bluesky or Facebook Reference works consultedN T Murphy: A Wodehouse HandbookSophie Ratcliffe, ed: P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in LettersDaniel Garrison and Neil Midkiff: Who's Who in Wodehouse, third editionMadame Eulalie's Rare Plums websiteWikipediaOther Wodehouse works alluded toCarry On JeevesThe Man UpstairsThe Man With Two Left FeetLeave it to PsmithUncle Fred in the Springtime"Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend"The Heart of a GoofLove Among the Chickens"Archibald's Benefit""Parted Ways""the Eighteenth Hole""The Man Who Disliked Cats""By Advice of Counsel"Jill the Reckless"Bongo in the Congo" (lyric)The Mating Season"Tom, Dick and Harry""The Idle King"William Tell Told Again"Sir Agravaine"Also mentioned Maria JetteWodehouse Society (US)Marilyn MacGregorEd RatcliffePlum LinesBill BloodNorman MurphyThe Wodehouse Society (UK)Wooster SauceEdward CazaletThe Wodehouse Collection at Vanderbilt UniversityThe Shaw Festival Theatre NiagaraJeeves and Wooster in Perfect NonsenseNorman Murphy: - A Guide to P G Wodehouse's New York City and Long Island- A Wodehouse Handbook- In Search of Blandings- A Wodehouse MiscellanyWeston ParkSudeley CastleSir Arthur Conan DoyleBobby JonesAbe MitchellHarry VardonTerry MordueAlfred, Lord TennysonRudyard KiplingSamuel Taylor Coleridge, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"Marcus AureliusE. M. Hull, The SheikHal CazaletSong snippetsPet shop boys, "You know where you went wrong"Goffin and King, "He Hit Me (And it Felt Like a Kiss)Cole Porter, "Find Me A Primitive Man"Gallagher and Shean, "Mr Gallagher and Mr Shean"There is more in this pastime than the casual observer would suppose.

Ian is rejoined by composer, writer, musician, voice artist, and parafictionalist Peter Falconer to look at Indiscretions of Archie (1921), a series of short stories adapted into the form of a novel. Topics arising include the First World War, Prohibition, 'the Irish question' and Labour Relations.There will be plot spoilers. Next month: The Clicking of Cuthbert, or Golf Without Tears.You can e-mail me at wodehousekeeping@gmail.com. Replenish the show's doubloons at ko-fi.com/wodehousekeeping. One-off or recurring payments gratefully received.Hob nob and so forth at Bluesky or FacebookReference works consultedRobert McCrum: Wodehouse: A LifeSophie Ratcliffe, ed: P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in LettersNorman Murphy: A Wodehouse HandbookDaniel Garrison and Neil Midkiff: Who's Who in Wodehouse, third editionLee Davis: Bolton and Wodehouse and KernMadame Eulalie's Rare Plums websiteWikipediaOther Wodehouse works alluded toThe SwoopA Gentleman of LeisurePiccadilly JimThe Inimitable JeevesThe Code of the WoostersThe Prince and Betty"Extricating Young Gussie""Leave it to Jeeves" AKA "The Artistic Career of Corky"A Damsel in Distress"Jeeves and the Chump Cyril"Bring on the Girls (with Guy Bolton)"We're Crooks" (song)Uneasy Money"Napoleon" (song)"In Alcala""Doing Clarence a Bit of Good""Jeeves Makes an Omelette"Also mentioned Baldwin King-HallHerbert WestbrookElla King-HallBiblia WodehousianaT. D. Skidmore (US illustrator)Fred AstaireA. Wallis Mills (UK illustrator)Ian HayC H BovillJames Bond"Fatty" ArbuckleAbe ErlangerAbgail's PartySong snippetsThe Archies, "Sugar Sugar"Sananda Maitreya, "If You Let Me Stay"The Beach Boys, "It's Trying to Say"The Divine Comedy, "Don't Mention the War"Shonen Knife, "Fruits and Vegetables"Little Richard, "Lucille"Kenny Carter, "Showdown"Sterling Trio "It's A Long Way Back To Mother's Knee" Cole Porter, "You're the Top"Noel Coward, "Mad Dogs and Englishmen"The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, "Annie's Cousin Fannie"Flanders and Swann, "Strike"Magnetic Fields, "Goin' Back to the Country"Cocteau Twins, "Tishbite"Georges Brassens, "La chanson pour l'Auvergnat"Sting, "An Englishman in New York"

Ian is joined for a fifth time by Alexander Rennie of the now concluded Forgotten Towns podcast and blog. They discuss Jill the Reckless, AKA The Little Warrior, from 1920. A standalone Anglo-American novel centred around the New York stage, it includes the first mention of the Drones Club. Ian and Alex both consider this one of the stronger Wodehouse books so far covered in the podcast.  There will be plot spoilers. Next month: Indiscretions of Archie.You can e-mail me at wodehousekeeping@gmail.com. Help finance the show, Otis Pilkington style, at ko-fi.com/wodehousekeeping. One-off or recurring payments gratefully received.Monitor my feeble attempts at self-promotion at Bluesky or FacebookReference works consultedRobert McCrum: Wodehouse: A LifeSophie Ratcliffe, ed: P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in LettersNorman Murphy: A Wodehouse HandbookDaniel Garrison and Neil Midkiff: Who's Who in Wodehouse, third editionLee Davis: Bolton and Wodehouse and KernFrances Donaldson, ed: Yours, PlumMadame Eulalie's Rare Plums websiteWikipediaOther Wodehouse works alluded toSomething FreshThe Prince and BettyUneasy MoneyThe Adventures of SallyLeave it to PsmithBill the ConquerorBig Money"The Man Upstairs"Indiscretions of ArchieThe Inimitable JeevesA Damsel in Distress"The Mixer"The Luck of the BodkinsThe Rose of China"Napoleon" in Have A HeartThe Small Bachelor"Bill" in Show BoatAnything GoesPsmith JournalistCompany For HenryAlso mentionedAlfred, Lord TennysonJohn GrantWilly MasonWalt MasonFlanders and Swann, "The Safety Curtain", "Strike" and "In the D'Oyly Cart"Richard D'Oyly CarteBook of Daniel, The BibleBeastie Boys, "Shadrach"David Devant and His Spirit Wife, "Pimlico"The Bowes-Lyons familyDickens, David Copperfield and Bleak HouseBeachcomber (J.B. Morton), the Captain Foulenough storiesCount Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyIan SproatJulian MitchellThe Ziegfeld FolliesAbraham Lincoln ErlangerNapoleon BonaparteCockburn's PortRennie Heartburn and Indigestion ReliefDiet CokeEtta James, "I Just Want to Make Love To You"AutomatOmar KhayaamAlexander WoollcottWilliam J Halley, "Pullman Porters on Parade"Robert S. Bader, Four of the Three MusketeersApocrypals podcastRichard Brinsley Sheridan, The Rivals The Orange Tree, RichmondPatricia HodgeThank you for reading the notes! Typing them sometimes feels a little futile, but you make it all worthwhile.

Ian is joined again by his brother Josh to talk about P. G. Wodehouse's A Damsel in Distress, the 1919 standalone novel that has a lot of similiarites to a Blandings Novel. It also features the return of Keggs (The Man Upstairs, The Coming of Bill) and the themes of medieval-style chivalry, class snobbery and musical theatre. We also talk about the 1937 film version, starring Fred Astaire, featuring songs by George and Ira Gershwin, and a screenplay co-written by Wodehouse.There will be spoilers.You can e-mail me at wodehousekeeping@gmail.com, anonymously or otherwiseFurnish me with the needful at ko-fi.com/wodehousekeepingJoin in the feast of reason and flow of soul on Bluesky or FacebookReference works consultedRobert McCrum, Wodehouse: A LifeSophie Ratcliffe, P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in LettersNorman Murphy, A Wodehouse HandbookRichard Usborne, Wodehouse At Work to the EndDaniel Garrison and Neil Midkiff, Who's Who in WodehouseLee Davis, Bolton and Wodehouse and KernBarry Day, The Complete Lyrics of P. G. WodehouseMadame Eulalie's Rare Plums websiteWikipedia and IMDbOther works by Wodehouse mentioned: A Gentleman of LeisureSomething FreshA Damsel in Distress (play and film adaptations)The Girl Behind the Gun (show)"The Good Angel""Love Me, Love My Dog"Something FishySummer LightningBachelors Anonymous"Sir Agravaine"The Prince and Betty"Avenged!""Extricating Young Gussie"Piccadilly JimUneasy MoneySpring FeverThe Code of the WoostersJill the RecklessMiss 1917 (show)Oh Kay (show)Rosalie (show)Also mentioned: Ian HayBasil FosterW.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman, 1066 and All ThatGeorge GershwinEk Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (Bollywood adaptation)Maud and Ivan CaryllEuros Childs, "Thrips"Jerome KernTaskmasterReece ShearsmithMary DeaneThe Regal TheatreAlice DoveyAnton ChekhovRoscoe "Fatty" ArbuckleEnid BlytonRichard Harris Barham, The Ingoldsby LegendsLewis Carroll, "The Walrus and the Carpenter"Alfred, Lord TennysonMachiavelliDavid and Jonathan (Book of Samuel)Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de BergeracRiot WomenGuy BoltonIra GershwinPandro S BermanGeorge StevensAllan ScottFred AstaireGinger RogersJoan FontaineGeorge BurnsGracie AllenReginald GardinerRay NobleIt's A Wonderful Life

Gwen Sheldon has stayed on the line to help me look at The Coming of Bill (1919, but really 1914), Also known as Their Mutual Child or The White Hope, it's a rare serious novel (though featuring some choice quips) with a plot supplied for Wodehouse by a helpful magazine editor called Bob Davis.There will be spoilers. Content note: discussion of eugenics, nazis, racism, death, and general bad times. (Surely some mistake? -Ed)You can e-mail me at wodehousekeeping@gmail.comforward me your spare Colombian gold at ko-fi.com/wodehousekeepingor follow the show on Bluesky or FacebookPlease tell your friends about the show: our publicity budget was lost in some unwise stocks and shares shenanegans.Reference works consultedSophie Ratcliffe, P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in LettersNorman Murphy, A Wodehouse HandbookRichard Usborne, Wodehouse At Work to the EndDaniel Garrison and Neil Midkiff, Who's Who in WodehouseMadame Eulalie's Rare Plums websiteOther works by Wodehouse mentioned:My Man JeevesThe Man Upstairs and Other StoriesBring on the Girls (with Guy Bolton)"A Prisoner of War"Piccadilly JimJill the Reckless"By Advice of Counsel""The Good Angel" "Love Me, Love My Dog" A Damsel in DistressThe Little NuggetThe Globe 'By the Way' BookThe Man With Two Left Feet and Other StoriesAlso mentioned: Bob DavisJack JohnsonJames JeffriesWodehouse's adopted daughter Leonora CazaletRembrandt van RijnThe Fresh Prince of Bel-AirL M Montgomery, The Blue CastleLemony Snicket, A Series of Unfortunate EventsShort musical snippets included or parodied:Noël Coward, "Don't Let's Be Beastly to the Germans"Dire Straits, "Lady Writer" Helen Morgan, "Bill" (Wodehouse/Kern)Elvis Presley, "Old Shep"Nobuyoshi Koshibe and Katsuo Ohno, Theme from "Mysterious Cities of Gold"The Gothic Archies, "Scream and Run Away""Napoleon" (Wodehouse/Kern)Kimya Dawson, "It's Been Raining"Kenny Carter, "Showdown"The Seven Inches (my band) "Our Gang of Friends" and "Bad Genes"

Ian is re-rejoined by Gwen Sheldon to look at THE FIRST JEEVES BOOK (if you think it counts): My Man Jeeves, a UK only collection of eight short stories, half of which are among the earliest Jeeves stories, all set in New York. The other half are Reggie Pepper stories, Reggie being an early prototype of Bertie Wooster. We also look at the three other Reggie Pepper stories that were published in magazines but were left out of the book collections during The Master's lifetime. There will be spoilers. You can e-mail me at wodehousekeeping@gmail.comtip me at ko-fi.com/wodehousekeepingor follow the show on Bluebook or FaceskyStories covered in this episode:"Leave it to Jeeves" "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest" "Jeeves and the Hard-boiled Egg" "Absent Treatment""Helping Freddie""Rallying Round Old George""Doing Clarence a Bit of Good""The Aunt and the Sluggard" "Disentangling Old Percy""Concealed Art""The Test Case"Reference works consultedSophie Ratcliffe, P. G. Wodehouse: A Life in LettersRobert McCrum, Wodehouse: A LifeNorman Murphy, A Wodehouse HandbookRichard Usborne, Wodehouse At Work to the EndDaniel Garrison and Neil Midkiff, Who's Who in WodehouseMadame Eulalie's Rare Plums websiteOther works by Wodehouse mentioned:The Man Upstairs and Other StoriesThe Man With Two Left Feet and Other StoriesCarry On JeevesThe Inimitable Jeeves"Jeeves Takes Charge""Extricating Young Gussie""Bertie Changes His Mind"The Adventures of Sally"Rough-Hew them How We Will"Love Among the ChickensSomething FreshA Gentleman of Leisure"The Fatal Kink in Algernon"Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit"Fixing it for Freddie"Unpleasantness at Kozy Kot"A Few Quick Ones (US version)"Deep Waters"Brother Alfred (play/film)Not George WashingtonThe Globe By the Way BookThank You JeevesPiccadilly Jim"George and Alfred"Plum Pie"Jeeves Makes an Omelette"A Few Quick Ones"The Wigmore Venus""Archibald's Benefit"Also alluded to: Harry Leon Wilson, Ruggles of Red GapIan Carmichael and Dennis Price, "What Would I Do Without You, Jeeves?"Bud Fisher, Mutt and JeffR Outcault, Buster BrownJames Sant, The Soul's AwakeningAgatha ChristieHerbert WestbrookN A KnoxF Opper, Happy HooliganLaurence GrossmithGeorge Grossmith Jr.George Grossmith Sr. and Weedon Grossmith, Diary of a NobodyLeslie Havergal BradshawCupid's Inspiration, "Yesterday Has Gone"Billy SundayDouglas Fairbanks Sr.Fred StoneMaking Good with MotherCutting Out VenusWorld of WoosterJeeves and WoosterHelen WodehouseGeorge Herriman, The Dingbat Family and Krazy KatThe Beatles, "Baby's in Black"Boost for Birdsburg!