Psmith, Journalist

by P. G. Wodehouse

Overview

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse KBE (15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. Born in Guildford, the third son of a British magistrate based in Hong Kong, Wodehouse spent happy teenage years at Dulwich College, to which he remained devoted all his life. After leaving school, he was employed by a bank but disliked the work and turned to writing in his spare time. His early novels were mostly school stories, but he later switched to comic fiction, creating several regular characters who became familiar to the public over the years. They include the jolly gentleman of leisure Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet Jeeves; the immaculate and loquacious Psmith; Lord Emsworth and the Blandings Castle set; the Oldest Member, with stories about golf; and Mr Mulliner, with tall tales on subjects ranging from bibulous bishops to megalomaniac movie moguls.

Most of Wodehouse's fiction is set in England, although he spent much of his life in the US and used New York and Hollywood as settings for some of his novels and short stories. He wrote a series of Broadway musical comedies during and after the First World War, together with Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern, that played an important part in the development of the American musical. He began the 1930s writing for MGM in Hollywood. In a 1931 interview, his naïve revelations of incompetence and extravagance in the studios caused a furore. In the same decade, his literary career reached a new peak.

Wodehouse worked extensively on his books, sometimes having two or more in preparation simultaneously. He would take up to two years to build a plot and write a scenario of about thirty thousand words. After the scenario was complete he would write the story. Early in his career he would produce a novel in about three months, but he slowed in old age to around six months. He used a mixture of Edwardian slang, quotations from and allusions to numerous poets, and several literary techniques to produce a prose style that has been compared to comic poetry and musical comedy. Some critics of Wodehouse have considered his work flippant, but among his fans are former British prime ministers and many of his fellow writers. (wikipedia.org)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647992781
Publisher:	Bibliotech Press
Publication date:	03/05/2020
Pages:	154
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.39(d)

About the Author

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE, was a comic author who experienced huge success during a career of more than seventy years and continues to be broadly read over 40 years after his death. He was an English writer and one of the most comprehensively read humorists of the 20th century. Born in Guildford on 15 October 1881, the son of a British Magistrate established in Hong Kong, Wodehouse spent happy teenage years at Dulwich College. Later he worked for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank in London for two years. He wrote part-time while working in the bank, usually proving successful enough to take it up as a full-time profession. He was a journalist with The Globe (an inactive English newspaper) for several years before usually going to Hollywood, where he earned a huge amount as a screenwriter. He was a creative author, writing 96 books in a career scaling from 1902-1975. His works consist of novels, collections of short stories, and a musical comedy. He is best well-known as the creator of Jeeves. He died on 14 February 1975 in New York, United States.

Date of Birth:

October 15, 1881

Date of Death:

February 14, 1975

Place of Birth:

Guildford, Surrey, England

Place of Death:

Southampton, New York

Education:

Dulwich College, 1894-1900