Leave it to Psmith
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
'You don't analyse such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendour.' Stephen Fry A Blandings novelLady Constance Keeble, sister of Lord Emsworth of Blandings Castle, has both an imperious manner and a valuable diamond necklace. The precarious peace of Blandings is shattered when her necklace becomes the object of dark plottings, for within the castle lurk some well-connected jewel thieves – among them the Honourable Freddie Threepwood, Lord Emsworth's younger son, who wants the reward money to set up a bookmaking business. Psmith, the elegant socialist, is also after it for his newly married chum Mike. And on patrol with the impossible task of bringing management to Blandings is the Efficient Baxter, whose strivings for order lead to a memorable encounter with the castle flowerpots.Will peace ever return to Blandings Castle...?
Series
11 primary books13 released booksBlandings Castle is a 14-book series with 12 primary works first released in 1915 with contributions by P.G. Wodehouse.
Series
1 primary book21 released booksThe Drones Club is a 21-book series with 1 primary work first released in 1920 with contributions by P.G. Wodehouse, P. G. Wodehouse, and Пэлем Грэнвил Вудхауз.
Series
4 primary booksPsmith is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 1909 with contributions by P.G. Wodehouse and P. G. Wodehouse.
Reviews with the most likes.
I have in the past read a number of Wodehouse's books, though only a minority of them. This seems to me at least one of his best, and my personal favourite so far.
We have the distinctively humorous writing style (usually present), the endearing if exaggerated characterization, the remarkably adept plotting (present in his best books), Psmith (who particularly appeals to me), the pleasant location of Blandings Castle, and on top of it all a rather appealing love story.
The early chapters are agreeable if perhaps a wee bit slow; the later chapters are better paced and hilarious in places, enough to make me laugh out loud, which I don't often do over books.
Wodehouse's fantasy world of upper-class England isn't to everyone's taste, but Psmith is a vaguely subversive figure in it. Unlike other Wodehouse characters, he belongs to that world but lacks respect for its conventions, exploiting and undermining them for his own advantage. He has almost the intellect of Jeeves without being limited to the status of a servant. What he lacks is money, but he doesn't allow that to depress him; indeed, he doesn't seem very concerned about money, except that unfortunately he needs some of it to get by.
