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Average rating4
The Little Nugget (1913) is one of the novels in which Wodehouse found his feet, a light comic thriller set in an English prep school for the children of the nobility and gentry. Into their midst comes eleven-year-old Ogden Ford, the mouthy, overweight, chain-smoking son of an American millionaire. Ogden (whom we meet again in Piccadilly Jim) is the object of a kidnap attempt which forms the basis of the plot. The comedy arises from Wodehouse's favourite topics of Anglo-American misunderstanding and the absurdities of school life.
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Two thumbs up for this comedy of errors in which Peter Burns, “a wealthy man of leisure,” upon his fiancé's request, pretends to open up his own school and assumes the position of assistant master at a boarding school in hopes to kidnap Ogden (featured in [b:Picadilly Jim 18077 Picadilly Jim P.G. Wodehouse http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348468133s/18077.jpg 1875735]) and return him back to his mother. Ogden, an obnoxious, crude, self-centered 14 year old, is a hateful creature but his divorced parents both love him; and they both feel they are better able to take care of and protect their son. After a number of American thugs attempt to kidnap the 14 year old for the umpteenth time for ransom, the dad secretly sends The Little Nugget off to boarding school in England. Peter Burns picks the story up from here and narrates what ensues in a style that almost reads as a situation comedy in which Watson ditches Sherlock for his own adventure in crime fighting. The story is chock full of British tongue-in-cheek humor which I adore. A great pick for anyone looking for something to read during a short flight.
Featured Series
3 primary books4 released booksSchool Stories is a 13-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1902 with contributions by P.G. Wodehouse.