Reading the 20th Century discussion

Milicent on Schopenhauer - wonderful


Lest we forget....

We are like lambs in a field, disporting ourselves under the eye of the butcher, who chooses out first one and then another for his prey

SueLucie wrote:


“I am an expert at making apple-pie beds. Would anyone else recognise one?"

I would indeed

My sister and I used to do it to each other, and then to our younger sister

And then the duvet, or continental quilt, became commonplace and that was the end of that

Nigeyb wrote: "SueLucie wrote:


“I am an expert at making apple-pie beds. Would anyone else recognise one?"

I would indeed

My sister and I used to do it to each other, and then to our younger sister"

I remember being utterly bemused reading about apple-pie beds in the Malory Towers books, still can't picture them (something about the sheet doubled over so your legs don't fit...?). I was a duvet child.

I thought I had missing pages when the Empress was abducted. Maybe more will be in the Gally tell all.

Roman Clodia wrote:


"I remember being utterly bemused reading about apple-pie beds in the Malory Towers books, still can't picture them (something about the sheet doubled over so your legs don't fit...?). I was a duvet child"

Just fold the main sheet in half and tuck it in, so that when the person gets into the bed they can only get half way down - and hilarity ensues

I think it was Mallory Towers that inspired my sister and me too

I’m closing in on the ending now


This goes up another level once Pilbeam arrives at Blandings

The cocktail scene had me chuckling away

Oh to see the photo of Lord Emsworth in his yeomanry to understand its chilling effect

Roman Clodia wrote: "Nigeyb wrote: "SueLucie wrote:


“I am an expert at making apple-pie beds. Would anyone else recognise one?"

I would indeed

My sister and I used to do it to each other, and then to our younger s..."

I believe we call it short-sheeting. Had it done to me once. Probably because I hadn't warned someone about it being done to them,

Ooh, and now a plot to abduct a second pig! 🐷

Baxter…. a man of strange pleasures 😂

I have just finished this one


Absolutely superb. Peak Wodehouse

Some of the latter scenes had me shaking with mirth, earlier I made the mistake of trying to eat a bowl of porridge and had to set it aside until the merriment abated

A quick review. Five stars of course. Predictably gushing and spoiler free....


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I can’t imagine a tennis ball would bounce all that well against a porcine surface. 🐷

Renee wrote: "I can’t imagine a tennis ball would bounce all that well against a porcine surface. 🐷"

Very true

And perhaps would be prone to veer off at different angles - then again could be very skilful throwing

Renee wrote: "I can’t imagine a tennis ball would bounce all that well against a porcine surface. 🐷"

Haha, I briefly puzzled over that too - and then concluded that the Empress, munching away happily throughout this scene, is likely broad-backed and solidly packed so maybe...

Pig-bouncing apart, does anyone else think Sue Brown is too good for Ronnie Fish? He's quite Bertie-ish, which is lovely for us, but marriage material?

Wodehouse women often seem to be fall for rather empty headed types. The single women are generally far more interesting than the men who are often Bertie-ish.

Ronnie seems to have very little going for him but, as PGW reminds us, there's no saying where Cupid's arrow my strike.

Love in PG's world is invariably romantic, absolute and unwavering, and the only outcome is marriage despite what older heads may prefer. Part of its charm really. No real world messiness here.

I bow to your greater PGW knowledge. I guess Ashe, Psmith and even Hugo are all finer figures of men. But, of course, there's Freddie in the Ronnie category and so many of Bertie's friends who are rescued by strong women.

As you say, it's part of the charm of PGW world 💜

Sue has arrived at Blandings and Baxter's spectacles are flashing with ardour!

Ah yes, the gleaming specs 👓

SueLucie wrote: "As a product of boarding school in the 60s/70s I am an expert at making apple-pie beds. Would anyone else recognise one?..."

I've started this but am not very far as yet. I was also at boarding school in the 1970s and remember coming across an apple pie bed on one or two occasions, but there was a huge row when someone split the sheet and they were then strictly banned!

Judy wrote: "SueLucie wrote: "As a product of boarding school in the 60s/70s I am an expert at making apple-pie beds. Would anyone else recognise one?..."

I've started this but am not very far as yet. I was al..."

Yes, of course it was so possible to put your foot straight through the sheet, especially the middle section as this would be, and thin from multiple washings. The ‘joys’ of boarding school!

Nigeyb wrote: "Ah yes, the gleaming specs 👓"

Poor old Baxter!

I finished last night - aww, Gally kind of lives up to his name, no?

Also PGW is good at romantic declarations and reconciliations - quite deliciously gooey, but short enough to stay enjoyable.

With Pilbeam still around, I'm so glad we're organized to return next month.

Here's my review of the omnibus that contains Something Fresh and this one: 5-stars, of course!

www.goodreads.com/review/show/6238420880

Great book, great review RC


I am going to get hold of those short stories and read them before we return to Blandings next month. Something which I keenly anticipate - Blandings stories I've yet to read, what joy

What are the titles of the three short stories? I’d like to see if I can locate them. ~Thanks!

I'm assuming they are included in....


Blandings Castle (1935)


....which GoodReads states is.....

Blandings Castle #3


Here are a dozen stories to delight all Wodehouse addicts...A crooning tenor is attempting to captivate the affections of the Rev. Rupert Bingham's fiancee, Lord Emsworth is striving to remove a pumpkin-shaped blot on the family escutcheon, the Hon. Freddie Threepwood is making a last-ditch attempt to convert Lady Alcester to the beneficial quality of Donaldson's Dog-Joy, and in the bar-parlor of the Anglers' Rest, Mr. Mulliner fascinates everyone with the secret history of old Hollywood.


According to the Kindle edition this is what's included....


BLANDINGS CASTLE
1 THE CUSTODY OF THE PUMPKIN
2 LORD EMSWORTH ACTS FOR THE BEST
3 PIG-HOO-0-0-0-EY!
4 COMPANY FOR GERTRUDE
5 THE GO-GETTER
6 LORD EMSWORTH AND THE GIRL FRIEND

ELSEWHERE
1. A BOBBIE WICKHAM STORY
7 MR POTTER TAKES A REST CURE
2. THE MULLINERS OF HOLLYWOOD
8 MONKEY BUSINESS
9 THE NODDER
10 THE JUICE OF AN ORANGE
11 THE RISE OF MINNA NORDSTROM
12 THE CASTAWAYS

Roman Clodia wrote: "Pig-bouncing apart, does anyone else think Sue Brown is too good for Ronnie Fish? He's quite Bertie-ish, which is lovely for us, but marriage material?"

She's much too good for him. I agree Ronnie is reminiscent of Bertie, but he's an even more stupid version, amazingly! His jealousy would also get extremely annoying for her.

I’m hoping he’d feel more secure once they’re married

Nigeyb wrote: "I’m hoping he’d feel more secure once they’re married"

Sure he will, Wodehouse has that whole thing about competent women who make sure their men come up to scratch!

Good point Alwynne


Sue will take him in hand

Nigeyb wrote: "Good point Alwynne


Sue will take him in hand"

She will - she does! And at least he realises he's a complete idiot. And it's quite touching that he's so insecure about his lack of height. I do think PGW does wonderful romantic reconciliations.

Actually, that's a similar sort of dynamic to that between Bertie and Jeeves - Bertie knows he's a fool and is utterly reliant on Jeeves to put his world to right.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Actually, that's a similar sort of dynamic to that between Bertie and Jeeves - Bertie knows he's a fool and is utterly reliant on Jeeves to put his world to right."

It's quite endearing, although beyond the pay cheque I'm never quite sure how Jeeves puts up with Bertie's shenanigans.

Haha, nice reminder of Jeeves' pay cheque! When he goes off gossiping with other 'gentlemen's gentlemen', I always wonder whether he'd meet Peter Wimsey's Bunter there?

I've always been so disconcerted by the push-pull nature of that relationship: on one hand, they've been through so much together and Bunter sees Wimsey at his most vulnerable; on the other, class and the master-servant dynamic where Peter gives the orders because he pays the salary is always there in the background.

I would love to know whether such relationships were common in real life. Fiction is full of them, sometimes explicitly where the servant was once the master's batman, sometimes just mirroring that relationship. It sanitises the class disparity, so there is an underlying comradeship, not just wages and subservience!

The book relationship between Frodo and Sam has something of that - although book Pippin and Merry are university students out with their tutor, rather than young officers. The film lost all that by making them all the same age.

I can't see Jeeves as Bertie's batman - but then I don't think Bertie has a war record at all!

Roman Clodia wrote: "Haha, nice reminder of Jeeves' pay cheque! When he goes off gossiping with other 'gentlemen's gentlemen', I always wonder whether he'd meet Peter Wimsey's Bunter there?

I've always been so discon..."

I know what you mean, there's supposed to be this unshakeable bond because they went through war together, and Bunter is so important in helping Wimsey survive what's effectively severe PTSD. But on the other hand it's a purely transactional relationship. Almost as if Bunter is a human version of the so-called faithful hound.

Rosina wrote: "I would love to know whether such relationships were common in real life. Fiction is full of them, sometimes explicitly where the servant was once the master's batman, sometimes just mirroring that..."

I'd like to know that too, I've only really read about Virginia Woolf and her servants in any detail, and those relationships totally undermine any notion of deep-seated bonds.

Yes, Frodo and Sam is a great example of sentimentalising what is fundamentally an unequal and hierarchical relationship.

At Blandings, there's also that touching relationship between Ronnie Fish and Beach, where Beach was more of a paternal figure than Mr Fish, whoever he was.

Yonks ago I read a couple of memoirs about life in service. One was by Lady Astor's lady's maid (Rose: My Life In Service) and another by the head butler at Cliveden, Edwin Lee. According to my hazy memories both were very positive about their lives and their relationships with their employers. Probably not Jeeves levels of familiarity but perhaps Beach at Blandings would be a more accurate depiction.

I can't imagine working as a domestic for Virginia Woolf would be much fun

Something I've been meaning to say is how much I like the platonic relationship between Sue Brown and Hugo - it seems such a genuine friendship with no overtones, and they can go out dancing together just to have fun.

Great point RC


That kind of relationship comes up a few times in PGW's work

Finally, finally, finished. Some great humour and wit, but felt I took too long in reading it. It's me, not you, PGW!

Hurrah


Yes, PG needs to be ingested in the fewest possible sittings

I believe I've read somewhere that the Wimsey/Bunter relationship was inspired by a real aristocrat and his valet whom Sayers knew, but didn't particularly get on with - this may possibly have been in the biography of Sayers by Barbara Reynolds, Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul, which I think is only in print so I can't search it, sorry.

Has anyone listened to audio of Blandings Castle? I found an audible option of book 3 but I know from recent experience some narrations can ruin a good book.

Susan_MG wrote: "Has anyone listened to audio of Blandings Castle? I found an audible option of book 3 but I know from recent experience some narrations can ruin a good book."

There is a Stephen Fry version on the Internet Archive.

Judy wrote: "I believe I've read somewhere that the Wimsey/Bunter relationship was inspired by a real aristocrat and his valet whom Sayers knew, but didn't particularly get on with - this may possibly have been..."

That's interesting to know, Judy.

Susan_MG wrote: "Has anyone listened to audio of Blandings Castle? I found an audible option of book 3 but I know from recent experience some narrations can ruin a good book."

I started listening to an abridged version from my library but I hated the voices as they all sounded such upper class twits! Even the charming characters. I hated it.

I had the same problem when I started listening to one of the Peter Wimsey books - I just wanted to slap him!

Thanks RC. I can relate. I like the idea of the slap (Haha)but I wish the producers would direct a better narration.

To be fair, I think these were older versions as the newer audio editions all had long waiting lists. I'm sure the more modern voices are easier to listen to.