P._G._Wodehouse_bibliography

P. G. Wodehouse bibliography

P. G. Wodehouse bibliography

Add article description


Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE (/ˈwʊdhs/; 1881–1975) was a prolific English author, humorist and scriptwriter. After being educated at Dulwich College, to which he remained devoted all his life, he was employed by a bank, but disliked the work and wrote magazine pieces in his spare time.[1] In 1902 he published his first novel, The Pothunters, set at the fictional public school of St. Austin's; his early stories continued the school theme. He also used the school setting in his short story collections, which started in 1903 with the publication of Tales of St. Austin's.[2]

Quick Facts Novels↙, Collections↙ ...

Throughout his novel- and story-writing career Wodehouse created several regular comic characters with whom the public became familiar. These include Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves; the immaculate and loquacious Psmith; Lord Emsworth and the Blandings Castle set; the disaster-prone opportunist Ukridge; the Oldest Member, with stories about golf; and Mr Mulliner, with tales on numerous subjects from film studios to the Church of England.[1]

Wodehouse also wrote scripts and screenplays and, in August 1911, his script A Gentleman of Leisure was produced on the Broadway stage. In the 1920s and 1930s he collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton in an arrangement that "helped transform the American musical" of the time;[3] in the Grove Dictionary of American Music Larry Stempel writes, "By presenting naturalistic stories and characters and attempting to integrate the songs and lyrics into the action of the libretto, these works brought a new level of intimacy, cohesion, and sophistication to American musical comedy."[4] His writing for plays also turned into scriptwriting, starting with the 1915 film A Gentleman of Leisure. He joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1930 for a year, and then worked for RKO Pictures in 1937.[5]

At the outbreak of the Second World War, and while living in northern France, Wodehouse was captured by the Germans and was interned for over a year. After his release he was tricked into making five comic and apolitical broadcasts on German radio to the still neutral US. After vehement protests in Britain, Wodehouse never returned to his home country, despite being cleared by an MI5 investigation. He moved to the US permanently in 1947 and took American citizenship in 1955, retaining his British nationality. He died in 1975, at the age of 93, in Southampton, New York, one month after he was awarded a knighthood of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). [1][6]

Novels

Wodehouse in 1930, aged 48
Cover of Wodehouse's first published novel, 1902
Cover of William Tell Told Again, 1904
Cover of Love Among the Chickens, 1906

Initially in chronological order by UK publication date, even when the book was published first in the US or serialised in a magazine in advance of publication in book form.

More information Year of UK publication, UK publisher (All publishers based in London) ...


Short story collections

My Man Jeeves, 1920 edition
Psmith, drawn by T.M.R. Whitwell for first edition of Mike, 1909

In chronological order by UK publication date, even when the book was published first in the US or serialised in a magazine in advance of publication in book form.

More information Year of UK publication, UK publisher (All publishers based in London) ...

Individual short stories

Wodehouse wrote more than 300 short stories.[14] Many of these stories were originally published in magazines and subsequently published in short story collections. Wodehouse also contributed other works to periodicals such as articles and poems, and some of Wodehouse's novels were originally serialised in magazines as well.[15]

Plays

Cover of sheet music of "The Lilt of a Gypsy Strain" from The Riviera Girl, 1917
Tom Powers and Beatrice Lillie in the London production of the Bolton, Wodehouse and Kern show Oh, Boy!, 1919
Wodehouse in 1904, aged 23
More information Location of first performance, Date of first performance ...

Films

Advertisement for A Gentleman of Leisure (1923)
Illustration from the 1910 novel A Gentleman of Leisure
More information Year of release, Studio ...

Autobiographies and miscellany

Wodehouse with his adopted daughter Leonora, 1930

The following is a collection of published autobiographical and miscellaneous work. There are transcripts available of the five broadcasts he made, available online, including through the PG Wodehouse Society (UK).[25]

More information Year of UK publication, UK publisher(All publishers based in London) ...

References and sources

References

  1. Rogers 1996, p. 349.
  2. White 2009, p. 282.
  3. "Obituary: P. G. Wodehouse". The Times. 17 February 1975. p. 14.
  4. Ring 2004, pp. 30–37.
  5. Voorhees 1985, pp. 331–33.
  6. Phelps 1992, pp. 312–21.
  7. Connolly 1987, pp. 138–55.
  8. Ring 2001, p. 19.
  9. Powell 1994, p. 300.
  10. White 2009, pp. 277–78.
  11. Jasen 1975, pp. 284–85.
  12. Ring 2004, p. 35.
  13. "Wartime controversy". PG Wodehouse Society (UK). Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.

Sources


Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article P._G._Wodehouse_bibliography, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.