Plum Sauce: A P. G. Wodehouse Companion

I've loved Wodehouse's works for many years, but was only familiar with the Jeeves books until I read this.Mr Usborne was a renowned Wodehouse aficionado, and a witty writer himself, if this is anything to go by. In this companion to the great man's works, he tells us about all of Wodehouse's well-known characters, and a lot of the lesser ones, from Bertie Wooster and Lord Emsworth to people like Uncle Fred and the protagonists in his one-off efforts that most fans read only from a completist's point of view.Mr Usborne puts the Blandings and Jeeves stories in chronological order for us, an essential service, so we have no right to be surprised and bewildered by reading about a character or incident alluded to in a previous story we've omitted to read. Read them in order for maximum enjoyment.I learned a few things, too. Did you know that a debonair young man-about-town was known, during and after the first world war, as a knut? Bertie Wooster and his Drones chums were knuts. I've googled the word, and it has gone completely out of use in that context; almost nobody even knows that a boulevardier (as Bertie blithely calls himself) was a knut. Bertie's formidable Aunt Agatha referred to him as a wastrel, Barmy Fotheringay-Phipps, Freddie Widgeon and Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright were indeed drones, and they were all knuts. Still, it had probably fallen out of favour by the 1930s, which seems to be the timeless period in which his stories are set - or are imagined to have been.If you are a Wodehouse freak like me, I can recommend this book, if only to keep all the bally stories straight, what?

WOW!! This book is essential if you plan to read anything ever written by P.G. Wodehouse.I had read the Inimitable Jeeves and seen season #1 of Jeeves and Wooster on DVD. I was hooked and wanted more.Using the traditional Amazon search engines, you get pummeled with the books presented in an incoherent fashion, and as is so often the case, a kind fan will lay out the order of the books for you. BUT NOT THIS TIME.You delve deeper and you see there are several series -- PSmith, Drones, Blandings Castle, ever reliable Jeeves and Bertie and others.And then I discovered this book. And you go on to learn Wodehouse wrote well over 90 books -- and this book lays them all out for you in chronological order.I especially loved the original cover art included for many of the books.A LITTLE HINT -- THE BOOK INTIMATES THAT SOME OF WODEHOUSE'S EARLY BOOKS WERE A MIXED BAG -- SO IT STEERED ME TOWARDS NEXT READING "MIKE" WHICH INTRODUCES YOU TO PSMITH.Mike is an unbelievable book and my plan is to cover the books written chronologically from there. I've shelved Jeeves and Bertie for awhile but they're coming up soon enough.I can't thank the guy who wrote this book enough --- he really did a great service to fans and potential fans of Wodehouse.

Anyone who has stumbled on the numerous Wodehouse collections edited by Richard Usborne knows that their topics range widely, from golf to crime, "dumb chums" like Joffrey the cat to Drones Club regulars, the odd aunt and the odder uncle. Who better then to provide the ultimate guide to everything penned by the prolific PGW? Furthermore, this book is a necessity for the beginning novice just cracking the spine of a first Jeeves adventure as well as the veteran with a merry twinkle, the sure sign of a long addiction to Wodehouse's "laughing gas." If laughter is the best medicine, Dr. Usborne's prescription herein is guaranteed to extend, if not the days in your life, at least the life in your days. But how can such a delightful pleasure be passed off as essential for all and sundry desiring to delve into the wonderful world of Wodehouse?Even the casual reader in pursuit of PGW will soon discover twists and turns in the path that would make the quills stand up on the fretful porpentine. Where to start with over one hundred books? Which of the British books were published under different titles in America and vice versa? If you did want to undertake the Herculean task of reading all the Wodehouse in chronological order, where would you begin? Happily, Richard Usborne, playing Jeeves to PG's Wooster, lays all that out in a delightful and enticing manner. So put your trust in a higher power, settle down to the eggs and b. and enjoy the wonderful world of Wodehouse.

For the committed Wodehouse reader his books present a world entirely of their own with characters reappearing in cameos throughout the series of books stretching over seventy years. These characters occupy the mythical world of perfect lawns, angry lords, fierce aunts, women who seek to snare young men in marriage and loopy men throwing bread rolls in the Drones.The reader often wishes to remember where they first came across Gussie Finknottle, Freddy Threepwood and Stilton Cheesewright but it remains elusively just out of reach. Here the writer gives us such a companion detailing the characters, stories and world of P G Wodehouse along with some excellent period art work.It is a relatively cheap addition for the Wodehouse fan and is relatively definitive. It isn't exhaustive, very minor characters appearing on a one off basis are not all in there but it really does help having this to hand. Wodehouse weaves such deliciously complex (yet simple) plots and the characters are drawn so quickly that this should be at the elbow of every dedicated fan.

A delightful book full of information and amusing comments. It's a perfect bedside book. The Wodehouse enthusiast should not be without it.

I'd recommend it as a quick reference guide to use together with Richard Usborne's Wodehouse At Work to the End.