Wodehouse: A Life

What would you do if you were a self-confessed Wodehouse buff and found that there were already two biographies written about the man who created such a fantastic universe of comic aunts, uncles, pigs, earls, gardeners, etc…, especially when both were written with the blessings of the old man PGW himself?

You would write another one if you were Robert McCrum, exploring new ground that none of the others had expanded upon, especially his wartime ‘mishap’ or misdemeanour “Plum’ was widely vilified for, to the extent that Wodehouse never returned to the country of his birth after the infamous Berlin broadcasts.

Robert McCrum, the biographer is the literary editor of the Observer in London and a self-confessed Wodehouse fan. He has turned out a rich tribute to PGW, who lived till the ripe age of 94, creating some of the most loveable characters in English literature, including Jeeves, Wooster, Lord Emsworth, Mulliner, (my dear) Bobbie Wickham and a few hundred others. For those of us not in the UK and USA, the book lends valuable introduction to Plum’s considerable work outside the world of literature including Broadway & West End and even Hollywood.

The book dwells at depth on the making of the legend of a shy individual that Wodehouse was, and narrating the tale of a man who was most comfortable at his work – writing, than at anything else. It is a trifle surprising to know that PGW was a genial man but hardly talkative and rather reserved for someone who created such colorful characters.

The book is divided into 5 phases – PGW’s childhood and grooming till his breaking
out as a struggling author, his subsequent success and American experience, his literary peak and financial success, the disgrace of his Berlin broadcasts (the prelude to it, the actual event and its ripples) and the final phase including his last works as well as his attempts at atonement and the various honours that came his way towards the end of his life.

Wodehouse was eventually knighted for his services to English literature and the league of his fans itself reads like a who’s who of the English speaking world – George Orwell, Evelyn Waugh, Tom Sharpe etc. This book itself comes recommended by one of the previous biographers, several people from Wodehouse’s life as well as luminaries such as literary heavyweights such as Stephen Fry and John Le Carre.

Must read for bibliophiles and Wodehousians.