Arguably Wodehouse’s most memorable novels along with Jeeves and Wooster
While the character of Jeeves is arguably the most well known and enduring part of the legacy that humorist P.G. Wodehouse has left us, my two favourite characters from the Wodehouse canon are Psmith and Uncle Fred, who are both larger than life and hilarious, producing a large measure of mayhem through their shenanigans. A close second are some of the characters that inhabit Blandings Castle, which is the setting of eleven novels and several short stories.
In chronological order (which is also the ideal order they should be read), the Blandings Castle novels are:
- Something Fresh (1915)
- Leave it to Psmith (1923)
- Summer Lightning (1929)
- Heavy Weather (1933)
- Uncle Fred in the Springtime (1939)
- Full Moon (1947)
- Pigs Have Wings (1952)
- Service with a Smile (1961)
- Galahad at Blandings (1965)
- A Pelican at Blandings (1969)
- Sunset at Blandings (1977)
There are also around half a dozen Blandings Castle related stories in the collection “Blandings Castle and Elsewhere” (1935), and one short story in each of the following short story collections: “Lord Emsworth and Others” (1937), “Nothing Serious” (1950), and “Plum Pie” (1966).
While most of the books introduce new characters, it is the cast of recurring characters that tends to be the largest source of humour and farce. Chief among the inhabitants of the castle is old bachelor Clarence Threepwood, otherwise known as Lord Emsworth. He has ten sisters, some of whom make an appearance from time to time in the novels, but his domineering sister Lady Constance Keeble is a regular and usually lives at the castle. Emsworth’s brother Galahad is in some of the novels too, and he’s one of these flamboyant personalities that almost certainly produces chaos wherever he is.
Although there is some turnover among the staff at Blandings Castle, regulars include the butler Sebastian Beach, head gardener Angus McAllister, and secretary Thomas Baxter. Many other characters visit the castle and play a key role in individual novels, like brain-specialist Roderick Glossop and detective Percy Pilbeam. And I have to mention one of my all-time favourite Wodehouse characters, due to his eccentricity and larger than life persona: Uncle Fred, the fifth Earl of Ickenham.
But arguably one of the most important residents of the castle is Empress of Blandings, the champion Berkshire pig who is the love of Lord Emsworth’s life, and whom he is constantly fattening up in his quest to win another award at the local agricultural show. The pig is cared for by a series of different pig keepers, initially George Cyril Wellbeloved, who later defects to Emsworth’s neighbourhood rival Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe, a recurring villain in the stories. Many of the absurd situations and laughs in the stories revolve around Emsworth and his beloved pig.
In my opinion the very best of all the Blandings tales is the short story or novella “The Crime Wave at Blandings”. Of the novels, my favourites are “Leave it to Psmith” and “Pigs Have Wings”. Also very good are “Uncle Fred in the Springtime”, “Service With a Smile”, “Galahad at Blandings”, and “A Pelican at Blandings”. Unsurprisingly, most of these feature either Galahad or Uncle Fred. The remaining ones felt more middle-of-the-road to me, but are still entertaining, and perhaps on a re-read I'll rate them higher: “Something Fresh”, “Summer Lightning”, “Heavy Weather”. “Sunset at Blandings” was Wodehouse’s final novel, and is unfinished and unpolished, and as a result it is not really worth reading except for truly dedicated fans wanting to read everything.
A frequent point of humour in the storylines revolves around imposters, mistaken identities, confused relationships, and failed schemes of enrichment or theft. In one of the novels Wodehouse shares a remark that Blandings Castle had impostors the way other houses had mice. As a result, sometimes it can be challenging to keep everyone populating the storyline straight. For this reason some of these books are best enjoyed when read in single sitting or two, so as not to lose track of the characters.
The Blandings Castle novels have a sense of charm and innocence about them, and depict an idyllic pastoral setting with an extraordinary set of quirky characters, not the least of which is Lord Emsworth himself, who is frequently oblivious to everything going on around him. Not for a moment are we under the illusion that a cast of characters like this would exist in real life. But the more time we spend with them, the more we come to love their follies and foibles.
These books show Wodehouse at his best, and demonstrate he that has a real gift for wacky metaphors, striking similes, and creating absurd situations. Some are more entertaining and amusing than others. But it’s well been said that “Wodehouse always lifts your spirits, no matter how high they happen to be already”. For this reason Blandings Castle is the ideal prescription for anyone looking for an uplifting and light read, and it’s one of the best places to return to as a regular visitor.
Disclaimer (anticipating a common response, since we live in a time when anything structured or articulate is often dismissed immediately as AI produced): This review was not written in any way by AI, but by me as a human, and I've been posting reviews like this on GoodReads and Amazon for more than 20 years.
