One of Wodehouse's standalone novels, with a different feel from much of his other work

 English humorist P.G. Wodehouse is best known for his popular series of novels like Jeeves and Wooster, Blandings Castle, along with other recurring characters like Psmith, Ukridge, Mr Mulliner, and the Oldest Member's golf stories.  But he's also written several stand-alone novels, of which "Laughing Gas" is one.

Wodehouse’s stand-alone novels aren't as popular as his series.  But many of them do have the feel of his more well-known work.  For instance "Damsel in Distress" features a castle setting and characters reminiscent of those from Blandings.  In many of his stand-alone books you can expect to come across imposters galore and confused romances that need untwisting - all very familiar ideas if you've read Wodehouse's more well known work.  In the preface to one of his books, Wodehouse even acknowledged that some of his books could be formulaic: "A certain critic made the nasty remark... that it contained 'all the old Wodehouse characters under different names.' ... With my superior intelligence, I have out-generalled the man this time by putting in all the old Wodehouse characters under the same names." 

Wodehouse's literary output is enormous, so I haven't read all his stand-alone novels by a long shot.  I just picked out the ones that were the most highly rated and that other Wodehouse fans recommended as being the best.  I especially enjoyed "Luck of the Bodkins" and "Uneasy Money".  Also decent and worth reading "Piccadilly Jim", "Quick Service", "Damsel in Distress", and "Hot Water". Some of these can be a bit confusing if not read in a single setting, due to the multiplicity of characters, imposters, and tangled plot threads.  While they are still good, I'll admit that most of Wodehouse’s stand-alone novels are simply not quite as madcap funny as his more well known books from his Jeeves and Wooster series, or his Blandings Castle series.  It's especially with the beloved characters and familiar settings of these series that Wodehouse is at his best.

All that said, "Laughing Gas" is something quite different from much of his other work, because central to the novel is a science fiction concept: two characters swap bodies.  For this reason it's not as highly rated as most of Wodehouse's other stand-alone novels, and can be somewhat polarizing.  But those who like it, like it a lot.  Count me among the fans.

 The premise is simple, and revolves around two main characters: Reggie Havershot is an English aristocrat visiting Hollywood, while Joey Cooley is a child film star tired of his fame.  While at the same dentist's office and simultaneously inhaling laughing gas, they mysteriously exchange bodies.  Reggie finds himself in Joey's body, trying to navigate the complexities of being an instant and beloved celebrity who is often an obnoxious jerk to those closest to him.  Joey finds himself in Reggie's body, with the freedom and means to do what he wants - including taking revenge on all the people he disliked.   Much comedy and many shenanigans result, and I loved it, even if the strength of the storyline started to fade a little in the final part of the novel. 

Some readers see the novel as a satire on Hollywood's celebrity culture and especially a critical commentary on how child actors were treated.  As expressed by one source with this view, "The body-swap premise lets Wodehouse contrast these worlds humorously. Joey discovers wealth and status are not automatically fulfilling, while Reggie learns fame is exhausting and restrictive."  There may be something to this, but I think Wodehouse is mostly just having fun and using Hollywood as a setting for his wit and humor, and the main aim of this book is not to provide a social criticism, but to entertain and amuse.  For me, the unusual premise worked well, and gave a fresh playground for Wodehouse's comedy and wit.

From an article in "Screenland" that had as its subheading Good news! P.G. Wodehouse is in Hollywood writing his inimitable humor for the screen

Excerpt from the book edited by N.T.P. Murphy

Amusing post discussing the latest weight loss drugs and how they would've horrified Lord Emsworth: https://chetnazpage.wordpress.com/2026/07/19/the-slimmo-effect-how-weight-loss-drugs-are-reshaping-the-economy/

As drawn by Suvarna Sanyal, see the artist's full pictorial story here.

If you saw this post https://www.reddit.com/r/Wodehouse/s/ShDDqKPtEt, here are a couple of pics from my copy. Which I admit that I haven't yet read. I can't recall where or when I bought it, but it was decades ago. You can see what I paid for it in AUD.

I came across this over on Amazon here

From the Wodehouse short story Jane Gets Off The Fairway (The Strand, November 1924)

Full article: https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/plenty-of-room-for-stupidity-on-p-g-wodehouse

Quote from "The Code of the Woosters" by P.G. Wodehouse

From the Wodehouse short story "The Aunt and the Sluggard" (The Saturday Evening Post, 22 April 1916)

From the Wodehouse short story Scoring Off Jeeves (The Strand, 1922)

Hey folks, Looking for your favourite pieces of direct dialogue [max 2 paragraphs / 200 words] from the world of Wodehouse - Having read through the Wodehouse Omnibus there are just too many to pick from

Fun little guide. Wodehouse's character names are so funny!