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Piccadilly Jim
The fall brings four more antic novels from comic genius, P. G. Wodehouse. In Picadilly Jim (soon to be a major motion picture), Jimmy Crocker has a scandalous reputation on both sides of the Atlantic and must do an about-face to win back the woman of his dreams. Uneasy Money sees the hard-up Lord Dawlish off to America to make a fortune, while in Cocktail Time events turn on the fate of a filmscript. Spring Fever is a light-hearted comedy involving love and various complications.
302 pages, Hardcover
First published February 24, 1917
About the author
P.G. Wodehouse
1,122 books6,486 followersSir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE, was a comic writer who enjoyed enormous popular success during a career of more than seventy years and continues to be widely read over 40 years after his death. Despite the political and social upheavals that occurred during his life, much of which was spent in France and the United States, Wodehouse's main canvas remained that of prewar English upper-class society, reflecting his birth, education, and youthful writing career.
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by more recent writers such as Douglas Adams, Salman Rushdie and Terry Pratchett. Sean O'Casey famously called him "English literature's performing flea", a description that Wodehouse used as the title of a collection of his letters to a friend, Bill Townend.
Best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a talented playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of fifteen plays and of 250 lyrics for some thirty musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song Bill in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote the lyrics for the Gershwin/Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 438 reviews
June 7, 2017
“Mr. Pett is going to give me a job in his office. I am going to start at the bottom and work my way still further down.”
Excellent negative positivity (or something). I love reading P.G. Wodehouse, especially on the bus in audio format on the way to work, it puts me in the right frame of mind for the daily grind ahead.
Piccadilly Jim is probably the most popular standalone Wodehouse book (no Jeeves, no Blandings, no statistic to back this up). I tend to start off these non-Jeeves Wodehouse books initially missing the presence of Jeeves and Wooster but Wodehouse’s charm is pretty irresistible.
Piccadilly Jim is about Jimmy Crocker, another one of Wodehouse’s stock ne'er-do-well young male protagonists. This is not a criticism as their adventures are always a hoot. Besides, the alternative would be a sensible chap who does everything right; that is unlikely to elicit many laughs. At the beginning of the book, Jim lives with his father and step-mother in London where Jim is a notorious party animal. After socking a fellow “sprig of nobility” on the jaw, Jim decides to leave London to spend some time in New York to avoid causing further trouble for his beloved father. He soon meets and falls in love with Ann Chester who recruits him in a scheme to kidnap her super-spoiled fourteen-year-old cousin Ogden, not for money but to confine him at a dogs’ hospital so that the hospital’s keeper can teach him to behave.
In order to win Ann’s affections, Jim has to pretend to be somebody else because five years ago he ridiculed Ann’s book of poetry in a newspaper article, and while she never met him before she considers him an enemy. However, in order to carry out Ann’s kidnapping scheme he has to pretend to be impersonating Jimmy Crocker, i.e., himself. If that does not make sense don’t worry about it, while the storyline is simple there are many plot elements that would make for an awfully convoluted synopsis.
From a well-intentioned kidnapping to an espionage subplot, numerous imposters at a family mansion, and a larger than life female detective with crazy eyes. Wodehouse throws a lot of crazy notions into Piccadilly Jim. In lesser hands, this many plot elements would result in a hot mess but Wodehouse ingeniously weaves them all into a delightful, comic novel. The outrageously implausible plot defies logic, but I don’t read Wodehouse for logic or plausibility. What I do read him for is a good chuckle, an appreciation of clever language usage, and a generally upbeat feeling. As usual, Wodehouse populates this book with colorful, silly characters. My favorite has to be ace detective, Ms. Trimble, she is tough as nails, and, in spite of not having a sense of humour, everything that comes out of her mouth is pretty hilarious. Here is Wodehouse’s vivid description:
“She had thick eyebrows, from beneath which small, glittering eyes looked out like dangerous beasts in undergrowth: and the impressive effect of these was accentuated by the fact that, while the left eye looked straight out at its object, the right eye had a sort of roving commission and was now, while its colleague fixed Mrs. Pett with a gimlet stare, examining the ceiling. As to the rest of the appearance of this remarkable woman, her nose was stubby and aggressive, and her mouth had the coldly forbidding look of the closed door of a subway express when you have just missed the train.”
If you have never read P.G. Wodehouse before I would recommend starting with My Man Jeeves, but if you are already a fan Piccadilly Jim will not disappoint you. Everybody should consume more Plums 🤓
Notes:
• Free Librivox audiobook read by various readers, all of them have done an acceptable job, some are actually quite good.
• Fun(ish) Fact: Piccadilly Jim was adapted into a movie three times. (I have not seen any of them but I like the 1936 poster best).
Quotes:
“It was pure slush. It was the sort of stuff they filled up pages with in the magazines when the detective story did not run long enough. It was the sort of stuff which long-haired blighters read alone to other long-haired blighters in English suburban drawing-rooms. It was the sort of stuff which—to be brief—gave him the Willies.”
“To have secured Willie Partridge, whom he intended to lead gradually into the realms of high finance by way of envelope-addressing.”
“From where he stood, outside the barrier which separated visitors to the office from the workers within, Jimmy could see a vista of efficient-looking young men with paper protectors round their cuffs working away at mysterious jobs which seemed to involve the use of a great deal of paper. One in particular was so surrounded by it that he had the appearance of a bather in surf.”
"I think the heat must have made him irritable. In his normal state he would not strike a lamb. I've known him to do it."
"Do what?"
"Not strike lambs."
Excellent negative positivity (or something). I love reading P.G. Wodehouse, especially on the bus in audio format on the way to work, it puts me in the right frame of mind for the daily grind ahead.
Piccadilly Jim is probably the most popular standalone Wodehouse book (no Jeeves, no Blandings, no statistic to back this up). I tend to start off these non-Jeeves Wodehouse books initially missing the presence of Jeeves and Wooster but Wodehouse’s charm is pretty irresistible.
Piccadilly Jim is about Jimmy Crocker, another one of Wodehouse’s stock ne'er-do-well young male protagonists. This is not a criticism as their adventures are always a hoot. Besides, the alternative would be a sensible chap who does everything right; that is unlikely to elicit many laughs. At the beginning of the book, Jim lives with his father and step-mother in London where Jim is a notorious party animal. After socking a fellow “sprig of nobility” on the jaw, Jim decides to leave London to spend some time in New York to avoid causing further trouble for his beloved father. He soon meets and falls in love with Ann Chester who recruits him in a scheme to kidnap her super-spoiled fourteen-year-old cousin Ogden, not for money but to confine him at a dogs’ hospital so that the hospital’s keeper can teach him to behave.
In order to win Ann’s affections, Jim has to pretend to be somebody else because five years ago he ridiculed Ann’s book of poetry in a newspaper article, and while she never met him before she considers him an enemy. However, in order to carry out Ann’s kidnapping scheme he has to pretend to be impersonating Jimmy Crocker, i.e., himself. If that does not make sense don’t worry about it, while the storyline is simple there are many plot elements that would make for an awfully convoluted synopsis.
From a well-intentioned kidnapping to an espionage subplot, numerous imposters at a family mansion, and a larger than life female detective with crazy eyes. Wodehouse throws a lot of crazy notions into Piccadilly Jim. In lesser hands, this many plot elements would result in a hot mess but Wodehouse ingeniously weaves them all into a delightful, comic novel. The outrageously implausible plot defies logic, but I don’t read Wodehouse for logic or plausibility. What I do read him for is a good chuckle, an appreciation of clever language usage, and a generally upbeat feeling. As usual, Wodehouse populates this book with colorful, silly characters. My favorite has to be ace detective, Ms. Trimble, she is tough as nails, and, in spite of not having a sense of humour, everything that comes out of her mouth is pretty hilarious. Here is Wodehouse’s vivid description:
“She had thick eyebrows, from beneath which small, glittering eyes looked out like dangerous beasts in undergrowth: and the impressive effect of these was accentuated by the fact that, while the left eye looked straight out at its object, the right eye had a sort of roving commission and was now, while its colleague fixed Mrs. Pett with a gimlet stare, examining the ceiling. As to the rest of the appearance of this remarkable woman, her nose was stubby and aggressive, and her mouth had the coldly forbidding look of the closed door of a subway express when you have just missed the train.”
If you have never read P.G. Wodehouse before I would recommend starting with My Man Jeeves, but if you are already a fan Piccadilly Jim will not disappoint you. Everybody should consume more Plums 🤓
Notes:
• Free Librivox audiobook read by various readers, all of them have done an acceptable job, some are actually quite good.
• Fun(ish) Fact: Piccadilly Jim was adapted into a movie three times. (I have not seen any of them but I like the 1936 poster best).
Quotes:
“It was pure slush. It was the sort of stuff they filled up pages with in the magazines when the detective story did not run long enough. It was the sort of stuff which long-haired blighters read alone to other long-haired blighters in English suburban drawing-rooms. It was the sort of stuff which—to be brief—gave him the Willies.”
“To have secured Willie Partridge, whom he intended to lead gradually into the realms of high finance by way of envelope-addressing.”
“From where he stood, outside the barrier which separated visitors to the office from the workers within, Jimmy could see a vista of efficient-looking young men with paper protectors round their cuffs working away at mysterious jobs which seemed to involve the use of a great deal of paper. One in particular was so surrounded by it that he had the appearance of a bather in surf.”
"I think the heat must have made him irritable. In his normal state he would not strike a lamb. I've known him to do it."
"Do what?"
"Not strike lambs."
August 4, 2021
Charming. Wodehouse is so delightful, and Picadilly Jim is no exception. It’s not worth explaining the plot because his books are always the same…a domino-fall of misunderstandings, near-misses and missed connections. And yet always consistently hilarious. He takes the British farce and carries it with a deft touch like a more contemporary Oscar Wilde. His only weakness is a propensity for gender stereotypes. He does usually include a strong independent female character in most of his stories, but he also portrays very traditional roles and personality traits. The bossy wife. The hen-pecked husband. The profligate playboy who learns his lesson. But despite these weaknesses, he’s just so darn funny that it’s hard not to forgive him. Even within his stereotypes, there’s a hint of tongue in his cheek. If you’re in the mood for a light treat, you can’t go wrong with Wodehouse.
August 17, 2017
To win the girl he loves, rich playboy Jimmy Corker hides his identity behind an alias - however, due to the vagaries of fate, he ends up impersonating himself...
...in short, vintage Wodehouse. 😂😂😂
Indian filmmakers take note - this story is perfect for plagiarising. 😉
...in short, vintage Wodehouse. 😂😂😂
Indian filmmakers take note - this story is perfect for plagiarising. 😉
April 15, 2024
P.G. Wodehouse began publishing his work in 1902 at age 21 (!). 'Piccadilly Jim' (his 18th achievement) appeared in 1918. I was thinking 'PJ' might be the earliest of his books that I've read... until I noticed that I've read 'Something Fresh' (from 1915).
So I've not read that much of the early stuff. My interest in earnest lifts off from 1929 ('Summer Lightning'), then jumps to 1933 and onwards - when the author began to hone his preference for series entries.
If (like me) you've already read a lot of Wodehouse books, 'PJ' becomes interesting for two main reasons:
1) The author is already in admirable form, esp. in his mastery of plot construction and cast-of-characters-ping-pong. That's foremost.
However...
2) With this novel, at least, P.G. set out to over-please. It's one of the longest Wodehouse novels I've come across and - at 300 pages - is about 75 pages longer than any title in the bulk of his subsequent work. Genuine Wodehouse fans won't mind the length - but the initiated will notice that the author would later realize a real value in being more economical. As it is, with this story, the 'fat' amounts to such unnecessary things as a character feeling compelled periodically to re-hash major plot entanglements in lengthy detail. ~ along with occasional, verbose introspection.
One might also throw in...
3) The sense that, with time, Wodehouse characters would become even richer, more nuanced and more quotable than they already are.
You get the idea from reading 'PJ' that Wodehouse wasn't leaving anything to chance; he wanted to win his way into your heart. And in that, of course, he largely succeeds. Even with the added length, there aren't any real lulls to be found.
~ and there are even some very welcome examples of 'the element of surprise'.
In a trustworthy, Wodehousian way, ne'er-do-wells are undone, lives are changed for the better (unless you're a ne'er-do-well, or maybe even if you are) and love ultimately reigns supreme. It's clear that the author learned quite a bit about crowd-pleasing complication by following in the footsteps of Shakespearean and Restoration Comedy.
So I've not read that much of the early stuff. My interest in earnest lifts off from 1929 ('Summer Lightning'), then jumps to 1933 and onwards - when the author began to hone his preference for series entries.
If (like me) you've already read a lot of Wodehouse books, 'PJ' becomes interesting for two main reasons:
1) The author is already in admirable form, esp. in his mastery of plot construction and cast-of-characters-ping-pong. That's foremost.
However...
2) With this novel, at least, P.G. set out to over-please. It's one of the longest Wodehouse novels I've come across and - at 300 pages - is about 75 pages longer than any title in the bulk of his subsequent work. Genuine Wodehouse fans won't mind the length - but the initiated will notice that the author would later realize a real value in being more economical. As it is, with this story, the 'fat' amounts to such unnecessary things as a character feeling compelled periodically to re-hash major plot entanglements in lengthy detail. ~ along with occasional, verbose introspection.
One might also throw in...
3) The sense that, with time, Wodehouse characters would become even richer, more nuanced and more quotable than they already are.
You get the idea from reading 'PJ' that Wodehouse wasn't leaving anything to chance; he wanted to win his way into your heart. And in that, of course, he largely succeeds. Even with the added length, there aren't any real lulls to be found.
~ and there are even some very welcome examples of 'the element of surprise'.
In a trustworthy, Wodehousian way, ne'er-do-wells are undone, lives are changed for the better (unless you're a ne'er-do-well, or maybe even if you are) and love ultimately reigns supreme. It's clear that the author learned quite a bit about crowd-pleasing complication by following in the footsteps of Shakespearean and Restoration Comedy.
January 15, 2015
In a recent Reddit post titled What books are worth reading just for the quality of their prose alone?, I was very happy to see P.G. Wodehouse being mentioned. He truly deserves to be mentioned!
With Piccadilly Jim, PGW is probably at his descriptive best and the book contains ample amount of the sunshine-filled (hat tip Stephen Fry) language that is known to flow out of his mind.
Plot-wise I wouldn't say that this book would stand well in a Sumo wrestling match against some of his other champions, but the Wodehousian charm is strong and pervasively permeating in this one.
I loved the characters drawn in this book. Mr. Pett (Sensational Turning Of A Worm!), Miss Trimble, Mr. Crocker, Jimmy, Jerry Mitchell, Ann (with her red hair and the nature which generally goes with red hair), and even Ogden for that matter are beautiful.
He had the plethoric habit of one to whom wholesome exercise is a stranger and the sallow complexion of the confirmed candy-fiend.
(On a slightly unrelated note, the Kindle / Gutenberg version has chapter titles that are missing from the printed book. The titles do add to the fun part!)
Few gems from the book:
Mr. Crocker had never lived in a thatched cottage, nor had his relations with the birds of his native land ever reached the stage of intimacy indicated by the poet; but substitute "Lambs Club" for the former and "members" for the latter, and the parallel becomes complete.
"Have you packed everything I shall want?"
"Within the scope of a suitcase, yes, sir."
It is but rarely that any one is found who is not dazzled by the glamour of incivility.
It is one of the effects of a successful hunch that it breeds other hunches.
And this one is particularly romantic!
"To a girl with your ardent nature some one with whom you can quarrel is an absolute necessity of life. You and I are affinities. Ours will be an ideally happy marriage. You would be miserable if you had to go through life with a human doormat with 'Welcome' written on him. You want some one made of sterner stuff. You want, as it were, a sparring-partner, some one with whom you can quarrel happily with the certain knowledge that he will not curl up in a ball for you to kick, but will be there with the return wallop. I may have my faults—" He paused expectantly. Ann remained silent. "No, no!" he went on. "But I am such a man. Brisk give-and-take is the foundation of the happy marriage. Do you remember that beautiful line of Tennyson's—'We fell out, my wife and I'? It always conjures up for me a vision of wonderful domestic happiness. I seem to see us in our old age, you on one side of the radiator, I on the other, warming our old limbs and thinking up snappy stuff to hand to each other—sweethearts still! If I were to go out of your life now, you would be miserable. You would have nobody to quarrel with. You would be in the position of the female jaguar of the Indian jungle, who, as you doubtless know, expresses her affection for her mate by biting him shrewdly in the fleshy part of the leg, if she should snap sideways one day and find nothing there."
I enjoyed reading this book a lot.
With Piccadilly Jim, PGW is probably at his descriptive best and the book contains ample amount of the sunshine-filled (hat tip Stephen Fry) language that is known to flow out of his mind.
Plot-wise I wouldn't say that this book would stand well in a Sumo wrestling match against some of his other champions, but the Wodehousian charm is strong and pervasively permeating in this one.
I loved the characters drawn in this book. Mr. Pett (Sensational Turning Of A Worm!), Miss Trimble, Mr. Crocker, Jimmy, Jerry Mitchell, Ann (with her red hair and the nature which generally goes with red hair), and even Ogden for that matter are beautiful.
He had the plethoric habit of one to whom wholesome exercise is a stranger and the sallow complexion of the confirmed candy-fiend.
(On a slightly unrelated note, the Kindle / Gutenberg version has chapter titles that are missing from the printed book. The titles do add to the fun part!)
Few gems from the book:
An exile from home splendour dazzles in vain.
Oh, give me my lowly thatched cottage again;
The birds singing gaily, that came at my call,
Give me them, and that peace of mind dearer than all.
Mr. Crocker had never lived in a thatched cottage, nor had his relations with the birds of his native land ever reached the stage of intimacy indicated by the poet; but substitute "Lambs Club" for the former and "members" for the latter, and the parallel becomes complete.
"Have you packed everything I shall want?"
"Within the scope of a suitcase, yes, sir."
It is but rarely that any one is found who is not dazzled by the glamour of incivility.
It is one of the effects of a successful hunch that it breeds other hunches.
And this one is particularly romantic!
"To a girl with your ardent nature some one with whom you can quarrel is an absolute necessity of life. You and I are affinities. Ours will be an ideally happy marriage. You would be miserable if you had to go through life with a human doormat with 'Welcome' written on him. You want some one made of sterner stuff. You want, as it were, a sparring-partner, some one with whom you can quarrel happily with the certain knowledge that he will not curl up in a ball for you to kick, but will be there with the return wallop. I may have my faults—" He paused expectantly. Ann remained silent. "No, no!" he went on. "But I am such a man. Brisk give-and-take is the foundation of the happy marriage. Do you remember that beautiful line of Tennyson's—'We fell out, my wife and I'? It always conjures up for me a vision of wonderful domestic happiness. I seem to see us in our old age, you on one side of the radiator, I on the other, warming our old limbs and thinking up snappy stuff to hand to each other—sweethearts still! If I were to go out of your life now, you would be miserable. You would have nobody to quarrel with. You would be in the position of the female jaguar of the Indian jungle, who, as you doubtless know, expresses her affection for her mate by biting him shrewdly in the fleshy part of the leg, if she should snap sideways one day and find nothing there."
I enjoyed reading this book a lot.
June 6, 2022
P.G. Wodehouse’s Piccadilly Jim (1917) is another dandy and a pip. After a slowish start I gradually warmed to this one more and more. Never doubt P.G. Wodehouse.
The plot becomes ever more convoluted but with each new development it becomes more amusing and enjoyable. Various characters are impersonating other people. Impersonations pile upon impersonations with one of the main characters having to impersonate himself. Only Wodehouse eh?
All in all another Wodehousian masterclass. Whilst the plots may be reliably formulaic, the delight is in the execution, the sparkling prose, the one liners, the bon mots, and the secure knowledge that true love will always prevail.
4/5
The plot becomes ever more convoluted but with each new development it becomes more amusing and enjoyable. Various characters are impersonating other people. Impersonations pile upon impersonations with one of the main characters having to impersonate himself. Only Wodehouse eh?
All in all another Wodehousian masterclass. Whilst the plots may be reliably formulaic, the delight is in the execution, the sparkling prose, the one liners, the bon mots, and the secure knowledge that true love will always prevail.
4/5
January 28, 2024
Nothing like a Wodehouse to bring a smile to the face. This romp over impersonations, spies, explosives and kidnapping plans that go awry when their plans are thwarted, very amusing.
Jimmy Crocker falls head over hills with fiery redhead Ann Chester. However, a review he wrote several years ago about her poetry book makes her hate him.
Jimmy’s father becomes a butler, Jimmy becomes Jimmy and chaos and laughter ensue in this 1917 book.
Jimmy Crocker falls head over hills with fiery redhead Ann Chester. However, a review he wrote several years ago about her poetry book makes her hate him.
Jimmy’s father becomes a butler, Jimmy becomes Jimmy and chaos and laughter ensue in this 1917 book.
March 17, 2020
I found this just plain silly. And boring. At least now I know P.G. Wodehouse is not an author for me. My rating expresses merely my personal appreciation of the book.
A couple of times I smiled. Wodehouse is supposed to be read for his humor. The humor is light. I think one is to be amused by what people do. I found the plot totally unbelievable. Judging from what I have just read, one should not go into a book by Wodehouse looking for reality.
The story circles around characters pretending to be someone they are not. To add to the confusion, a huge cast of characters are thrown at the reader. Keeping track of who is who is annoying if you don’t give a darn about any of them. There are both Brits and Americans, and the setting is London and New York City.
Don’t look for anything serious in this book. Don’t expect reality or believability. If you are looking for something silly and light, sure, this might be your cup of tea. At least I know now Wodehouse is not for me.
Martin Jarvis narrates the audiobook I listened to. His narration is fine. I have given it three stars. He dramatizes, and he does it well, but I can't say I enjoyed listening to the shrill, squeaky voices of some of the women.
*************************
Here goes!!!
I have not read Wodehouse before.
What will I think?
Is this a good place to start?
I was kindly given this list-- https://theculturetrip.com/europe/uni... -- and this book is up at the top.
Are these some of your favorites too? If you are able to advise me, please do.
How would you describe the humor? I previously thought it to be slapstick, which is not a favorite of mine. Now I have been told it is more wordplay, and that I like.
A couple of times I smiled. Wodehouse is supposed to be read for his humor. The humor is light. I think one is to be amused by what people do. I found the plot totally unbelievable. Judging from what I have just read, one should not go into a book by Wodehouse looking for reality.
The story circles around characters pretending to be someone they are not. To add to the confusion, a huge cast of characters are thrown at the reader. Keeping track of who is who is annoying if you don’t give a darn about any of them. There are both Brits and Americans, and the setting is London and New York City.
Don’t look for anything serious in this book. Don’t expect reality or believability. If you are looking for something silly and light, sure, this might be your cup of tea. At least I know now Wodehouse is not for me.
Martin Jarvis narrates the audiobook I listened to. His narration is fine. I have given it three stars. He dramatizes, and he does it well, but I can't say I enjoyed listening to the shrill, squeaky voices of some of the women.
*************************
Here goes!!!
I have not read Wodehouse before.
What will I think?
Is this a good place to start?
I was kindly given this list-- https://theculturetrip.com/europe/uni... -- and this book is up at the top.
Are these some of your favorites too? If you are able to advise me, please do.
How would you describe the humor? I previously thought it to be slapstick, which is not a favorite of mine. Now I have been told it is more wordplay, and that I like.
March 1, 2013
Bertie Wooster is fond of remarking to his butler, after the latter has extricated him from yet another hole, "Jeeves, you stand alone." This could just as well be said about the author, P G Wodehouse. He stands alone. No other author approaches his perfection of the turn of the phrase, his talent for comic timing, his ability to string together remarkably complicated plots, and the individuality and personality he endows in each character. Remarkably, no two Wodehouse heroes are exactly the same (though he does have a weakness for repeating a certain archetype of the Wodehouse heroine.)
So if one is to compare a book by Wodehouse, the only fair comparison is to other books by Wodehouse. Even by this comparison, "Piccadilly Jim" stands alone. Piccadilly Jim was the first Wodehouse I read. It has long been my favorite work by Wodehouse. I suspected perhaps part of it was a sentimentality towards the first book I read. So recently when I went back and re-read it, having sampled everything else by the master, I expected that I would find myself wiser, and my praise for the book tempered. I have been told by many other Wodehouse lovers that their favorite book by the master is "Sam the Sudden." Pshaw, I say to them, and double pshaw. Piccadilly Jim is such a finely-crafted perfection of a novel that it transcends the category of "novels" and can only be compared with fine cheeses, and first-flush teas, and other such rare works of art.
So if one is to compare a book by Wodehouse, the only fair comparison is to other books by Wodehouse. Even by this comparison, "Piccadilly Jim" stands alone. Piccadilly Jim was the first Wodehouse I read. It has long been my favorite work by Wodehouse. I suspected perhaps part of it was a sentimentality towards the first book I read. So recently when I went back and re-read it, having sampled everything else by the master, I expected that I would find myself wiser, and my praise for the book tempered. I have been told by many other Wodehouse lovers that their favorite book by the master is "Sam the Sudden." Pshaw, I say to them, and double pshaw. Piccadilly Jim is such a finely-crafted perfection of a novel that it transcends the category of "novels" and can only be compared with fine cheeses, and first-flush teas, and other such rare works of art.
October 2, 2022
I find myself just wanting to listen to entertaining, light stories, and Wodehouse is at the top of the list of comedic genius. Picadilly Jim is slightly longer than usual, and involves a send-up of British and American cultural differences on top of the usual snark about the silly pretensions of the British upper class. There are the customary mistaken identities, domineering aunts, romantic misunderstandings, disguises, nighttime shenanigans, an insufferable child and a couple of put-upon middle aged gentlemen who have a passion for baseball. In other words, expect the expected and you will have fun.
Narrator Jonathan Cecil is absolutely brilliant.
Narrator Jonathan Cecil is absolutely brilliant.
August 4, 2018
It's Wodehouse. Those who know, know that's enough of a review.
July 14, 2020
It’s all about identities! Charming, entertaining, and amusing!
September 26, 2012
Verdict: Smashingly written and exquisitely crafted Fop-y Fun.
Any friend of Stephen Fry's is a friend of mine (as life mottos go, it's not a bad one) so I was happy to indulge in this, my first literary taste of Wodehouse. I say literary because I've previously encountered it in other media; namely the exquisite 'Jeeves and Wooster' series and a stack of book-on-tape cassettes my father periodically digs out to entertain the family during road trips to Colorado. Had I my druthers I would have started with a book from this Jeeves category, but patrons of second-hand book stores can't be choosers so Piccadilly Jim it was.
It was charming. I defy anyone to not appreciate Wodehouse. He is a master craftsman of an author; building dizzyingly complicated plots with each intricate bit dovetailing perfectly into the next and composing dazzling dialogue that falls somewhere between fencing and dancing. The whole effect is of an unusually amusing Swiss watch, or perhaps a coo-coo clock. I won't say too much about the story itself, partly because my words pale beside Wodehouse's but mostly because it's impossible to explain the plot without puppets and diagrams. It could perhaps be summarized as variations (tessellations? fractals?) on the theme of mistaken identity.
Typically I don't care for 'mistaken identity' stories. I am of the unfortunately empathetic disposition whereby I am made physically uncomfortable by the by the cringing of fictional entities. If you suffer a similar affliction then be at peace, Piccadilly Jim is safe. The discomfiture of the characters never really reaches the cringe level, no one knows enough of the whole story to grasp how embarrassing their predicament could be. The effect is jolly, madcap, slapstick - fun.
Piccadilly Jim is fun, fun to read and I expect fun to write as well. I recommend it, though I can't see my way to giving it above a 3. It's stolidly Light Entertainment; very amusing but not much of anything to say. Maybe this makes me a snob, I don't know. The book seems fine with itself, though. Happy with it's own cleverness and not harbouring illusions of grandeur. I respect it for that. I like Wodehouse and I think I'll have to try and get my hands on 'The Code of the Woosters' for my next foray. Now though, in keeping with my self imposed and somewhat arbitrary rules I'm off to read a depressing grown-up book. Stay tuned and find out if We Need To Talk About Kevin.
Any friend of Stephen Fry's is a friend of mine (as life mottos go, it's not a bad one) so I was happy to indulge in this, my first literary taste of Wodehouse. I say literary because I've previously encountered it in other media; namely the exquisite 'Jeeves and Wooster' series and a stack of book-on-tape cassettes my father periodically digs out to entertain the family during road trips to Colorado. Had I my druthers I would have started with a book from this Jeeves category, but patrons of second-hand book stores can't be choosers so Piccadilly Jim it was.
It was charming. I defy anyone to not appreciate Wodehouse. He is a master craftsman of an author; building dizzyingly complicated plots with each intricate bit dovetailing perfectly into the next and composing dazzling dialogue that falls somewhere between fencing and dancing. The whole effect is of an unusually amusing Swiss watch, or perhaps a coo-coo clock. I won't say too much about the story itself, partly because my words pale beside Wodehouse's but mostly because it's impossible to explain the plot without puppets and diagrams. It could perhaps be summarized as variations (tessellations? fractals?) on the theme of mistaken identity.
Typically I don't care for 'mistaken identity' stories. I am of the unfortunately empathetic disposition whereby I am made physically uncomfortable by the by the cringing of fictional entities. If you suffer a similar affliction then be at peace, Piccadilly Jim is safe. The discomfiture of the characters never really reaches the cringe level, no one knows enough of the whole story to grasp how embarrassing their predicament could be. The effect is jolly, madcap, slapstick - fun.
Piccadilly Jim is fun, fun to read and I expect fun to write as well. I recommend it, though I can't see my way to giving it above a 3. It's stolidly Light Entertainment; very amusing but not much of anything to say. Maybe this makes me a snob, I don't know. The book seems fine with itself, though. Happy with it's own cleverness and not harbouring illusions of grandeur. I respect it for that. I like Wodehouse and I think I'll have to try and get my hands on 'The Code of the Woosters' for my next foray. Now though, in keeping with my self imposed and somewhat arbitrary rules I'm off to read a depressing grown-up book. Stay tuned and find out if We Need To Talk About Kevin.
November 14, 2016
Written as early as 1917, when Wodehouse was first plying his trade on both sides of the Atlantic, this novel takes place in London, New York and on board ship. Baseball and cricket are both discussed!
Already a master of the complicated but easy to follow plot, this is terrific. Our hero actually has to pretend to be not only someone else to his intended, but to pretend to be himself to other people at the same time! Do you follow me .... ? Burglary, kidnapping, high explosives, private detectives, yapping dogs, guns, henpecked husbands, all abound.
"The life of the American Jimmy Crocker (in England for the last five years) has been little more than one drunken brawl after another. His formidable Aunt Nesta has had enough of his antics and decrees that the young Crocker must return to New York and be reformed. However, Jimmy has fallen in love and decided to reform himself. Unfortunately, to win the heart of his intended, who he, as a named but unseen newspaper critic, mortally offended years ago, Jimmy must pretend to be someone else and take part in the kidnapping of Aunt Nesta's loathsome offspring Ogden. The reformation of oneself can be a decidedly tricky business."
Already a master of the complicated but easy to follow plot, this is terrific. Our hero actually has to pretend to be not only someone else to his intended, but to pretend to be himself to other people at the same time! Do you follow me .... ? Burglary, kidnapping, high explosives, private detectives, yapping dogs, guns, henpecked husbands, all abound.
"The life of the American Jimmy Crocker (in England for the last five years) has been little more than one drunken brawl after another. His formidable Aunt Nesta has had enough of his antics and decrees that the young Crocker must return to New York and be reformed. However, Jimmy has fallen in love and decided to reform himself. Unfortunately, to win the heart of his intended, who he, as a named but unseen newspaper critic, mortally offended years ago, Jimmy must pretend to be someone else and take part in the kidnapping of Aunt Nesta's loathsome offspring Ogden. The reformation of oneself can be a decidedly tricky business."
August 21, 2021
One of the most convoluted Wodehouses ever and it was darn good!
January 19, 2019
This was delightful... as in really, genuinely funny. Mr. Wodehouse had an inexhaustible gift for the turn of phrase. It would be difficult to find a goofier premise, but it all works out by the effervescent end.
July 24, 2023
A solid early Wodehouse. I'm not usually a fan of his pre-1930s stuff, but this one wasn't bad. It's a forerunner of his most used trope, wherein the disguise-wearing or mis-identified interloper of a country manor keeps up a ruse in order to steal something or win the girl of his dreams. Child Ogden makes a return for another round of kidnapping. And the NY/London connection sets the scene yet again. It's all very samey, but that's not my knock on this one at all. The issue is that, as a writer, Wodehouse was at a more verbose point in his career. This one came out around 1917, I believe. By the 1930s he'd learned to get to the point, the very nub, if you will. Even so, I'd still recommend this one to fans. If you've already read all of the Jeeves/Wooster and Blandings stuff, you could do worse than Piccadilly Jim.
December 30, 2017
Needed to read something humorous to balance the reading of The Crucible. P. G. Wodehouse is one author that I can depend on for a good laugh. I am always amazed at the intricacies of the plots he created. He probably had to have a flow chart to keep all the people and events straight. What I find amazing is that every event and every decision makes sense at the time, but, overall, there is one madcap escapade after another.
I don't plan on giving an overview of the plot because I don't really know how to do it. So I suggest you get this or some other Wodehouse book and read them as a counter weight to the equally improbable, but depressing, events taking place in the USA on a daily basis.
I don't plan on giving an overview of the plot because I don't really know how to do it. So I suggest you get this or some other Wodehouse book and read them as a counter weight to the equally improbable, but depressing, events taking place in the USA on a daily basis.
October 21, 2008
I will use this "review" for all the P. G. Wodehouse I have read. I read them all so long ago and enjoyed them so much that I have given them all 5 stars. As I re-read them I will adjust the stars accordingly, if necessary, and add a proper review.
When I first discovered P. G. Wodehouse I devoured every book I could find in the local library, throughout the eighties and early nineties. Alas, this means that I have read most of them and stumbling across one I have not read is a rare thing. I'm sure that through this great site I will joyfully find at least a few I have not read, and be able to track them down.
My records only began in 1982, so I do not have a note of any I read before then. I’m sure I will enjoy re-reading them.
When I first discovered P. G. Wodehouse I devoured every book I could find in the local library, throughout the eighties and early nineties. Alas, this means that I have read most of them and stumbling across one I have not read is a rare thing. I'm sure that through this great site I will joyfully find at least a few I have not read, and be able to track them down.
My records only began in 1982, so I do not have a note of any I read before then. I’m sure I will enjoy re-reading them.
June 18, 2013
First published in 1917, Piccadilly Jim is another winner and just brimming with class and humor. I picture Wodehouse as the Mozart of literature as he seemed to create with complete ease. I don’t get the feeling of an unrelenting battle for perfection but rather a flow of words and images that seen as natural as a babbling brook. This story takes the reader from England to New York where a man tries to change his life. Characters intertwine is a most unusual (and sometimes confusing) fashion, keeping the reader guessing and on the edge of their seats in anticipation. Here Wodehouse uses the game of baseball as his sport of choice and is sure to please many readers with his variety of unforgettable characters. I highly recommend this book to everyone; it is a true classic.
August 28, 2021
Finding myself in need of a spot of Wodehouse, I naturally reached for my as-yet-unread copy of Piccadilly Jim. I loved the opening, but soon found my interest waning. It was sporadically rekindled (my interest, that is)—and, even though this is probably the most wildly unrealistic and generally un-thought-out Wodehouse story that I've encountered so far (and I'm tipping toward the end rather than the middle of his oeuvre), I had to laugh out loud a number of times. In sum: 1) the story was not so good (to be fair, we're in 1917 here, and we can hardly expect Wodehouse to always have been in midseason form), but 2) the writing shone at times.
September 21, 2017
It was a slightly more sober than I’ve come to expect from Wodehouse. Who would have thought he’d write a character that honestly regretted his behavior and tried to reform? Don’t fear that sounds heavy, but how could it be when combined with kidnappings, gout, baseball fanatics, pseudo- butlers, poets, con-men, and explosives. For Wodehouse, it was quietly funny.
I enjoyed it. It’s one of Wodehouse’s earliest books, and the language is fairly clean with only a couple curse words and a few more substitute words.
I enjoyed it. It’s one of Wodehouse’s earliest books, and the language is fairly clean with only a couple curse words and a few more substitute words.
March 7, 2021
As Shakespeare has his Romeo and Juliet (nice couple, a bit dramatic) Wodehouse has his Jim and Ann. A love story filled with baseball, cricket, rounders, kidnapping, theatrical performances, mistaken and unmistakable identities, science secrets, boxers ( the people that punch each other, not the dogs), and of course a sobering romance for the ages. Read, and fall in love with love all over again.
May 18, 2022
While it didn't hit the high notes of "The Small Bachelor", this was fun. Wodehouse piles one complication on top of another to deliver a deliciously absurd finale. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
April 8, 2021
An entertaining, humorous novel about love and its complications. There are plenty of interesting characters, including Jimmy Crocker, who five years ago had been a journalist and wrote a disparaging review of poems by a very young, Ann Chester. Five years later, whilst in London, Jimmy coincidentally saves Ann from an accident and falls in love with her. Ann has ever since the review of her poems five years ago, loathed Jimmy Crocker. Having heard just prior to saving Ann, that Ann loathes Jimmy Crocker, Jimmy introduces himself as a Mr. Bayliss. A week later both Jimmy and Ann are in New York. Ann is niece to Mr Pett. Mr Pett is well off, 50 years old, and has been married for two years to Mrs. Elmer Ford. Mrs Ford’s son, Ogden, is 14 years old and a spoiled precocious brat. Ann contrives with Jimmy to kidnap Ogden in order to teach Ogden to behave and be properly educated. Things do not go to plan.
First published in 1917. P.G. Wodehouse fans should find this novel an enjoyable, delightful, satisfying read.
First published in 1917. P.G. Wodehouse fans should find this novel an enjoyable, delightful, satisfying read.
February 21, 2019
"Piccadilly Jim" is a complete romp of a novel. This PG Wodehouse story, like many of his works, appeared as a serial in the Saturday Evening Post before being published as a novel (USA edition) in 1917. "Piccadilly Jim" was published in England in 1918.
It is my belief that Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse--PG Wodehouse, 'Plum' to family and friends--had a thoroughly smashing good time concocting this tale. "Piccadilly Jim" is a mashup of all his favorite themes. The novel is set in both New York and London; two cities he loved. It is peppered throughout with the denizens he collected in his happy travels. There are butlers, of course, both real and impersonated. There are Americans in London, and Englishmen on the wrong side of The Pond. Obnoxious children worth a good drowning vie for attention with young women who are headstrong and beautiful. Fierce matrons storm about in an attempt to restore order, while New York toughs lurk in the background. The thing is a romp, an absolute romp.
For this story, PG Wodehouse took a page or two from Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. There are dual-identity gags, imposter gags, and assorted disguised persons gags. The hero of the story, Jimmy Crocker, is mad for the Head-strong Modern Girl (HMG), of course. Unfortunately, he 'done her wrong' when she was a young woman, writing a stinging review of her first published poems. The two meet in London, naturally, and without recognizing or remembering each other. During the 'Getting to know you chat,' our HMG spits out the name of Jimmy Crocker as if a vile insect had left a bad taste in her mouth. Our man Jim, already on the lam from a dust-up in a London club, takes the hint and pinches the name of his family butler. This first false identity sets the stage for many more.
Laughs come at the expense of both sides of The Pond. Our dear American Cousins suffer terribly under the weirdness of cricket. Jimmy Crocker's father, a rich American in London, hates cricket. All he wants is a seat at a baseball game, without any more talk of Peerages or London Society. The poor man will do anything to get away, absolutely anything. Stage set, and off we go: People who aren't who they seem, obnoxious kids to kidnap, secret formulas that may blow up New York, and a new love to be saved.
Unlike many of PG Wodehouse's other novels, "Piccadilly Jim" is actually a complete novel. Some of Wodehouse's books are collections of short stories that seem to work towards some end. They are delightful stories, but not necessarily novels. This is also a stand-alone novel. The obnoxious kid Ogden, and his overbearing mother Nesta, are the only reappearing characters.
"Piccadilly Jim" is one of my favorite Wodehouse novels. The plot is completely over-the-top, and yet so well-crafted that it is a joy to read. The characters are all great fun, comeuppances are doled out as needed, and there are laughs aplenty. It all gets wrapped up with a big, tidy bow. If a Jeeves and Wooster fan were to ask for a starting point for Wodehouse's many other works, this is most likely where I would point them. Until next time, happy reading!
It is my belief that Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse--PG Wodehouse, 'Plum' to family and friends--had a thoroughly smashing good time concocting this tale. "Piccadilly Jim" is a mashup of all his favorite themes. The novel is set in both New York and London; two cities he loved. It is peppered throughout with the denizens he collected in his happy travels. There are butlers, of course, both real and impersonated. There are Americans in London, and Englishmen on the wrong side of The Pond. Obnoxious children worth a good drowning vie for attention with young women who are headstrong and beautiful. Fierce matrons storm about in an attempt to restore order, while New York toughs lurk in the background. The thing is a romp, an absolute romp.
For this story, PG Wodehouse took a page or two from Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde. There are dual-identity gags, imposter gags, and assorted disguised persons gags. The hero of the story, Jimmy Crocker, is mad for the Head-strong Modern Girl (HMG), of course. Unfortunately, he 'done her wrong' when she was a young woman, writing a stinging review of her first published poems. The two meet in London, naturally, and without recognizing or remembering each other. During the 'Getting to know you chat,' our HMG spits out the name of Jimmy Crocker as if a vile insect had left a bad taste in her mouth. Our man Jim, already on the lam from a dust-up in a London club, takes the hint and pinches the name of his family butler. This first false identity sets the stage for many more.
Laughs come at the expense of both sides of The Pond. Our dear American Cousins suffer terribly under the weirdness of cricket. Jimmy Crocker's father, a rich American in London, hates cricket. All he wants is a seat at a baseball game, without any more talk of Peerages or London Society. The poor man will do anything to get away, absolutely anything. Stage set, and off we go: People who aren't who they seem, obnoxious kids to kidnap, secret formulas that may blow up New York, and a new love to be saved.
Unlike many of PG Wodehouse's other novels, "Piccadilly Jim" is actually a complete novel. Some of Wodehouse's books are collections of short stories that seem to work towards some end. They are delightful stories, but not necessarily novels. This is also a stand-alone novel. The obnoxious kid Ogden, and his overbearing mother Nesta, are the only reappearing characters.
"Piccadilly Jim" is one of my favorite Wodehouse novels. The plot is completely over-the-top, and yet so well-crafted that it is a joy to read. The characters are all great fun, comeuppances are doled out as needed, and there are laughs aplenty. It all gets wrapped up with a big, tidy bow. If a Jeeves and Wooster fan were to ask for a starting point for Wodehouse's many other works, this is most likely where I would point them. Until next time, happy reading!
September 8, 2018
A Plum salad - imposters, butlers, aunts, romance.
June 22, 2016
The more you read Wodehouse the more you crave for. Probably thousands of fans would be re-reading once they are done with all of his works. This book also has a good many witty capsules which would surely result in a sweet ache in the lower abdomen..
Some of them..
Marriage had certainly complicated life of Mr Pett, as it does for the man who waits for fifty years before trying it
Constant practice had made him an adept at saying nothing when his wife was talking
" Have you packed everything I shall want ?"
" Within the scope of a suitcase,yes,sir."
Some of them..
Marriage had certainly complicated life of Mr Pett, as it does for the man who waits for fifty years before trying it
Constant practice had made him an adept at saying nothing when his wife was talking
" Have you packed everything I shall want ?"
" Within the scope of a suitcase,yes,sir."
January 1, 2015
Now that Everyman are publishing all Wodehouse's titles in a very nice hardback uniform edition, the least I can do is go back over them and read those which I haven't already encountered. Piccadilly Jim is one of his early non-school novels, and is a salutary lesson for those who think he could do no wrong. Unlike his later work, this is somewhat leaden, and heavy going. I won't be re-reading it.
October 21, 2017
One of the best characters from both real and fictional realms was created when Wodehouse wrote this book. Ann Chester.
And also, Jimmy is Jimmy. Jimmy is Jimmy's impostor. Jimmy's impostor is Jimmy.
And also, Jimmy is Jimmy. Jimmy is Jimmy's impostor. Jimmy's impostor is Jimmy.
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