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The Inimitable PG Wodehouse
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Author: Phillip Taylor (richmondchambers@btconnect.com)
TWENTIETH CENTURY TOFFS
In the more or less recent past, there has been considerable criticism of those specimens of humanity known as ‘toffs’. Usually they are stereotyped as wealthy, elegant, snobbish, callow, shallow, charmingly witless and, except for the occasional intrusive and pesky American, they are indubitably English -- of course. Not for them the world of hard work. They seem to breeze through their privileged lives generating class envy along the way, to most of which they are oblivious.
Such grumbling and griping about ‘toffs’ usually comes as the result of political bias. Although one might argue that although ‘class’ as it used to be, has largely disappeared from British society, class consciousness lingers still. Bearing all this in mind, no one that I know of has been as successful an anatomist of the English upper middle and upper classes of the recent past, as P.G. Wodehouse. Drawn by his skillful pen and illuminated by his obvious humanity, his characters emerge as rounded human beings and rather endearing ones at that, each with his or her own peculiarities. They amuse by what they say and do, but they are never dismissed outright as figures of fun
The achievement of P.G. Wodehouse, world famous creator of Bertie Wooster, Jeeves, and Gussie Fink-Nottle and a legion of lesser lights, is to make tuffs loveable, laughable and forgivable. And now, yet another tribute to him has appeared in ‘The Inimitable P.G.Wodehouse: the story of his life and a treasury of his wit.’ Read it. You’ll love it.
Both the title and sub-title are apt, except that it is unlikely that any biographer will be able to plumb the depths of Wodehouse’s somewhat mysterious and enigmatic character. His plays, musicals and novels were largely wildly successful on both sides of the Atlantic; he enjoyed his fame and the money that went with it. But he was one of those people who is in the world but not of it. According to Hichens – and other biographers of Wodehouse I have read, ‘Plum’ as he was called, liked nothing better than a quiet evening at home with his pipe and tobacco. His wife Ethel, clearly the opposite, was a fearsomely well organized and enthusiastic party animal. Her decisive, business-like brain was the perfect foil for the reclusive Plum who preferred an atmosphere of seclusion in which his imagination and droll wit could flourish.
So content was Wodehouse to detach himself from real life, that as Hichens explains, ‘his judgment on political matters was flawed’ – hence the tragedy of his incarceration in a German detention camp during World War II, where he allowed his captors to persuade him to give a series of broadcasts which at the time, were considered to be giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Controversy still rages as to whether he was traitorous, naïve, or under threat.
Hichens’ book consists of two parts. The first is a brief biography. The second is a treasury of memorable quotations selected from Wodehouse’s fiction for their autobiographical implications. The result is quite delightful, especially if you are a fan of Wodehouse. If you aren’t, this little gem of a book, brilliantly illustrated by Wendy McLerie, will introduce you beautifully to Wodehouse’s gentle, sardonic oeuvre.
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