Cocktail Time [Mass Market Paperback]

P.G. Wodehouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995 | ISBN-10: 014008505X | ISBN-13: 978-0140085051

If Lord Ickenham had not succumbed to the temptation to dislodge the hat of irascible QC, Beefy Bastable, with a well-aimed Brazil nut, the latter's famous legal mind might never have been stimulated to literature. But the incident provoked Beefy to write his expose of the younger generation, a novel so shocking that it caused endless repercussions for its hapless author and sparked off a series of outrageous misunderstandings. And it seems that only the inventive talents of Lord Ickenham himself might resolve matters.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Arguably the funniest of four books about the Earl of Ickenham, this romp begins with the unruly sexagenarian knocking the hat off his stuffy in-law Beefy Bastable with a slingshot. Bastable, assuming the outrage was perpetrated by a Drones Club member, takes his revenge by anonymously publishing a scandalous novel about the misbehavior of the young titled Cocktail Time. Then, afraid that exposure of his authorship will wreck his political aspirations, he lets his worthless nephew, Cosmo, claim the book's authorship?and its royalties. The wicket doesn't get really sticky until Cosmo learns that Hollywood studios are bidding big bucks for Cocktail Time. In the midst of all this, as well as several romances in need of repair, Lord Ickenham is in his element, with happy endings to the deserving and big laughs assured. Add Frederick Davidson's masterly reading, and this package is a can't-miss audiobook, particularly for libraries with mature readers.?R. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, Cal.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) grew up in England and came to the United States just before World War I, when he married an American. He wrote more than ninety books, and his works, translated into many languages, won him worldwide acclaim.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014008505X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140085051
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #988,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Real Story behind the Story, November 4, 2004

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 110,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cocktail Time (Mass Market Paperback)

Do you enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process? If so, Cocktail Time will soon become one of your favorite comic novels.

The book's premise is deliciously contrary -- if a friend says that you cannot write a novel, some people will feel bound to prove the friend wrong. The backdrop for that decision is uproariously bizarre. The friend, the fifth Earl of Ickenham, has been feeling his oats a bit too much at the Drones Club and decides to borrow a slingshot (catapult in the UK) to pop the top hat off his old friend, Sir Raymond (Beefy) Bastable, with a Brazil nut as Beefy left the neighboring Demosthenes Club. When Beefy tells Ickenham that he wants to find the miscreant who did the dastardly deed, Ickenham offhandedly comments that it's a pity that Beefy is not an author who could use the literary sword to put all such pranksters in their place. That sets the stage for Beefy's novel, Cocktail Time, which he writes under a nom de plume.

There's only one complication. Beefy wants to stand for Parliament and he has written a scandalous book that would ruin his political career.

As the book's sales begin to take off like a rocket ship, Beefy realizes he needs some cover. Ickenham suggests that Beefy find someone else to pretend to be the author. With that suggestion, an unimaginable series of events follows . . . each more humorous than the last.

Will Beefy keep his honor? Will someone else keep his royalty checks? Will love conquer all?

The plot is one of the most complex ones that I have ever read in a comic novel, and the ever-shifting action works well. You'll have great fun with Cocktail Time. I don't remember a P.G. Wodehouse book that I have enjoyed more than this one.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Have a cocktail, September 16, 2004

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cocktail Time (Mass Market Paperback)

P.G. Wodehouse made a legendary name for himself by writing dozens of humorous novels. In "Cocktail Time," Wodehouse turns his considerable wit toward politicians, scandalous novels, and of course, the carefree twentysomethings of the British upper-class.

Lord Ickenham (also known as Uncle Fred) gets a little "loopy" when he comes to the city. So when he's at his nephew's favorite hangout, the Drones Club, he fires a brazil nut across the street at a stuffy relative of his, Beefy Bastable. Bastable is not exactly a nice person, and so to retaliate against the young idiot he thinks has attacked him, he writes a scathing, scandalous novel called "Cocktail Time," denouncing modern youth.

Written under a non de plume, "Cocktail Time" gets denounced from the pulpits and is a huge hit. Bastable is terrified that the book will derail his political career, so he enlists his nephew Cosmo to pretend to have written the book. Since the royalties will let Cosmo pay off his debts, he's more than happy to oblige. There are only two problems: An American con artist (known as Oily) is homing in on Cosmo, and so is Hollywood...

If somebody could write songs about brazil nuts and banned books, this would make a GREAT musical. It's lighthearted enough, goofy enough, and complex enough. Wodehouse is in fine form here, writing the lovable characters that fit into the molds we love so much -- stressed young men, disapproving uncles and stolid butlers.

Wodehouse's writing is still fresh and funny -- he has a few awkward moments, such as describing a couple dancing the "rock'n'roll." Okay, what does that mean? But whatever decade his novel is set in, it has that pre-WW II flair. Not to mention deceptive formality -- at first glance, it looks very dry, but it's actually very goofy. ("Yo ho. In fact, I will go further. Yo frightfully ho.")

Lord Ickenham is a fun character, very smooth and debonair with a distinctly loopy personality. The impoverished Cosmo and his deeply stressed uncle Beefy Bastable are good variations on Wodehouse's classic characters, and he adds a twist by having the butler fall in love with his employer's sister (an unexpectedly sweet touch).

"Cocktail Time" is a funny novel about a nasty novel, and the resulting hijinks are fun for anyone to read. It's bumps-a-daisy as billy-o.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious but not fattening, March 8, 2001

By 

Michael Schau (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cocktail Time (Mass Market Paperback)

I see that my fellow reviewers of this tasty comic novel are willing to weigh in at only four of the possible five stars. I dissent vigorously and award the full five. Nothing less than five will do for a storyline so perfectly convoluted, language and syntax so recklessly heedless of anything real or centered. The characters are familiar Wodehouse types: quaintly erratic and utterly dependable for their supply of humor. Feydeau never plotted anything as neat and door-bangingly twisted, and the master Wodehouse provides page after page of crackpot ways to describe all of the door-slamming action.