Galahad At Blandings: A Blandings Story [Mass Market Paperback]

P.G. Wodehouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1994

Lord Emsworth's prized pig, the Empress of Blandings, is at the centre of Wodehouse's hilarious tale of mistaken identity, the triumph of young love, and general mayhem among the twits at Blandings Castle.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

PG Wodehouse was born on the 15th October 1881 in Guildford, Surrey, England He was educated at Dulwich College between 1894 & 1900 In 1900 he entered the employ of the Hong Kong & Shanghai bank at GBP80 per year ! He began writing articles for various newspapers & periodicals In 1902 he resigned from the bank In the same year his 1st novel The Pothunters was published On the 25th April 1904 Plum arrived in New York for the first time This was the beginning of Plum's career in musicals and editorships As the money starts to come in Plum buys a car (a Darracq Auto) After one lesson he crashes the car into a hedge and never drives again ! Plum then wrote many highly successful novels as well as musicals In 1929 he signed a contract to work as a screenwriter in Hollywood He complains of being paid far too much money for far too little work ! This causes a mini public relations storm in the US press In 1932 Plum returned to England for a short time before settling in France In 1940 Germany occupied France and Plum was interned Wodehouse made a series of radio broadcasts which were widely misconstrued He was vilified and persecuted by the BBC and the English press Confidential records now released show that Wodehouse was totally innocent of the accusations Guilty perhaps only of a little naivety In 1947 Plum moved back to to the USA In 1955 he became a US citizen In 1967 British Prime Minister James Callaghan blocked a Knighthood, read the government report. In 1974 his last complete novel Aunts aren't Gentlemen was published In 1975 he was finally knighted by the Queen Plum's health was so poor his Doctor forbade the trip to England It is believed that the Queen Mother felt so strongly for Wodehouse and at the appalling treatment he had received that she wanted to travel to the US and Knight him herself ! However once again Government interference unjustly stopped this On the 14th Feb 1975 Plum sadly died in hospital "after a good morning's work on his latest novel" Wodehouse was the quintessential British author who only now receives the full credit he deserves --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From AudioFile

Lord Emsworth's prized pig, the Empress of Blandings, is at the center of Wodehouse's hilarious tale of mistaken identity, the triumph of young love, and general mayhem among the twits at Blandings Castle. Jeremy Sinden gives a wonderful performance, using a completely difference voice for each character through layers and layers of zany dialogue. Especially delightful is Sinden's depiction of the aunts, those fearsome, intrepid ladies encrusted with family jewels and names like Hermoine and Daphne. Although Wodehouse published the Blandings novels in the mid-sixties, his stories and characters are finding new fans in every generation. Productions of this quality will ensure continuing popularity. Oh, quite! B.V. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (August 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140025707
• ISBN-13: 978-0140025705
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,008,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enough to Make a Cat Laugh, February 18, 2001

By 

Mark C. Grueter "www.methree.net" (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Galahad at Blandings (A Blandings Story) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Hon. Galahad Threepwood is back. This time he has assigned himself the dubious task of bringing three different couples together. The setting is England, Blandings Castle, of course, complete with the amiable dunce Lord Emsworth and his prize-winning porker, the Empress, infamous for her role in `PIG-HOO-EY'.

On his way to London to pick up his brother Clarence (Lord Emsworth), Galahad, a dapper middle-aged man eyes the name on a sinister package that Lord Emsworth's secretary Sandy Callendar has asked him to post. The parcel is addressed to a chap named Bagshott. This detail excites Galahad's curiosity because he used to be bosom with a fellow named Bagshott. But the Bagshott that the Hon. Galahad knew (Boko) had long since retired from the earth. Discovering that the contents of said package are a pile of letters that will effectively sunder Sandy Callendar's relationship with Boko's son, Samuel Galahad Bagshott, Gally becomes determined to keep the sparring couple afloat. Having been staunchly opposed to sundered hearts since he was a boy, Galahad Threepwood is resolved to put matters right.

Sam and Sandy's dispute happens to be related to gambling and, well, naturally, the Drones Club. You see Sam stands to gain a sackful in a sweep if Tipton Plimsoll (fellow Drones Club member) weds the pretty dolt Veronica Wedge, Lord Emsworth's niece. But Sandy is diametrically opposed to the whole enterprise, urging Sam to part with the debatably generous syndicate offer. And she still hasn't forgiven Sam for telling her that she looks like a "horror from outer space" with a particular pair of glasses on. Plus, Sandy is a redhead, making the task for Gally that much more difficult - as we all know, redheaded women have short and irrational tempers. Enter the "pint-sized bozo," Wilfred Allsop, cousin of Veronica Wedge. On a bender one night in New York with his new friend Tipton Plimsoll, Willie, who somewhat "resembles the poet Shelley," reveals his affections for Lord Emsworth's pig lady, Monica Simmons. Tipton Plimsoll endorses the arrangement despite his belief that Ms. Simmons has the appearance of an "all-in wrestler."

As it is, all three of these impending alliances are dependent upon each other and the Hon. Galahad Threepwood knows it. You'll have to read the story to find out whether or not Gally is successful with his scheme to reunite the warring couples. Just know that he is a skilled raconteur and "teller of the tale." Gally will never miss a beat and he stays on top of it all, undoubtedly aided by his fondness for cocktails at all hours.

Galahad has many passions in life. One is to protect the reputation of one of his oldest and greatest friends, whiskey. Disgusted and offended by "coloured slides" and "temperance lectures" Gally goes on an anti-Tea tirade, accusing "the muck" as he calls it, of being responsible for the death of his poor, dear old friend Buffy Struggles, who "got run over by a hansom cab as he was crossing Piccadilly." Evidently, tea had sapped Buffy's strength.

Recalling another seemingly outrageous send-up, the Hon. Galahad exclaims, "The only safe way to get through life is to pickle your system thoroughly in alcohol." The story to prove the aforementioned theory involved two brothers, Freddie and Eustace Potts. Their French chef once served them a hedgehog while pretending that it was a chicken just to save some money. Well, Eustace, who was a "teetotaler" nearly died, but Freddie, who "had lived mostly on whiskey since early boyhood" showed no ill effects at all after consuming the carcass.

A large part of Gally wishes he could go back to his days at the Pelican Club. There, he would fascinate the members with his inimitable wit, and tireless devotion to mopping the sauce up like a vacuum cleaner in London pubs. Galahad happily recalls his days of getting pinched by the gendarmerie for being drunken and disorderly, vaunting that it would always take three of them to drag him away to the jug.

I recommend this book, especially as a device for teaching English. As the plot thickens, and it does thicken, especially when the Empress gets pie-eyed, and Gally is stretched not quite to his limits, the reader becomes aware that the Hon. Galahad could have been the Prime Minister if he had wanted to. Threepwood is a leader of the first rank - truly a man that we can all look up to. What Ho, Gally?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Standard Wodehouse, July 8, 2000

By 

Herbert Macy Hill (Wethersfield, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Galahad At Blandings: A Blandings Story (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is standard Wodehouse, which means that it is a 5 star masterpiece and well worth the read. If you have never read Wodehouse this book is a very good introduction to some of his most endearing characters; take the chance and buy this book. If you have read any of his works then you are already a fan and do not need me to tell you to read this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Walk up. Clasp in arms. Kiss. And say `My woman!' It's as easy as falling off a log.", July 24, 2009

By 

Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Galahad at Blandings (Collector's Wodehouse) (Hardcover)

In this ninth of his eleven Blandings Castle farces, P. G. Wodehouse brings a large cast of mostly repeating characters to Blandings Castle in Shropshire, where their adolescent behavior, their misplaced values, and their obliviousness to real issues in a real world, allow Wodehouse to create gentle but pointed satire of the British upperclass, of which he himself was also a member. Written in 1965, but set in 1929, this novel, like all Wodehouse writing, is timeless in its ability to capture the silly, the petty, and the laughable in complex and hilarious plots in which numerous misunderstandings occur because characters refuse to be honest with themselves and with each other.

Tipton Plimsoll, who begins the novel "sleeping it off" in the pokey in New York City after a riotous night on the town with fellow Englishman Wilfred Allsop, discovers that his wallet has been stolen during the night. Unable to pay his way out of jail, despite his large fortune, he calls Lord Emsworth, a future in-law, who is in New York, telling him he has lost his money and needs to borrow a small sum. This is October, 1929, however, and Lord Emsworth and everyone else who hears this story, assumes that Tipton, engaged to marry Lord Emsworth's niece, is bankrupt as a result of the stock market crash. While in New York, Tipton has discovered that his friend and cellmate, the slightly built Wilfred Allsop worships from afar the Amazonian Monica Simpson, who takes care of the Empress of Blandings, Lord Emsworth's prized pig. Tipton determines to bring them together.

When all the characters have returned to Blandings, Tipton Plimsoll's fiancée, Veronica Wedge, is instructed by her demanding mother Hermione to break off her engagement to Tipton, her now "penniless" fiance. Galahad Threepwood, Lord Emsworth's younger brother and an incorrigible meddler, also at Blandings Castle, is determined to keep his overbearing sister out of the relationship. He himself plans to bring together Sandy Callender, Lord Emsworth's "secretary" and her former fiance Samuel Galahad Bagshott, who in pique has called her a "ginger-haired fathead." As one might expect in a farce, complications arise in even the most elementary plot lines, and as the various lovers try to "conquer all," Galahad Threepwood remains front and center pulling the strings.

The action is fast and furious, with one complication following another. The humor is obvious and very visual, with silly characters behaving much the way they do in the early TV sitcoms or Marx Brothers movies. Wodehouse's sense of timing and his fine grasp of his characters, many of whom repeat throughout the series, keep readers amused and feeling as if they are reading about the escapades of old friends who don't quite "get it." A delightful entertainment which allows Wodehouse to tweak upperclass pretensions and values, which he has seen up close in his own life, Galahad at Blandings is fun to read for the memories it conjures of a much earlier time and place. n Mary Whipple