The Gold Bat [Hardcover]

P. G. Wodehouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2005

Purchase one of 1st World Library's Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. Visit us online at www.1stWorldLibrary.ORG - - All of which, being interpreted, meant that the first match of the Easter term had just come to an end, and that those of the team who, being day boys, changed over at the pavilion, instead of performing the operation at leisure and in comfort, as did the members of houses, were discussing the vital question - -who was to have first bath? The Field Sports Committee at Wrykyn - -that is, at the school which stood some half-mile outside that town and took its name from it - -were not lavish in their expenditure as regarded the changing accommodation in the pavilion. Letters appeared in every second number of the Wrykinian, some short, others long, some from members of the school, others from Old Boys, all protesting against the condition of the first, second, and third fifteen dressing-rooms. 'Indignant" would inquire acidly, in half a page of small type, if the editor happened to be aware that there was no hair-brush in the second room, and only half a comb. 'Disgusted O. W." would remark that when he came down with the Wandering Zephyrs to play against the third fifteen, the water supply had suddenly and mysteriously failed, and the W.Z.'s had been obliged to go home as they were, in a state of primeval grime, and he thought that this was 'a very bad thing in a school of over six hundred boys", though what the number of boys had to do with the fact that there was no water he omitted to explain. The editor would express his regret in brackets, and things would go on as before.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: 1st World Library - Literary Society (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421807947
• ISBN-13: 978-1421807942
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For devotees of Wodehouse, October 14, 2006

By 

Mitchell Bucky Fay - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gold Bat and Other School Stories (Mass Market Paperback)

These are good stories, and they give an idea of how Wodehouse became popular. He was quite young himself when he wrote them, and they give the right sense of importance which young men would still give to school houses, games, popularity, etc.

Flashes of his great humor and invention appear here and there. It is worth reading if you love Wodehouse.

But for others, it may not be the best choice. There are descriptions of the games and such which will lose most of us. There are some decidedly out-dated expressions and attitudes. And the stories are seldom as witty or delightful as more mature work the author produced later.

The collection is probably more like 3.5 stars for fans. Don't give it to those you want snared by Wodehouse, though, or you may lose them forever.

P.S. I think J.K. Rolling probably owes his estate a few royalty checks!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Another weakly-plotted school story, December 24, 2005

By 

Flash Sheridan (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Gold Bat (Paperback)

This is another of Wodehouse's early school stories, with a weak, coincidence-driven plot. It's his fourth book; the characterization and plot are a little less weak than in the preceding three, but it's still for Wodehouse completists only. The style is vaguely amusing, but with almost nothing of his later genius.

3.0 out of 5 stars Still aimed at contemporary schoolboys, but more cohesive, April 5, 2007

By 

Trevor Kettlewell "trevsbookreviews" (Nowra, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Gold Bat (Paperback)

This isn't the reason Wodehouse is still so popular, but it's an improvement on the earlier school stories. I probably enjoyed the boys' own adventures solving the crime and defeating the baddies as much as Wodehouse's distinctive expression. This isn't saying that the adventures are superb, rather that the expression (with occasional lovely exceptions) isn't yet as his superlative peak. I dare say this was perfectly pitched at the young contemporary audience he wrote it for.