The Luck of the Bodkins [Hardcover]

P. G. Wodehouse (Author)

Book Description

Series: Collector's Wodehouse | Publication Date: November 7, 2002

Fans of P. G. Wodehouse's comic genius are legion, and their devotion to his masterful command of hilarity borders on obsession. Overlook happily feeds the obsession with four more antic selections from the master.

Blandings Castle is a collection of tales concerning Lord Emsworth and the Threepwood clan, while Jeeves in the Offing finds Bertie Wooster in yet another scrape-with the peerless Jeeves out of sight, on vacation! Poor Bertie nearly becomes unstuck! Young Men in Spats is Wodehouse at his most sparkling: stories concerning members of the inimitable Drones Club-they may be small of brain and short on cash but they are always good for ingenious adventures. And in The Luck of the Bodkins, the action spans London, New York, Hollywood, and several transatlantic liners, as three dapper young men find themselves in various Wodehousian predicaments concerning their love lives and finances.

Each volume has been reset and printed on Scottish cream-wove, acid-free paper, sewn and bound in cloth. These novels are elegant and essential additions to any Wodehouse fan's library.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

P.G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) was born in Surrey, educated in London, and spent much of his life in Southampton, Long Island. He wrote more than ninety books, twenty film scripts, and collaborated on more than thirty plays and musical comedies.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 358 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover; First printing thus edition (November 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585673366
• ISBN-13: 978-1585673360
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #785,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the funniest books in the Wodehouse canon, February 12, 2004

By 

T. F. Neal "tfn3" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Luck of the Bodkins (Mass Market Paperback)

Great books unsually start with great 1st sentences, and Luck of the Bodkins doesn't disappoint with this classic Wodehouse gem: "Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French." How can you possibly put a book down that starts like that! And it only gets better.

The eponomous hero Monty Bonkin is also a minor character in the Blandings novel "Heavy Weather. " This book picks up right where we left him at the end of that book making it a sequel of sorts though you defininately do not have to have read "Heavy Weather" first. Set in London, New York and Hollywood this is a great farce, which will keep you laughing to the end. Another great thing about this is that it the longest Wodehouse novel I've come across at 358pgs. so there's more to love.

Most importantly, make sure you pick this novel up (as well as the other Wodehouse books available) in the exquisite Overlook edition -- the beautifully designed, well crafted uniform editions that will last for generations and only cost a couple of bucks more than the mass marke paperback.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top-notch Wodehouse, March 10, 2006

By 

mrliteral - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Luck of the Bodkins (Mass Market Paperback)

There may be no Jeeves or Wooster, but the Luck of the Bodkins shows that P.G. Wodehouse is still able to produce a nigh flawless novel without his two most well-known characters. Wodehouse is at his creative peak with this comic soap opera about several folks on a transatlantic cruise.

The title character is Monty Bodkin who has pursued his erstwhile fiancée Gertrude onto a ship going to New York. A misunderstanding has made her break the engagement, and though it will soon be resolved, more misunderstandings will follow. Also on board is movie studio owner Ivor Llewellyn who is being coerced by his absent wife to smuggle a pearl necklace to the states; he incorrectly thinks Monty is a customs inspector and thus targets him for some bribery. There is also the actress Lotus Blossom, who is engaged to Ambrose Tennyson (cousin of Gertrude); Ambrose is contracted to work for Ivor, and is also jealous of his younger brother Reggie, who is also aboard and once had a fling with Lotus.

In addition to all these characters. there is the ship's steward, Albert Peasemarch, who in certain ways is the anti-Jeeves: he has a seemingly magic way of making any situation worse. If this is beginning to sound complicated, it is, which is why this is one of Wodehouse's longest stories. There's a lot going on, but it all comes together seamlessly.

As always, you don't read Wodehouse for deep looks at the human condition; instead you get light entertainment, which is a nice escape from the weighty issues of real life. Simply put, reading Wodehouse is fun, and the Luck of the Bodkins is Wodehouse at his best.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the funniest books in the Wodehouse canon, February 12, 2004

By 

T. F. Neal "tfn3" (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Luck of the Bodkins (Hardcover)

Great books unsually start with great 1st sentences, and Luck of the Bodkins doesn't disappoint with this classic Wodehouse gem: "Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to talk French." How can you possibly put a book down that starts like that! And it only gets better.

The eponomous hero Monty Bonkin is also a minor character in the Blandings novel "Heavy Weather. " This book picks up right where we left him at the end of that book making it a sequel of sorts though you defininately do not have to have read "Heavy Weather" first. Set in London, New York and Hollywood this is a great farce, which will keep you laughing to the end. Another great thing about this is that it the longest Wodehouse novel I've come across at 358pgs. so there's more to love.

Most importantly, make sure you pick this novel up (as well as the other Wodehouse books available) in the exquisite Overlook edition -- the beautifully designed, well crafted uniform editions that will last for generations and only cost a couple of bucks more than the mass marke paperback.