A Prefect's Uncle [Hardcover]

P.G. Wodehouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1972

"No, it's not that. It's only an uncle of mine who's coming down here. He's coming tomorrow, and I'm to meet him. The uncanny part of it is that I've never heard of him before in my life." "Is your uncle likely to do his duty, Bishop?" "I tell you I don't know the man. Never heard of him. I thought I knew every uncle on the list, but I can't place this one. However, I suppose I shall have to meet him." "Rather," said Marriott, as they went into the House; "we should always strive to be kind, even to the very humblest. On the off chance, you know. The unknown may have struck it rich in sheep or something out in Australia. Most uncles come from Australia. Or he may be the boss of some trust, and wallowing in dollars. He may be anything. Let's go and brew, Bishop. Come on, Reece."

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Souvenir Press Ltd (1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0285620746
• ISBN-13: 978-0285620742
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,958,601 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars For Wodehouse completists only, July 2, 2005

By 

Flash Sheridan (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Prefect's Uncle (Hardcover)

Like Sir Pelham's first book, _The Pothunters_, _A Prefect's Uncle_ is largely devoid of the plot, effort, and genius of his later works. There is a rather weak and uninteresting main plot, and a minor subplot that depends on a preposterous and unnecessary coincidence, and there are some slightly memorable characters, so Sir Pelham has made some progress since his first novel.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too much detail on the cricket pitch, September 24, 2006

By 

Trevor Kettlewell "trevsbookreviews" (Nowra, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Prefect's Uncle (Collected Works of P.G. Wodehouse) (Library Binding)

After defending his first novel, The Pothunters, against accusations of being too caught up in the minutiae of public school life, I have to concede in this, his second. Where was the editor? Ball by ball accounts of cricket matches can be hard going in real time, but in fictional accounts it's extremely difficult to care. Particularly about such thin characters that appear and disappear so randomly. It holds some interest as a study in the typical concerns and at times obscure social rules of `good form' in a British public school in the early twentieth century, but this is hardly why I read Wodehouse. I don't suppose I read him particularly for plot either, but this one is just too much of a mess. The uncle of the title, for example, is central and then inexplicably forgotten. Perhaps the market was for ex or current pupils that could empathise with the situations without needing to particularly engage with the characters.

This is still Wodehouse, and his characters and descriptions often display his (fabulous) characteristic wit. But his love of cricket and rugby here goes beyond charm and into tedium. Later golf books, for example, get the mix right. As I work my way through the unavoidably hit and miss vast canon I hope it isn't too long before I'm back to hits.