Tales of St. Austin's [Paperback]

P. G. Wodehouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 20, 2007

Pillingshot was annoyed. He was disgusted, mortified; no other word for it. He had no objection, of course, to Mr Mellish saying that his work during the term, and especially his Livy, had been disgraceful. A master has the right to say that sort of thing if he likes. It is one of the perquisites of the position. But when he went on to observe, without a touch of shame, that there would be an examination in the Livy as far as they had gone in it on the following Saturday, Pillingshot felt that he exceeded. It was not playing the game. There were the examinations at the end of term. Those were fair enough. You knew exactly when they were coming, and could make your arrangements accordingly. But to spring an examination on you in the middle of the term out of a blue sky, as it were, was underhand and unsportsmanlike, and would not do at all. Pillingshot wished that he could put his foot down. He would have liked to have stalked up to Mr Mellish's desk, fixed him with a blazing eye, and remarked, 'Sir, withdraw that remark. Cancel that statement instantly, or-!' or words to that effect. What he did say was: 'Oo, si-i-r!!'

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: 1st World Library - Literary Society (February 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421833956
• ISBN-13: 978-1421833958
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,808,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Early Wodehouse stories for boys, February 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Tales of St. Austin's (Hardcover)

A collection of 12 short stoires and 4 essays originally published in British boys magazines in the early 20th century. Their intended audience limits their interest to present-day readers, but Wodehouse's trademark use of language and story-telling skills remain in evidence.

The stories invariably feature noble boys learning valuable lessons about life. It's interesting that the only story where villainy actually triumphs (A Shocking Affair) was the only one which was not accepted for prior publication--it didn't fit the required mold. Yet, that story is most reminescent of the mature Wodehouse.

This moralistic emphasis infects such characters as Charteris. A delightfully unorthodox character in the Pothunters, he appears here as a typical schoolboy athlete who learns his lesson after breaking school rules and reforms.

The stories are still worth reading for Wodehouse fans, and who else could dream up the frauds connected with the European, African, and Asiatic Pork Pie and Ham Sandwich Supply Company? However, readers are likely to be baffled by the contemporary slang, especially in the description of school sports.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mostly for Wodehouse completists, November 29, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Tales of St. Austin's (Paperback)

This is Sir Pelham's third book, and first collection of stories, with three essays at the end. Like his first two novels, the stories are pleasant but extremely weak tales of misbehaving schoolboys, mostly of historical interest only. There are a couple of hints of the mature Wodehouse in the story "Author!", but it quickly degenerates to his usual formula. I found the essay "Work" intriguing, especially for the claim, "People who ought to know better will tell you that Virgil is hard." "The Tom Brown Question" is an amusing parody of Homeric scholarship, with an interesting observation about the original Flashman.