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The discovery of four satirical 'playlets' by PG Wodehouse, seen by the public for the first time in 100 years this weekend, prove that the humorist - who is often viewed as apolitical - had a strong interest in public affairs from his youth. Wodehouse is best known as the creator of the all-knowing Jeeves and his egregious boss, Bertie Wooster. However, the four sketches, written between 1904 and 1907 - and complete with lampooning songs - show he was closely engaged with British politics and happy to function somewhat as the Have I Got News For You of his day. --The Observer
The commentaries and annotations are first class. As a piece of historical and literary scholarship, I can't fault it at all. (5 out of 5 stars). --The Bookbag
The commentaries and annotations are first class. As a piece of historical and literary scholarship, I can't fault it at all. (5 out of 5 stars). --The Bookbag
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The 'Lost' PG Wodehouse Playlets - one of the most important literary discoveries of the year, the unearthing of several early PG Wodehouse works unseen for over a hundred years. The foreword has been written by Hilary Bruce the Chairman of the PG Wodehouse society, and there are contributions from leading PG Wodehouse historians including Norman Murphy, Tony Ring and Andrew Crowther. Between 1904 and 1907, two young journalists called Bertram Fletcher Robinson ('Bobbles') and PG Wodehouse ('Plum') co-authored four satirical playlets together - each is a lampooning review of the previous year's news. These works were original published in the 'Daily Express' (1), 'Vanity Fair' (2) and 'The World' (1). Robinson (1870-1907) had previously assisted Arthur Conan Doyle with 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (1901) and also enjoyed some success with his own fictional detective, Addington Peace (1904-1905). Later, Wodehouse (1881-1975) would achieve worldwide acclaim for his series of stories and books that feature both Reginald Jeeves and Bertram Wilberforce Wooster (1915-1974). Now all four Robinson/Wodehouse playlets are reavailable for the first time in this aptly named anthology, Bobbles & Plum. This book provides the reader with a fascinating glimpse into the evolving mind of two of the finest young humorists of their generation.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First Class,
By Ted Sherrell (Devon) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bobbles & Plum: Four Satirical Playlets by Bertram Fletcher Robinson and PG Wodehouse (Paperback)
P.G. Wodehouse needs little if any introduction, but Bertram Fletcher Robinson's life and career were cut short and he is little known outside his connections with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This set of satirical playlets on which they collaborated, published in journals between 1904 and 1907 and virtually forgotten since, are presented in book form for the first time. As such they show how the careers of both men were evolving, particularly while Wodehouse was finding his feet and experimenting with the different facets of journalism before finding his niche in comic fiction.
The playlets were, I suppose, a kind of gentle Edwardian forerunner of 'That Was The Week That Was' and 'Have I Got News For You'. Their poking at the establishment of the day is naturally somewhat lost on the audience or readership of a century later, but to anyone with some historical or political knowledge of the contemporary issues (mainly the matter of tariff reform, which helped sweep the Liberals to a landslide election victory in 1906), it cuts quite sharp. We are also reminded that the wit of Savoy Opera librettist W.S. Gilbert was a major influence on the young Wodehouse, as one of the lyrics, 'The Ploughman's Song' A wandering ploughman I, makes plain. The commentaries on the plays take up about half the book. They fill in the biographical background of both men well, making clear that even as a young man Wodehouse was quite old-fashioned in his tastes, having no time for modern art, modern poetry and contemporary trends in theatrical writing. Good old unpretentious entertainment rather than the groundbreaking drama of Ibsen, Shaw and others was more his line. He was also relatively apolitical, and the dialogue was left to Robinson, while Wodehouse was basically the librettist (somehow, calling him a songwriter doesn't quite ring true). As for the playlets themselves, 'A Fiscal Pantomime: The Sleeping Beauty' is a skit on the political situation brought about by Joseph Chamberlain and fellow supporters of the Tariff Reform League, which helped to split the Conservative party of the day. 'Our Christmas Pantomime: Little Red Riding Hood' satirises the breakdown of Victorian values during the reign of Edward VII. (In the 1960s, Robinson and Wodehouse would have had little time for 'the permissive society'). 'A Winter's Tale: King Arthur and his Court' makes fun of the political groups opposing Arthur Balfour, the Prime Minister, during late 1905, while 'The Progressive's Progress - Some Memories of 1906' satirises the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France of 1904, and the growing increase in expenditure by the London County Council, that alarmed a number of Londoners. What goes around comes around, and they say history often repeats itself. For tariff reform and Entente Cordiale, read European Union, for example. This book does not just throw an interesting spotlight on the early careers of two young authors, one semi-forgotten and one a household name, but also reminds us that political satire is nothing new. The commentaries and annotations are first class. As a piece of historical and literary scholarship, I can't fault it at all. JOHN VAN DER KISTE 'The Bookbag' June 2009.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Interesting and Enjoyable Publication,
This review is from: Bobbles & Plum: Four Satirical Playlets by Bertram Fletcher Robinson and PG Wodehouse (Paperback)
The core of the book is the re-publication of four playlets written by Wodehouse and Bertram Fletcher Robinson from 1903 to 1906. The book opens with a short eulogy to Robinson on his death in 1907 written by Jessie Pope (whom Wodehouse also knew) followed by a Foreword by Hilary Bruce [Chairman of the P G Wodehouse Society (UK)]. There is then a thirteen-page introduction by Norman Murphy and Tony Ring which summarises the careers of the two men, hypothesises on their meeting during the 'Parrot Poems' craze and discusses their subsequent collaboration in the playlets and Robinson's commissioning short stories from Wodehouse.
We then get the four playlets which deal with the political and social events of the time that everybody talked about. There was some comment in 'The Observer' newspaper on Wodehouse being 'political' (26 July 2009), but the writer of this article had not realised that, from the time Wodehouse got work on 'The Globe' in 1903, that was his job. He had to turn out a humorous column each day on what was topical and, in the early 1900s, that meant Chamberlain and Tariff Reform, the split among the Conservatives and Liberals over Tariffs and Home Rule for Ireland, Suffragettes, the activities - and expenditure - of the new London County Council, the Entente Cordiale and Gaiety Girls marrying into the aristocracy. It may seem all very dated today. Of course it is but, if you have read 'The Parrot and Other Poems', you will already have a feel for the period. In any event, the playlets (49 pages in total) are followed by 36 pages of explanatory notes. An interesting, enjoyable publication though slightly marred by occasional typos including, I regret to say, 'Woodhouse' for Wodehouse.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Clever, Well-Written & Funny,
By
This review is from: Bobbles & Plum: Four Satirical Playlets by Bertram Fletcher Robinson and PG Wodehouse (Paperback)
The latest fruits of Paul Spiring's research are found in 'Bobbles and Plum: Four Satirical Playlets by Bertram Fletcher Robinson and P G Wodehouse'. These plays, never intended for performance, appeared variously in the 'Daily Express', 'Vanity Fair' and 'The World' between 1903 and 1907. They're part of the tradition of satire that continues today, and though they date from a more respectful era they aim some pretty sharp darts at the politicians. Moreover, they're clever, well-written, and funny. The full annotations help us appreciate just how clever they are, and how harmoniously the two authors worked together. Wodehouse was just starting a career that would last another seventy years. Robinson's career was about to be cut short. Who can say what he might have achieved?
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