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The books

A catalogue of Plum

Novels and story collections, grouped by series. Each title links to Amazon.co.uk with the associate code stewartferris-21. Using the links costs you nothing extra.

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94 books

1902 · Novel

The Pothunters

School stories

Wodehouse’s first book: a St Austin’s school mystery in which a sports cup vanishes and two boys set out to recover it before an innocent man is blamed.

1903 · Novel

A Prefect's Uncle

School stories

A cheerfully improbable uncle descends on a public school and proceeds to upend the carefully ordered life of his prefect nephew.

1903 · Stories

Tales of St Austin's

School stories

Early school stories and essays from the world of St Austin’s, already showing the comic timing that would later fill Blandings and the Drones.

1904 · Novel

The Gold Bat

School stories

A Wrykyn school story of a missing sports trophy, secret societies, and the grave business of house matches.

1904 · Novel

William Tell Told Again

Standalones

A comic retelling of the Swiss legend, written for younger readers and illustrated in its first edition.

1905 · Novel

The Head of Kay's

School stories

House politics, cricket, and the trials of a well-meaning head of house in one of the best of the school novels.

1906 · Novel

Love Among the Chickens

Ukridge

The first appearance of Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge, launching a disastrous chicken farm in Dorset and a romance for his friend Jeremy Garnet.

1907 · Novel

The White Feather

School stories

A Wrykyn boy accused of cowardice takes up boxing to restore his honour — early proof that Wodehouse could do plot as well as jokes.

1907 · Novel

Not George Washington

Standalones

A lightly autobiographical collaboration with Herbert Westbrook about a young writer in London trying to make a living by his pen.

1909 · Novel

The Swoop!

Standalones

A short, wild satire in which England is invaded by nine foreign armies and saved by a Boy Scout. Rare, slight, and very funny.

1909 · Novel

Mike

School stories · Psmith

The great school cricket novel, later split as Mike at Wrykyn and Mike and Psmith. The second half introduces Psmith, the monocled dandy of Sedleigh.

1910 · Novel

A Gentleman of Leisure

US: The Intrusion of Jimmy

Standalones

A bored young millionaire takes up burglary for sport and finds himself entangled with a genuine cracksman and a country-house romance.

1910 · Novel

Psmith in the City

Psmith

Mike and Psmith are packed off to the New Asiatic Bank. Drawn from Wodehouse’s own unhappy spell at Hongkong and Shanghai Bank.

1912 · Novel

The Prince and Betty

Standalones

A transatlantic romance that exists in markedly different UK and US versions, later reworked with Psmith for American readers.

1913 · Novel

The Little Nugget

Standalones

Kidnappers, a preparatory school, and an American millionaire’s son: an early thriller-comedy that already sounds like mature Wodehouse.

1914 · Stories

The Man Upstairs

Standalones

A dozen early stories of young men, chorus girls, and London lodgings, written as Wodehouse was finding his transatlantic voice.

1915 · Novel

Something Fresh

US: Something New

Blandings

The first Blandings novel. Ashe Marson and Joan Valentine go undercover at the castle to recover a scarab, and Lord Emsworth’s world opens for the first time.

1915 · Novel

Psmith, Journalist

Psmith

Psmith takes over a New York paper and takes on slum landlords and boxers. The most American of the Psmith books, and unusually tough-minded.

1917 · Stories

The Man with Two Left Feet

Jeeves & Wooster · Standalones

Contains “Extricating Young Gussie” (1915), the first appearance of Bertie and a valet named Jeeves — still a walk-on, not yet the Jeeves.

1916 · Novel

Uneasy Money

Standalones

An English peer inherits an unexpected fortune from an American stranger and is promptly pursued across Long Island by interested parties.

1917 · Novel

Piccadilly Jim

Standalones

Jimmy Crocker, the scandal-sheet playboy, tries to go straight in New York and finds reformation harder than riotous living. Twice filmed.

1919 · Novel

A Damsel in Distress

Standalones

A composer, a castle in Hampshire, and a runaway girl. Later a Fred Astaire film with a Gershwin score, and one of Wodehouse’s neatest romances.

1919 · Stories

My Man Jeeves

Jeeves & Wooster

Four Jeeves stories (narrated by Bertie) and four about Reggie Pepper, Bertie’s prototype. The valet is now indispensable.

1920 · Novel

The Coming of Bill

US: Their Mutual Child

Standalones

A New York novel about marriage, a strong-minded mother-in-law, and a baby raised on competing theories. Softer than the clubland farces.

1922 · Novel

The Girl on the Boat

US: Three Men and a Maid

Standalones

Atlantic crossings, mistaken identities, and a red-haired heroine. Filmed in 1962 with Richard Briers.

1922 · Stories

The Clicking of Cuthbert

US: Golf Without Tears

Golf stories

The Oldest Member holds forth from the clubhouse porch. The best comic golf stories in English, and a doorway into Wodehouse for many readers.

1922 · Novel

The Adventures of Sally

US: Mostly Sally

Standalones

Sally Nicholas inherits money, backs a play, and learns that Broadway and the heart are equally treacherous.

1923 · Stories

The Inimitable Jeeves

US: Jeeves

Jeeves & Wooster

Linked stories that form the first great Jeeves book: Bingo Little, the Great Sermon Handicap, and Bertie’s aunts in full cry.

1923 · Novel

Leave It to Psmith

Psmith · Blandings

Psmith arrives at Blandings as a poet, jewel thief, and efficient Baxter’s nemesis. Many readers’ favourite single Wodehouse novel.

1924 · Stories

Ukridge

US: He Rather Enjoyed It

Ukridge

Ukridge in a yellow mackintosh, borrowing fivers and launching schemes that collapse with clockwork splendour.

1924 · Novel

Bill the Conqueror

Standalones

A young man is packed off to America to be toughened up, with a country house, crooks, and a love affair waiting on the other side.

1925 · Stories

Carry On, Jeeves

Jeeves & Wooster

Includes the rewritten origin story of how Jeeves entered Bertie’s employment, plus “The Rummy Affair of Old Biffy” and other peaks.

1925 · Novel

Sam the Sudden

US: Sam in the Suburbs

Standalones

Treasure buried in a Valley Fields garden, crooks in pursuit, and a romance in the south London suburb Wodehouse loved.

1926 · Stories

The Heart of a Goof

US: Divots

Golf stories

A second round with the Oldest Member: sliced drives, ruined engagements, and the spiritual consolation of a well-played mashie.

1927 · Novel

The Small Bachelor

Standalones

A Greenwich Village artist, a policeman who writes poetry, and a New York family determined to manage a marriage. From the play The Small Bachelor.

1927 · Stories

Meet Mr Mulliner

Mr Mulliner

In the bar-parlour of the Angler’s Rest, Mr Mulliner begins his saga of gifted relations — including the classic “The Truth about George”.

1928 · Novel

Money for Nothing

Standalones

A Worcestershire country house, a health crank, a burglary, and two young people who would rather be left to fall in love in peace.

1929 · Stories

Mr Mulliner Speaking

Mr Mulliner

More Mulliner relations: Hollywood, the stage, and the perils of the church fête, all reported over a second pint of stout-and-mild.

1929 · Novel

Summer Lightning

US: Fish Preferred

Blandings

Galahad’s reminiscences, the Empress in peril, and Ronnie Fish’s engagement. Wodehouse at the height of his Blandings form.

1930 · Stories

Very Good, Jeeves

Jeeves & Wooster

The last of the great Jeeves story collections, with “Jeeves and the Song of Songs”, “The Inferiority Complex of Old Sippy”, and Aunt Agatha in Venice.

1931 · Novel

Big Money

Drones Club

Berry Conway, a Drones man in reduced circumstances, and the tangled finances of a Mayfair household. City comedy with a soft centre.

1931 · Novel

If I Were You

Standalones

A barber and a peer may have been swapped at birth. A comic rumination on class that Wodehouse also shaped as a play.

1932 · Novel

Doctor Sally

Standalones

A short novel about a woman doctor, a loafing young man, and the discovery that work and love need not be enemies.

1932 · Novel

Hot Water

Standalones

An American senator, a French spa town, impostors, and stolen papers. Plot machinery of Swiss-watch complexity.

1933 · Stories

Mulliner Nights

Mr Mulliner

The third Mulliner collection, including “The Smile that Wins” and further proof that one family can contain every profession on earth.

1933 · Novel

Heavy Weather

Blandings

The Empress is kidnapped, Galahad’s manuscript must be suppressed, and Monty Bodkin wants his job back. Sequel to Summer Lightning.

1934 · Novel

Thank You, Jeeves

Jeeves & Wooster

The first full-length Jeeves novel. Bertie takes up the banjolele, Jeeves resigns, and a country-house weekend catches fire — almost literally.

1934 · Novel

Right Ho, Jeeves

US: Brinkley Manor

Jeeves & Wooster

Gussie Fink-Nottle, orange juice, and the prize-giving at Market Snodsbury Grammar School. For many, the funniest novel in English.

1935 · Stories

Blandings Castle and Elsewhere

US: Blandings Castle

Blandings · Mr Mulliner

Six Blandings stories (including “The Custody of the Pumpkin” and “Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey!”) plus Mulliner and golf tales.

1935 · Novel

The Luck of the Bodkins

Standalones

A transatlantic liner, Hollywood contracts, and Ikey Llewellyn’s film troupe. Wodehouse turning his MGM years into farce.

1936 · Stories

Young Men in Spats

Drones Club

Freddie Widgeon, Eggs, Beans and Crumpets, and the Drones in full, foolish flower. Includes two Mr Mulliner stories.

1936 · Novel

Laughing Gas

Standalones

An English earl and a Hollywood child star swap bodies under anaesthetic. The most openly fantastical of the novels.

1937 · Stories

Lord Emsworth and Others

US: The Crime Wave at Blandings

Blandings · Ukridge · Golf stories

The title story is a Blandings jewel; the rest mix Ukridge, golf, and Drones Club mishaps.

1937 · Novel

Summer Moonshine

Standalones

A hideous Hampshire house nobody wants, a princess, and a novelist on the run from his wife. Country-house farce without Blandings.

1938 · Novel

The Code of the Woosters

Jeeves & Wooster

Totleigh Towers, a cow-creamer, Spode and his Black Shorts, and the code that forbids Bertie to let a pal down. The Jeeves masterpiece.

1939 · Novel

Uncle Fred in the Springtime

Uncle Fred · Blandings

Frederick, fifth Earl of Ickenham, is unleashed upon Blandings in the cause of young love and the Empress. Chaos of a high order.

1940 · Stories

Eggs, Beans and Crumpets

Drones Club · Ukridge · Mr Mulliner

A mixed collection from the Drones, Ukridge, and Mulliner, published as war closed in on Wodehouse’s French home.

1942 · Novel

Money in the Bank

Standalones

Written in internment. A stuffed fish, hidden diamonds, and a shy hero: proof that the machinery still ran in a German camp.

1946 · Novel

Joy in the Morning

US: Jeeves in the Morning

Jeeves & Wooster

Steeple Bumpleigh, Uncle Percy, and a stolen brooch. Plotted in internment and finished after release; Wodehouse’s own favourite Jeeves novel.

1947 · Novel

Full Moon

Blandings

Tipton Plimsoll, two painters, and the usual Blandings mix-ups under a Shropshire moon.

1948 · Novel

Spring Fever

Standalones

A butler who wants to be a bookie, a peer in difficulties, and a country house preparing for sale. Later recast as The Old Reliable.

1948 · Novel

Uncle Dynamite

Uncle Fred

Uncle Fred at large in Hampshire, breaking and remaking engagements with the serenity of a man who has never known a qualm.

1949 · Novel

The Mating Season

Jeeves & Wooster

Bertie impersonates Gussie Fink-Nottle at Deverill Hall, home of five formidable aunts. Village concerts and stolen identities ensue.

1950 · Stories

Nothing Serious

Golf stories · Blandings · Drones Club · Ukridge

A late mixed collection: golf, a Blandings story, Drones Club tales, and Ukridge still borrowing on the strength of the next big thing.

1951 · Novel

The Old Reliable

Standalones

Hollywood, a scandalous diary, and two sisters who know exactly how to handle a household of men. Recast from Spring Fever.

1952 · Novel

Barmy in Wonderland

US: Angel Cake

Standalones

A Drones man backs a Broadway play and discovers that the theatre is even less restful than the club.

1952 · Novel

Pigs Have Wings

Blandings

The Empress and her rival Queen of Matchingham change sties in the night. Peak late Blandings.

1953 · Novel

Ring for Jeeves

US: The Return of Jeeves

Jeeves & Wooster

The one Jeeves novel without Bertie: Jeeves is on loan to the 9th Earl of Rowcester, who has taken up bookmaking.

1954 · Novel

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit

US: Bertie Wooster Sees It Through

Jeeves & Wooster

A white jacket, a pendant, and Aunt Dahlia’s magazine. Bertie grows a moustache; Jeeves is not amused.

1953 · Non-fiction

Bring on the Girls!

Non-fiction

Wodehouse and Guy Bolton remember the Princess Theatre years, Jerome Kern, and the making of American musical comedy.

1956 · Novel

French Leave

Standalones

Three sisters descend on a French resort in search of husbands, with the usual Wodehouse traffic in imposture and coincidence.

1957 · Non-fiction

Over Seventy

Non-fiction

A late autobiographical ramble: Dulwich, dogs, the writing life, and the art of not taking oneself too seriously.

1957 · Novel

Something Fishy

US: The Butler Did It

Standalones

A butler, a hidden fortune, and Valley Fields again. The suburban idyll as a setting for farce.

1958 · Novel

Cocktail Time

Uncle Fred

Uncle Fred, a slingshot, and a scandalous novel that must be kept from a stuffy peer. Mayfair at its giddiest.

1959 · Stories

A Few Quick Ones

Drones Club · Mr Mulliner · Golf stories · Ukridge

Late short stories across the whole troupe: Drones, Mulliner, golf, and Ukridge, still hitting the old notes cleanly.

1960 · Novel

Jeeves in the Offing

US: How Right You Are, Jeeves

Jeeves & Wooster

Jeeves is on holiday at Herne Bay; Bertie must cope with Brinkley Court, a critic, and a stolen hunting trophy without him — almost.

1961 · Novel

Ice in the Bedroom

US: The Ice in the Bedroom

Standalones

Valley Fields, stolen jewels, and a novelist who cannot get started. Suburban Wodehouse of a high standard.

1961 · Novel

Service with a Smile

Uncle Fred · Blandings

Uncle Fred returns to Blandings to sort out Church lads, broken engagements, and Lady Constance. The last of the Uncle Fred novels.

1963 · Novel

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves

Jeeves & Wooster

Back to Totleigh Towers: Spode, a black amber statuette, and Gussie’s engagement to Madeline Bassett hanging by a thread.

1964 · Novel

Frozen Assets

US: Biffen's Millions

Standalones

A young man must keep a poet sober until he inherits. Paris, London, and the usual traffic in mistaken identities.

1964 · Novel

Galahad at Blandings

US: The Brinkmanship of Galahad Threepwood

Blandings

Galahad takes charge of the castle’s romantic difficulties while Lord Emsworth thinks, as usual, of pigs.

1967 · Novel

The Purloined Paperweight

US: Company for Henry

Standalones

A quiet man, a visiting American, and a paperweight that is not what it seems. Late, light, and expertly carpentered.

1966 · Stories

Plum Pie

Jeeves & Wooster · Blandings · Ukridge · Golf stories · Mr Mulliner

A late mixed platter, including a Jeeves story, Blandings, Ukridge, golf, and Mulliner — Wodehouse still serving all his regulars.

1968 · Novel

Do Butlers Burgle Banks?

Standalones

A bankrupt peer turns his house into a bank and attracts genuine criminals. The title is a fair summary of the plot.

1969 · Novel

A Pelican at Blandings

US: No Nudes Is Good Nudes

Blandings

Galahad, a scandalous painting, and yet another impostor under the Blandings roof. The last completed Blandings novel Wodehouse saw through the press.

1970 · Novel

The Girl in Blue

Standalones

A Gainsborough miniature, a country house, and a young man who needs money in a hurry. Late standalone of real charm.

1971 · Novel

Much Obliged, Jeeves

US: Jeeves and the Tie That Binds

Jeeves & Wooster

A by-election at Market Snodsbury, the Junior Ganymede club book, and Bertie in danger of being engaged again.

1972 · Novel

Pearls, Girls and Monty Bodkin

US: The Plot That Thickened

Standalones

Monty Bodkin must hold down a job for a year to win his girl. Hollywood and Hampshire intervene.

1973 · Novel

Bachelors Anonymous

Standalones

A society dedicated to saving men from matrimony finds its president in need of saving. A last Hollywood-tinged farce.

1974 · Novel

Aunts Aren't Gentlemen

US: The Cat-Nappers

Jeeves & Wooster

The last Jeeves novel: a stolen cat, a village fête, and Bertie still in need of Jeeves as the curtain falls.

1977 · Novel

Sunset at Blandings

Blandings

Left unfinished at Wodehouse’s death and published with his notes. A last look at the castle, the Empress, and the golden afternoon.

1953 · Non-fiction

Performing Flea

Non-fiction

Letters to his friend and former schoolmate William Townend, the frankest picture Wodehouse left of the working novelist.

1956 · Non-fiction

America, I Like You

US: Over Seventy

Non-fiction

The American version of his late autobiographical essays, affectionately taking in New York, Hollywood, and the writing desk.

1980 · Non-fiction

Wodehouse on Wodehouse

Non-fiction

Omnibus of Bring on the Girls!, Performing Flea, and Over Seventy — Plum in his own words, looking back on stage, page, and life.