About the Author

Pelham Grenville Wodehouse (always known as 'Plum') wrote about seventy novels and some three hundred short stories over seventy-three years. He is widely recognised as the greatest 20th-century writer of humour in the English language.

Perhaps best known for the escapades of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, Wodehouse also created the world of Blandings Castle, home to Lord Emsworth and his cherished pig, the Empress of Blandings. His stories include gems concerning the irrepressible and disreputable Ukridge; Psmith, the elegant socialist; the ever-so-slightly-unscrupulous Fifth Earl of Ickenham, better known as Uncle Fred; and those related by Mr Mulliner, the charming raconteur of The Angler's Rest, and the Oldest Member at the Golf Club.

In 1936 he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for 'having made an outstanding and lasting contribution to the happiness of the world'. He was made a Doctor of Letters by Oxford University in 1939 and in 1975, aged ninety-three, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. He died shortly afterwards, on St Valentine's Day.

Reviews

Arguably the funniest of four books about the Earl of Ickenham, this romp begins with the unruly sexagenarian knocking the hat off his stuffy in-law Beefy Bastable with a slingshot. Bastable, assuming the outrage was perpetrated by a Drones Club member, takes his revenge by anonymously publishing a scandalous novel about the misbehavior of the young titled Cocktail Time. Then, afraid that exposure of his authorship will wreck his political aspirations, he lets his worthless nephew, Cosmo, claim the book's authorship‘and its royalties. The wicket doesn't get really sticky until Cosmo learns that Hollywood studios are bidding big bucks for Cocktail Time. In the midst of all this, as well as several romances in need of repair, Lord Ickenham is in his element, with happy endings to the deserving and big laughs assured. Add Frederick Davidson's masterly reading, and this package is a can't-miss audiobook, particularly for libraries with mature readers.‘R. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, Cal.