P.G. Wodehouse: The Early Years

I have read many P.G. Wodehouse novels, starting when I was 14 and got a copy of Right Ho, Jeeves from the library. I am a huge fan of his well-known characters like Bertie Wooster and Jeeves (immortalized on screen by the ever-hilarious duo of Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie), Lord Emsworth and his pig, the Empress of Blandings, and of course, the monocled Psmith (the P is silent). His stand-alone novels are equally delightful and will introduce you to an array of American gangsters, English butlers, ludicrous lords, and sharp showgirls who present a decidedly raucous and hilarious view of humanity. However, last weekend I downloaded a slew of Wodehouse's early novels on to my Kindle and proceeded to delve into a world of Wodehousian humor that I had never experienced before.

Wodehouse's first novel, The Pothunters (published in 1902), tells the story of a bunch of boys at St. Austin's, a boarding school staffed by long-suffering masters in charge of boys who think a good education involves playing cricket and football instead of doing sums or translating the Aeneid. The central mystery in this story revolves around the theft of a couple of "pots" or school trophies that were supposed to be given out at the annual Sports Day. But that plot point isn't important - like any Wodehouse novel, the focus is squarely on the characters populating this school. The boys are ingenious, equally earnest about creating a perfect school team for football matches as they are about ragging the French teacher in the morning. By the time we find out who stole the trophies, we don't really care, because we just want to know more about the various adventures these inane youths will embark upon.

I also read Tales of St. Austin's, a thoroughly delightful collection of short stories and essays that capture the Wodehouse wit in short form for readers lacking in attention span. And The Gold Bat, which is another novel with a missing piece of sports memorabilia and a mysterious League that is destroying the studies of various students at the Wrykyn public school. These stories are brimming with schoolboy slang and can have some chapters devoted to football, boxing, or cricket matches that are fairly incomprehensible. But once you get past those trifles, you'll find yourself chuckling and thoroughly wishing you could transport yourself to a public school in 1900s England.

Wodehouse's ability to fold the English language on itself and deliver an origami masterpiece of a sentence is unparalleled. Despite writing these books so early in his career, they still serve as perfect examples of what it means to be Wodehousian. The language is spectacular, the stories are ridiculous, and every chapter is laugh-out-loud genius. If boarding schools and scholastic exploits are not your thing, there are 90 other novels for you to choose from. Wodehouse's novels are in the public domain so they're available online for free. You have no excuse - get yourself a P.G. Wodehouse novel today and discover the English language's funniest author.