P. G. Wodehouse
AUTHOR

P. G. Wodehouse

Tap the gear icon above to manage new release emails.
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE (/ˈwʊdhaʊs/; 15 October 1881 – 14 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. Born in Guildford, the son of a British magistrate based in Hong Kong, Wodehouse spent happy teenage years at Dulwich College, to which he remained devoted all his life. After leaving school he was employed by a bank but disliked the work and turned to writing in his spare time. His early novels were mostly school stories, but he later switched to comic fiction, creating several regular characters who became familiar to the public over the years. They include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeves; the immaculate and loquacious Psmith; the feeble-minded Lord Emsworth and the Blandings Castle set; the loquacious Oldest Member, with stories about golf; and the equally loquacious Mr Mulliner, with tall tales on subjects ranging from bibulous bishops to megalomaniac movie moguls. Although most of Wodehouse's fiction is set in England, he spent much of his life in the US and used New York and Hollywood as settings for some of his novels and short stories. During and after the First World War, together with Guy Bolton and Jerome Kern, he wrote a series of Broadway musical comedies that were an important part of the development of the American musical. He began the 1930s writing for MGM in Hollywood. In a 1931 interview, his naïve revelations of incompetence and extravagance at Hollywood studios caused a furore. In the same decade, his literary career reached a new peak. In 1934 Wodehouse moved to France for tax reasons; in 1940 he was taken prisoner at Le Touquet by the invading Germans and interned for nearly a year. After his release he made six broadcasts from German radio in Berlin to the US, which had not yet entered the war. The talks were comic and apolitical, but his broadcasting over enemy radio prompted anger and strident controversy in Britain, and a threat of prosecution. Wodehouse never returned to England. From 1947 until his death he lived in the US, taking dual British-American citizenship in 1955. He was a prolific writer throughout his life, publishing more than ninety books, forty plays, two hundred short stories and other writings between 1902 and 1974. He died in 1975, at the age of 93, in Southampton, New York. Wodehouse worked extensively on his books, sometimes having two or more in preparation simultaneously. He would take up to two years to build a plot and write a scenario of about thirty thousand words. After the scenario was complete he would write the story. Early in his career he would produce a novel in about three months, but he slowed in old age to around six months. He used a mixture of Edwardian slang, quotations from and allusions to numerous poets, and several literary techniques to produce a prose style that has been compared with comic poetry and musical comedy. Some critics of Wodehouse have considered his work flippant, but among his fans are former British prime ministers and many of his fellow writers. Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Unlisted photographer for Screenland (Screenland, August 1930 (Vol XXI, No 4); p. 20) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
Read more Read less
You're getting a free audiobook


You're getting a free audiobook.

$8.99 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Try Standard free

Jeeves Takes Charge

New release
View Details

Featured Article: Dream Big—Meet the All-Star Cast of The Sandman: Act II


Immerse yourself in the world of The Sandman right now with an unforgettable audio experience. The star power alone is worth the price of admission—the cumulative amount of awards that have been won by the cast over the course of their careers is simply staggering. The cast features some of the most talented and esteemed actors working today. So let's dive right into the who's who of The Sandman: Act II.

Featured Article Dream Big Meet the All Star Cast of The Sandman Act II

Best Sellers

Product List
  • Scoring off Jeeves Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $2.14 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • P. G. Wodehouse Volume 2 Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $30.00 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • The P.G. Wodehouse Collection Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $21.50 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $13.57 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Jeeves & Wooster Audiobook By P.G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $16.98 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Jeeves Takes Charge Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $4.20 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Carry On, Jeeves Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $17.11 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Jill the Reckless Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $22.24 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Uneasy Money Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $13.92 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • The Adventures of Sally Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $11.87 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Carry On, Jeeves Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $11.46 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • The Girl on the Boat Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $13.92 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Something Fresh Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $15.19 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Right Ho, Jeeves Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $13.92 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Mike Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $21.43 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • The Mating Season Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $13.92 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Summer Lightning Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $12.85 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Meet Mr. Mulliner Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $14.15 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • Right Ho, Jeeves [Classic Tales Edition] Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $17.11 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free
  • The Man Upstairs and Other Stories Audiobook By P. G. Wodehouse cover art
    Preview

    $17.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try Standard free

Are you an author?

Help us improve our Author Pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography.
Visit Amazon Author Central