The Mating Season
P.G. Wodehouse
Penguin Books. First published 1949.
The books belongs to the golden period of about 35 years between 1925 and 1960 when PGW wrote some of the most sublime comic literature ever written. Not word is out of place in this story involving the standard set of characters Wooster, Jeeves, Gussie and 'the' Basset, augmented by Esmond Haddock, a deliciously described Cora 'Corky' Pirbright, Claude Pirbright, Gertrude Winkworth, and a 'surging sea' of five (yes, five) aunts, not counting Aunt Agatha, who appears off-stage. Four pairs of lovers get their lines crossed and keep getting hitched up with the wrong partners, with Bertie Wooster playing the role of the joker in the pack, being grabbed up by whichever female happens to be unattached at the moment, much to the horror of his completely bachelor soul. (I suppose one might, with some effort, write a facetious essay on the topic 'Was Bertie gay?' - but that line of investigation is best left to Stephen Fry, maybe.) And then, of course, Jeeves waves his wand (actually a cosh in this case) and sets things right.
The book contains the story of 'Mervyn Keene, Clubman', a novel by Rosie M. banks, summarized for Wooster's benefit by that prime specimen of all that's soppy, Madeline Basset. Upon listening to which Wooster remarks to us, the readers, as follows: 'The fact is, I was feeling a bit stunned. I had always known in a sort of vague, general way that Mrs Bingo (i.e. R.M. Banks) wrote the world's worst tripe - Bingo generally changes the subject nervously if anyone mentions the little woman's output - but I had never supposed her capable of bilge like this.' Lovely stuff.
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