A Wodehouse Bestiary

From a cat whose haughty opinion counts to a pig that won't eat, these are some wonderful stories. I laughed out loud at quite a few of them and of course the fact that the characters of Jeeves and Wooster make an appearance is simply an added bonus. It made me want to pick up more of Wodehouse's works!

Some of P.G. Wodehouse's best stories feature what he affectionately called the "dumb chums." He was an untiring advocate for the underdog, both four-legged and two-legged, and read that way his stories are delightfully subversive. He and his wife Ethel loved their menagerie of "Pekes" as he called their brood of Pekinese, and together they created the Bide-a-wee animal shelter. That big-hearted generosity wouldn't necessarily translate into good animal stories, but in Wodehouse it does. This collection is called a Bestiary (Beastiary) after the Medieaval collections of animal fables, and is collected from various volumes of Wodehousiana, including Very Good Jeeves, Mulliner Nights, Blandings Castle, Jeeves, Young Men in Spats, and The Man With Two Left Feet. However, these various stories have been collected in numerous volumes with alternate titles (see the lists in Joseph Connolly's P.G. Wodehouse or Richard Usborne's Plum Sauce or the biography by Donaldson). All of which makes this the perfect place to meet the Master, as numerous other writers have called him. The animal stories are among his absolute best, and they also serve as an introduction to the Jeeves and Wooster adventures, the Drones Club stories, the Blandings Castle saga, Mr. Mulliner tales and the many one-offs, all being reprinted in hardback by Overlook Press and in paperback by Penguin for new readers who will naturally want to pursue more. Although I first read this exact edition, the one I have now is different, although I believe the contents are the same. Mine reads: Unpleasantness at Budleigh Court; Sir Roderick Comes to Lunch; Something Squishy; Pig Hooo-o-o-o-ey!; Comrade Bingo; Monkey Business (not the Marilyn Monroe movie); Jeeves and the Impending Doom; Open House; Ukridge's Dog College; The Story of Webster; The Go-Getter; Jeeves and the Old School Chum; Uncle Fred Flits By; and The Mixer.

This is book was my first introduction to PGW. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the stories. His writing style is flawless, which makes his stories jump right off of the page. It's a shame more people aren't familiar with his FUNNY and highly enjoyable body of work. A must have for any zoophile and Wodehouse reader.

I got this book from a friend with whom I share a love of P.G. Wodehouse's writing, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am (like many, I imagine) most familiar with Bertie and Jeeves, but this excellent collection of hilarious stories about the doings of the animal kingdom's most entertaining denizens introduced me to a host of other appealing characters, about whom I now want to read a lot more! BUY THIS BOOK!