The World of Blandings: (Blandings Castle)

Description

'You don't analyse such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendour.' Stephen Fry A Blandings Omnibus In this wonderfully fat omnibus, which seems to span the dimensions of the Empress of Blandings herself (the fattest pig in Shropshire and surely all England), the whole world of Blandings Castle is spread out for our delectation- the engagingly dotty Lord Emsworth and his enterprising brother Galahad, his terrifying sister Lady Constance, Beach the butler (his voice 'like tawny port made audible'), James Wellbeloved, the gifted but not always sober pigman, and Lord Emsworth's secretary the Efficient Baxter, with gleaming spectacles, whose attempts to bring order to the Castle always end in disarray. Lurking in the wings is Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe of Matchingham Hall, the neighbour with designs on the Prize which must surely belong to the Empress. As Evelyn Waugh wrote, 'The gardens of Blandings Castle are that original garden from which we are all exiled.' This omnibus contains Something Fresh, Summer Lightning and three short stories.

P. G. Wodehouse (1881-1975) is widely regarded as the greatest comic writer of the 20th century. Wodehouse wrote more than 70 novels and 200 short stories, creating numerous much-loved characters - the inimitable Jeeves and Wooster, Lord Emsworth and his beloved Empress of Blandings, Mr Mulliner, Ukridge, and Psmith. His humorous articles were published in more than 80 magazines, including Punch, over six decades. He was also a highly successful music lyricist, once with over five musicals running on Broadway simultaneously. P.G. Wodehouse was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for 'an outstanding and lasting contribution to the happiness of the world'.

Each time you read another Blandings story, the sublime nature of that world is such as to make you gasp * Stephen Fry * It's dangerous to use the word genius to describe a writer, but I'll risk it with him * John Humphrys * A genius ... Elusive, delicate but lasting * Alan Ayckbourn * Not only the funniest English novelist who ever wrote but one of our finest stylists * Susan Hill * For as long as I'm immersed in a P.G. Wodehouse book, it's possible to keep the real world at bay and live in a far, far nicer, funnier one where happy endings are the order of the day * Marian Keyes *