Wodehouse cracks me up discussion

For me, it's a tie between Psmith and Uncle Galahad.

uncle galahad among the top, definitely! poor lord emsworth is pitiably adorable.

Uncle Fred is my favorite by a country mile although I would say he's pretty much in the same stamp as Uncle Galahad, I also have a fondness for Ukridge but it wouldn't run to lending him any money!

Psmith ! P silent as in psychotic.

I'm a bit of a Jeeves and Wooster-o-phile, but I find myself often drawn to Wodehouse's secondary characters, like Aunt Dahlia and Major Plank. They get some of the best lines. I only wish there were more Uncle Fred books...for me, he has it all over Uncle Galahad.

Psmith or Uncle Fred, though Uncle Galahad, Jeeves, and the Ninth Earl are close.

I adore Tuppy Glossop. He whines, backstabs, shows his disloyalty to friends and fiancees at any given chance. He's such a creep. I don't know why I like him except that when he appears I know that Bertie's going to have an especially rough time.

Uncle Fred hands down! Mayhem and mischief are the order of the day when this reprobate shows up. I reread all of Uncle Fred and laugh out loud.

I enjoy the way Uncle Fred weaves a tapestry of lies where Jeeves would apply logic and psychology.

One should not forget Ukridge; I believe I read somewhere that Plum himself often commented upon Ukridge being amongst his own favorite characters . . . hurrah for the schemers and the aspirant Gentlemen of Leisure!

Bertie. With Corky a close second.

Bertie for my money too. Closely followed by the mercurial Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge.

I'd have to say Roderick Spode, otherwise known as Lord Sidcup. Everytime he's on the scene you know something hysterical is going to happen.

Psmith was an inspiration to me as a teenager. I felt that if I could grow up into someone, it should be Psmith of Leave it to Psmith!

I love the unflappable Uncle Fred and the almost constantly flappable Bongo (poor beleaguered soul.)

Aunt Agatha, she reminds me of A......How do I post anonymously?

Bertie, of course, followed by Lord Emsworth. He's such a dotty old fellow, the 9th Earl.

Aunt Dahlia followed by Bertie.

Bertie all the way. :-)

The other thing is the Wodehouse bug sort of runs in the family. I am the third generation and at times we have family gatherings centered around Jeeves or Lord Emsworth.

Psmith for me. Leave It To Psmith is my favourite Wodehouse book.

I also wish PGW had written more stories featuring Bobbie Wickham. Mr Potter Takes A Rest Cure always cracks me up.

David wrote: "Psmith for me. Leave It To Psmith is my favourite Wodehouse book.

I also wish PGW had written more stories featuring Bobbie Wickham. Mr Potter Takes A Rest Cure always cracks me up."

Psmith is great. I wish PGW would have written a few more Psmith books.

Oh, what a tough choice! If I had to choose one, it would be Lord Emsworth. Followed closely by Bertie and Galahad. I am also fond of several secondary characters including Gussie Fink-Nottle and his newts, George Cyril Wellbeloved, and The Efficient Baxter.

I can not pick just one, but my favorite Blandings series is Blandings. I have a small crush on Lord Emsworth and Beach.

And I got to confess to have some sympathy for Aunt Dahlia!

Dan wrote: "David wrote: "Psmith for me. Leave It To Psmith is my favourite Wodehouse book.

I also wish PGW had written more stories featuring Bobbie Wickham. Mr Potter Takes A Rest Cure always cracks me up..."

I too wish he had written more Psmith books, after "Leave it to Psmith". Maybe he thought that the ending of "Leave it"--what with Psmith getting happy married and whatnot--precluded the possibility of more fun. Do you think PGW thought that one needs to either be single or unhappily married in order to live a humorous life?

Jeeves. He is absolutely amazing! Or maybe Gussie Fink-Nottle, because his obsession with newts makes me laugh.

I've got most of the Bertie/Jeeves books on tape and CD, and one of my favorite audio characters is Gussie Fink-Nottle as read by Frederick Davidson. Brilliant.

Especially that speech where Gussie tells Bertie and Jeeves that he's decided to drown himself in Aunt Dahlia's lake and does that speech about, "Everyone has been very very kind to me . . ." Makes me laugh out loud every time I hear it.

L.T.

L.T. wrote: "I've got most of the Bertie/Jeeves books on tape and CD, and one of my favorite audio characters is Gussie Fink-Nottle as read by Frederick Davidson. Brilliant.

Especially that speech where Gussi..."

I love Davidson as a narrator, but for Wodehouse's books Jonathan Cecil is the man! His Fink-Nottle is great!

Hi, James,

Yes, I like Jonathon Cecil, too. And Alexander Spencer (especially reading Right Ho, Jeeves). But I think I like Davidson best - I think his female voices, in particular, leave everyone else in the dust.

L.T.

Bertie Wooster all the way! I love quirky narrators, kind-hearted heroes, and Englishmen, so he had me at "hello."

(Well, technically, he had me at "She sprang it on me before breakfast", which is the very first line of the very first Jeeves story. Bertie says it's a decent seven-word character sketch of Aunt Agatha, but actually I think it's the perfect negative character sketch of Bertie himself. The worst crime you can commit in his world is early rising.)

I love a lot of them, but one that stands out is Gussy Finknottle, from the Jeeves stories, his obsession with newts cracks me up.

I like the shaggy eye-browed and formidable Sir Roderick Glossop, father of Honoria. He visits Bertie Wooster for lunch and Bertie comments "I suppose he must have taken about a nine or something in hats. Shows what a rotten thing it is to let your brain develop too much."
What amuses me is Bertie's terror of him, and how circumstances always conspire to make Bertie appear insane. (Sir Roderick is of course a psychiatrist).

Bertie!
No, Psmith!
Gally?

Argh, impossible to choose. I give up :-)

ps- have just purchased Ukridge, haven't got around to reading it yet. I notice not too many people pick him.Is he as much fun as the others?

Xiao_nie7 wrote: "Bertie!
No, Psmith!
Gally?

Argh, impossible to choose. I give up :-)

ps- have just purchased Ukridge, haven't got around to reading it yet. I notice not too many people pick him.Is he as much fun..."

Ukridge is enjoyable stuff. To me, his personality is not as lovable as other Wodehouse characters, so I found it more difficult to root for him.

The Duke of Dunstable - Alaric... His standing among his neighbours was roughly equivalent to that of a shark in a bathing resort - something to be avoided as nimbly as possible. (Service with a Smile)

hehe I'd almost forgotten about the Duke of Dunstable.He is something else :)

Ukridge or Psmith. I never thought I could enjoy a character as much as Berty but after trying different books I found they are all excellent. Even Piccadilly Jim. If I had to pick one......Psmith, I love the language he uses.

Liam wrote: "Ukridge or Psmith. I never thought I could enjoy a character as much as Berty but after trying different books I found they are all excellent. Even Piccadilly Jim. If I had to pick one......Psmith,..."

And the cry goes out, Liam favors Psmith over the rest! Good choice, comrade.

It'd be somehwhat of a sacrilege, butI wonder if we did Berty v/s Jeeves, who'd be the more popular character...

I am a fan of Jeeves and Wooster stories, but in terms of character the garrulous Psmith cracks me up more than any other characters.

Aunt Dahlia is one of my favorites.

Has to be Jeeves... Psmith is close second!... :D

Psmith really grew on me, with his guilded monologues and his habit of treating Life like a game of skill and deceit. He's definitely among the favorites.

As far as Bertie vs. Jeeves goes I like Bertie better. Jeeves is indispensable, though; without Jeeves' subtle support of the formula, Wooster simply wouldn't be the man he is. He'd be another Freddie Threepwood or Archie Moffam.

Me too, though I hate having to admit it. There's just something so helpless and likable about Bertie

Bertie Wooster, followed by Lord Emsworth and his pig...I'm also quite fond of Pongo.

I love Freddie Threepwood, the quick way he thinks on his feet, and the inevitable way he nearly always gets it wrong

it might be fun to have voting for favourite bumblers (like freddy,bertie etc), favourite fixers (jeeves, galahad). i wonder what other categories there could be...

Oh I do love Bertie and his cowardly ways!! But, I am also a big fan of Monty's!! And of course, Uncle Clarence!!!

I haven't explored Wodehouse much beyond Jeeves and Wooster so for now it's Bertie with a nod to Gussie Fink-Nottle for having a great name that seems to suit him.

Forgot about Gussie!! Don't know how that happened...lol