P.G. Wodehouse Biography

English-American Novelist, Lyricist, Playwright, Short-Story Writer

Oct 16, 2008
Tel Asiado

Sir P.G. Wodehouse, 1904 - Wikimedia Commons

Brief biography of Sir P.G. Wodehouse, a famous comic novelist, creator of Jeeves and Bertie Wooster.

P.G. Wodehouse was one of the most popular comic novelists of his time. He wrote more than 110 books creating such characters as Jeeves and Wooster. Wodehouse also wrote short stories, plays, lyrics for musical shows, and many film scripts. Among his greatest lyrics is 'Bill,' a hit in the musical Show Boat.

Early Life of P.G. Wodehouse

Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was born on October 15, 1881 in Guildford, Surrey, son of a British judge serving in Hongking. He studied at Dulwich College in London, England. He became an American citizen later in life, in 1955.

Career as a Writer

His first job was in a banking institution, at Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, but after two years he gave it up, joined a London evening newspaper and started writing as a journalist and story writer. He bagan writing school stories for boys, and among his earliest novels were A Perfect's Uncle, published when he was 22, and Mike, one of the best school stories ever written.

After 1909 Wodehouse spent most of his life in the United States, with periods in France. Before the First World War, in the US, he sold a serial to the Saturday Evening Post. For twenty five years, almost all his books appeared first in that magazine. It was with Piccadilly Jim in 1917 that he made a name for himself, but tarnished his reputation during the Second World War.

World War II and Wodehouse

Wodehouse was captured by the Germans in France, at LeTouquet, and was held a prisoner. He was later released but was not allowed to leave Germany. Then, he made a foolish decision by agreeing to make broadcasts for the Germans. Although they were harmless and humorous, he was branded as a traitor by the bomb-ravaged Britain. His name was eventually cleared but he decided to make US his home, taking US citizenship in 1955.

Creator of Jeeves and Wooster Characters

Wodehouse is best-known as the creator of Bertie Wooster and his man Jeeves when he was 36 years old in the short novel The Man with Two Left Feet. He was still writing about them in the 1970s. The perfect 'gentleman's gentleman,' Jeeves serves upper-class bachelor Bertie Wooster as a valet. His tasks include running the house, dressing his master and saving Wooster's life when required.

Recognition

The stories of Sir P.G. Wodehouse are always very-well written, despite complicated plots. He died on October 6, 1973, aged 91. The British people largely forgave him. He received a knighthood a few weeks before his death.